Three lives and four laws are the foundation of the spiritual experience of Christians. The three lives are the life of man, the life of Satan, and the life of God. Now we need to consider the matter of the four laws. What are the four laws? Where are they recorded in the Bible? The four laws are recorded in Romans 7 and 8. These two chapters, which specifically speak of the matter of law, refer to four different laws: the law of God, the law of good in the mind, the law of sin in our members, and the law of the Spirit of life.
The law of God (7:22, 25), referring to the law in the Old Testament, is God’s requirement on us. The law of good in the mind (v. 23) gives us a desire to do good. “The law of sin which is in my members” (v. 23) causes us to commit sins. Finally, the law of the Spirit of life (8:2) enables us to live in the life of God. Of these four laws, one is outside of us—the law of God. The other three are inside of us—the law of good in the mind, the law of sin in the members, and the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit.
The law of God, written on stone tablets, was given by God to men through Moses in the Old Testament. The other three laws are derived from the three lives we have spoken of earlier. We know that with every life there is a law. Since we have three different lives within us, we have three laws corresponding to these three different lives.
The law of good in the mind is derived from the good created life, which was obtained not at the time of our salvation but at the time of our physical birth. It is a natural endowment in God’s creation, not a gift in God’s salvation. It was created in God’s creation, not given in God’s salvation. It is not weighty enough simply to say that we have the law of good in our mind through birth. We need to say that it is a natural endowment in God’s creation. The law of good in the mind was given to us when God created us. Hence, it is a natural endowment in God’s creation, not a gift in God’s salvation.
When God created us, He gave us a life that is good. Even though this good life was defiled by sin, it did not lose its good elements and become evil. If it had become evil, then Chinese sages and philosophers like Confucius and Wang Yang-ming would not have been able to discover the so-called “bright virtues,” “innate consciousness,” and “innate ability” in man. Based on Romans 7:18, which says, “In me...nothing good dwells,” many Christians, both in the East and the West, conclude that absolutely nothing good dwells in us. When I was young, I was affected by this teaching, thinking that nothing good dwelt in me. However, deep in my being, I did not agree with this teaching, because even though there was evil in me before I was saved, I was not without any goodness.
Therefore, I spent much time to study the book of Romans. I discovered that when Paul says, “In me...nothing good dwells,” he also adds, “that is, in my flesh.” This indicates a particular realm. Thus, in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells means that nothing good dwells in our fallen flesh; it does not mean that nothing good dwells in our entire being. In fact, after verse 18 we can still see that there is an element of goodness in our mind (vv. 19, 21-22).
Nothing good dwells in our flesh, but in our soul, there is still an element of goodness. Since we have the good life in our soul, we have the law of good in our soul. With every life there is a law, and the law of a particular life always corresponds with the nature of the life. Since the nature of our good life is good, the function and nature of its law are also good; hence, this law is the law of good. Although our good life has been damaged and defiled because of the fall, it cannot be damaged and defiled to the point of obliteration. For example, a glass may be smashed, but the broken pieces are still glass. Sometimes we cannot do the good that we desire, because even though we have the good life, this life has been damaged and made powerless. Our willingness to do good proves that we have the element of goodness in our being; our inability to do good proves that the element of goodness in our being has been damaged.
In the light of God, we can see that the good we live according to the life of God is absolutely different from the good in our created life. However, Christians today mix up the two. Some people say that before we were saved, nothing good dwelt in us, but since we have been saved, the good that we try to do is from God, from the life of God. This is truly dangerous. This will cause us to focus on the goodness in our natural life as the intrinsic content of our spiritual life and to regard the small amount of good that we can do in ourselves as goodness that comes from the life of God.
We must point out to people that before we were saved, we had a life of good. Although this life has been defiled and damaged, its good element still exists. Very often, we desire and endeavor to do good, yet we cannot work it out. This is because the power of our life has been damaged and made powerless. Not only this, but before we were saved, we desired to honor our parents, help others, show mercy toward others, and perfect others, but our honoring of our parents, our help, our mercy, and our love contained pride and impurities; they were not pure.
Nevertheless, in fallen man, the good from creation is present. If we did not have any element of good before we were saved, we would all be like poisonous snakes and fierce beasts. Before we were saved, there was truly an element of goodness in us. However, this goodness was not clean and pure; rather, it was filthy inwardly. It is only after we are saved that we can genuinely pursue the growth of life and live in fellowship. Through this we can learn to reject the good element in us. The life that we live after we are saved should be absolutely out of God, not out of ourselves. We should reject both evil and goodness because neither is out of the spirit or of God.
Some saints are humble by nature. Although this natural humility is not fake, it must be rejected just as hatred must be rejected. We need to condemn and abhor our humility just as we condemn and abhor our pride. Some saints are forbearing even before they are saved. After they are saved, they become “forbearing” Christians. In the past, they applied their forbearance to their social life; now they apply their forbearance to their coordination and service. When they serve, they never argue with the brothers and sisters.
Very often, we simply apply spiritual terms to the goodness of our natural life and regard it as being spiritual. This can be compared to putting a label saying “Made in the U.S.A.” on Japanese products and considering them American products. Christians recognize the “label” but not the “product.” Hence, we are not able to discern between the goodness that comes out of our natural life from that of the life of God. When I was first saved, I was fervent in preaching the gospel and bringing people to believe in Jesus. One day I preached the gospel to an elderly friend of mine. He said, “Do not ask me to believe in Jesus. I have a bad temper. If I believe in Jesus, I will put your church to shame. If another person who is gentle in his temperament and proper in his character becomes a Christian, he will bring glory to the church.” Many saints “bring glory to the church” because they are good by nature. They bring their natural goodness to the church. They not only treasure but also continue to develop their natural goodness. Little do they realize that this is merely “a label of spirituality,” not genuine spirituality. We need to be clear about what is of the natural life and what is of the spiritual life.
Before we are saved, we have the element of goodness within us. This is the reason Chinese sages and philosophers were able to discover “bright virtues,” “innate consciousness,” and “innate ability.” Although the natural goodness in man has been damaged, it can never be annulled. Nevertheless, we must admit that nothing good dwells in our flesh. Our flesh is the body that has been transmuted by the addition of the life of Satan. God created our body, and the flesh is the body created by God that has the added element of Satan’s life. The body has been transmuted into the flesh, and lust dwells in it.
The law of sin in the members is derived from the evil and sinful life of Satan. When the life of Satan entered into us, it brought in a law also. The nature of the life of Satan is evil and sin. When this life entered into us, strictly speaking, it dwelt in our body, in each of our members, that is, in every part of our body, and it manifested its functions and capabilities. Hence, this law is called the law of sin in the members.
The law of the Spirit of life is derived from the life of God. Because the nature of the life of God that enters into our spirit is life, the nature and functions of its law are also life. Hence, it is called the law of the Spirit of life. This law is of the Spirit of God, and it is also in our spirit.