In the Spirit of life within us, there is not only the life of God, but also a law. This law is the law of the life of God. Every life has its law. The life in our body has its law within our body. That which agrees with its nature, its law approves and accepts; anything which is otherwise, its law opposes and refuses. Likewise, the life of God in our spirit also has its law. It is of the spirit and rests with the spirit; therefore, its nature is entirely and absolutely spiritual. If what we are and do agrees with its spiritual nature, this law in our spirit approves and accepts it; otherwise this law opposes and refuses. All that it approves and accepts is definitely from the spirit, because only that which is from the spirit can agree with its spiritual nature. Therefore, all that we are and do must be from the spirit and in the spirit; then the law of life in our spirit will approve and accept it.
This law of life in our spirit belongs to the order of consciousness and has its own consciousness. All that it approves and accepts or opposes and refuses is made known by what it feels and what it desires us to feel. If what we are and do is in the spirit and in agreement with the nature of the spirit of life in us, this law will make us feel that it approves and accepts it; otherwise, this law will cause us to feel that it is opposing and refusing. Thus, by the sense of this law, we can know whether or not we are living in the spirit and walking by the spirit. Since this law is the law of the spirit of life in us, the sense of this law is the sense of the spirit of life in us; therefore, the sense of this law can cause us to know the spirit within.
Law is a natural thing; therefore, the sense it gives us is also natural. For example, when we drink the glass of fruit juice, we naturally feel that it is sweet. This is because there is a law of the physical life in our body which naturally causes us to feel this. As soon as our lips touch the juice, we immediately taste the sweetness. This natural sense is the law of life of our body. This law naturally causes us to taste the flavor of the juice. The law of life in our spirit is also like this. We do not need others to tell us whether what we are and do as Christians is in the spirit, whether we are mindful of the spirit and pleasing to God; the law of life in our spirit will naturally make known our situation by giving us a certain sense. This natural feeling given to us by this law of life is a natural function of the spirit of life in us. By this we may easily discern whether or not we ourselves are living in the spirit.
Not only is the sense that this law of life gives us natural, but it also makes us natural. The more we live in the spirit and the more what we are and do agrees with the nature of the spirit of life within us, the more this law of life in our spirit will cause us to feel natural. If we as Christians are not natural, it proves we have some problem and that we are not living in the spirit. Since the spirit of life in us is a natural law of the spirit, only when our life and work agree with its spiritual nature can we feel natural within. When we feel natural within, it proves we are living in accordance with the law of life in our spirit. This natural feeling given to us by this law of life in us causes us to know we are living in the spirit and walking according to the spirit. Thus, if we follow the law of life in our spirit, or if we follow the natural consciousness given to us by this law of life, it means we are following the spirit of life within us. To put it simply, following the sense of the law of life in the spirit is following the spirit, because the sense of the law of life in the spirit is the sense of the spirit itself.
The spirit of life in us is not only the place where the Spirit of God and the life of God dwell, it is also the place where the new man is. Furthermore, the spirit in us—the spirit mingled with the life of God—is also the new man within us. If in our outward action and behavior we mind the spirit of life within us, then we are living by the spiritual new man within us. In this way our inner man and outward actions are in agreement; hence, we feel natural and peaceful. We can say that this consciousness of being natural and peaceful is the result produced by the sense of the law of the spirit of life. If we mind the spirit of life within us, we naturally walk and live according to the law of the spirit of life within us. This causes us to feel natural from within and have the sense of peace. This sense of peace and the sense of life go hand in hand. The sense of life is fresh and lively; the sense of peace is natural and at ease. The sense of life is satisfaction and fullness of vigor; the sense of peace is rest and comfort. If we mind the spirit and walk and live by the spirit, we will not only have the sense of life, feeling fresh, lively, satisfied, and vigorous, but also have the sense of peace, feeling natural, restful, comfortable, and at ease. Such a sense is also the sense of the spirit. Once we have such a sense, we may know that we are living in the spirit. When we follow such a sense, we follow the sense of the spirit, which means that we follow the spirit. Such a sense enables us to know the spirit and recognize the spirit. The more we walk according to the spirit and live in the spirit, the richer and deeper this kind of sense within us becomes.
There is a contrast in Romans 8:6. The apostle says that the result of minding the flesh is death, whereas the result of minding the spirit is life and peace. This word reveals that just as the flesh is versus the spirit, so also the result of minding the flesh, which is death, is opposite to the results of minding the spirit, which are life and peace. Thus, the apostle tells us here that death is not only the opposite of life, but also the opposite of peace. Therefore, the sense of death is not only the opposite of the sense of life, but also the opposite of the sense of peace. The sense of life makes us feel fresh, lively, satisfied, and vigorous; the sense of death makes us feel the opposite of these—old, depressed, empty, and powerless. The sense of peace makes us feel natural, restful, comfortable, and at ease. The consciousness of death makes us feel just the opposite of these—unnatural, unrestful, uncomfortable, and uneasy. Thus, whenever we feel inwardly desolate, depressed, empty, dry, weak and powerless, dark and dull, or uneasy, insecure, uncomfortable, out of harmony, full of conflict, unnatural, sad, and bound, we should know we are not living in the spirit; rather we are living in the opposite of the spirit, which is the flesh.
The flesh the apostle speaks of here refers not only to the lusts of our flesh, but also to our entire old man. All that belongs to our inward new man belongs to the spirit; likewise, all that belongs to our outward old man belongs to the flesh. Whatever is not from the spirit and does not belong to the spirit is from the flesh and belongs to the flesh. Although the soul differs from the flesh, yet because the soul has already fallen and become captive to the flesh, all that is from the soul or belongs to the soul is also from the flesh and belongs to the flesh. Thus, if we live by the soul, we live by the flesh. Whether we are mindful of the flesh or mindful of the soul, we are nevertheless mindful of the flesh. The result of minding the flesh is death. This sense of death causes us to feel either depressed and empty or uneasy and insecure. Whenever we have such consciousness, we should know that we are mindful of the flesh, and that we are living either in the flesh or in the soul. Such a sense causes us to know the opposite of the spirit, which is the flesh, and to recognize it. Thus, by knowing the opposite of the spirit, we may know the spirit itself.
Whatever we do, regardless of whether we think it is right or wrong, spiritual or unspiritual, if deep within us we feel restless, insecure, empty, and depressed, it proves that we are walking by the flesh and not living in the spirit. Even in prayer and preaching, not to mention other things or doing things which are not good, if we feel empty and depressed within, dissatisfied or unhappy, then it is proof that we are praying or preaching by the flesh, not in the spirit. Many times, by our mind or by the flesh (because it is not in the spirit), we pray as if we are reciting from a book. The more we pray, the more we feel dry and depressed, without watering and joy. After praying, we only feel empty; we do not feel satisfied. Such prayer by our head makes our spirit incapable of obtaining the supply of life; instead, it only touches the sense of death. Although what we prayed may have been quite appropriate, yet it was not in the spirit; therefore, we could not touch the watering and joy of life and peace, but sensed only the dryness and depression of death. Many times, our preaching is also like this. When we preach not according to the spirit but by our head, we feel empty and dry within, or we sense death; we do not feel satisfied or watered, and we do not have the sense of life. If we were in the spirit, if we spoke by the spirit, we should feel satisfied and restful within, which means we would sense life and peace. Thus, by such a sense, we can know whether what we do is in the flesh or in the spirit. Such a sense can cause us to know the flesh, and by knowing the flesh to know the spirit.
Death not only causes us to have such depressed, empty, uneasy, and unhappy feelings, but also makes us lose the sense of life. Such feelings of death are warnings to us, urging us to be delivered from the flesh and live in the spirit. If we have such a sense of death, yet we continue to act and behave by the life of the flesh, after a continued period of time, death can cause our spirit within to lose consciousness and become numb. If our spirit within is numb and unconscious, it is because we have lived by the flesh for such an extended period that our spirit is damaged by death. Thus, we can and we should know how we are treating our spirit and whether we are living in the spirit or not.
All the senses of which we have spoken are those which the spirit of life within us causes us to have; therefore, we may say that they are the senses of the spirit. If we want to know the spirit directly, it is somewhat difficult, but it is comparatively easy to know the spirit itself by such senses of the spirit. We cannot quite apprehend directly what the spirit actually is, but by the sense of the spirit, it is not difficult for us to know it. If we walk and live by closely following the sense of the spirit, then we are following the spirit and minding the spirit. If we follow the naturalness of the law of the Spirit of life, take care of the sense of life and peace, heed the warning given to us by the sense of death, and live in these senses, then we are living in the spirit. These senses are from the spirit; therefore, they can cause us to touch the spirit and thereby know the spirit.