Each of the three lives within us who are saved has a law. Therefore, there are not only three lives within us, but also three laws which belong to the three lives. Besides these, there is the law of God outside of us. Therefore, within and without us, there are all together four laws. This is revealed to us in Romans 7 and 8.
The central theme of Romans chapters seven and eight is law. Earlier, in chapter six, the apostle says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law.” The only reason sin cannot have dominion over us is that we are not under the law. Therefore, in order to explain the statement that we are “not under law,” the apostle continues to speak about law in chapters seven and eight. Chapter seven begins by saying, “Or are ye ignorant, brethren (for I speak to men who know the law), that the law hath dominion over a man for so long time as he liveth?” Again, “But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that wherein we were held” (v. 6). Later he says, “I had not known sin, except through the law” (v. 7). Again, “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (v. 22). All these refer to the law of the Old Testament. Finally, he says, “But I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members.” And again, “So then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (v. 25). Then in chapter eight he says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death” (v. 2). In these words the apostle speaks all together about four different laws that are related to us personally.
First is “the law of God” (7:22, 25), that is, the law of the Old Testament, which tells forth all God’s requirements upon us. Second, “the law of the mind” (7:23), which is in our mind, causes us to desire to do good; therefore, it may also be called the law of good in our mind. Third, “the law of sin in the members” (7:23) causes us to sin. Because the function of this law in us which causes us to sin is manifested in the members of our body, it is called “the law of sin in the members.” Fourth, “the law of the Spirit of life” (8:2) causes us to live in the life of God. The Spirit from which this law is derived is the Spirit of life, a mingled spirit composed of the Spirit of God, the life of God, and our human spirit. Therefore, it is called “the law of the Spirit of life.” Furthermore, since this Spirit contains life, belongs to life, and is life, the law of this Spirit is called “the law of life.” Concerning the four laws, one is outside of us—the law of God; while the other three are inside of us—the law of good in the mind, the law of sin in the body, and the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit.
The origin of each of the four laws differs. The law of God, written on stone tables, was given by God to men through Moses during Old Testament times. The other three laws are derived from the three lives which we mentioned earlier. We know that with every life there is a law. Although a law may not always be derived from a life, nevertheless a life always has a law. Since we have three different lives within us, we have three laws corresponding to the 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 birth. It is a natural endowment in God’s creation, not a gift in God’s salvation. Before we were saved, there was frequently in our mind and thought a natural inclination or desire to do good, to honor our parents, to be benevolent to men, or to be remorseful, hoping to reform ourselves and determining to go upwards. These thoughts of doing good and going upwards are derived from the law of good in our mind. They also prove that, even before we were saved, this law of good was already within us.
Some people, based on Romans 7:18 (“For I know that in me...dwelleth no good thing”) conclude that either before we were saved or after we are saved there is no good thing within us; therefore, the law of good which is in our mind cannot be derived from our original created life, much less exist before we were saved. However, if we read Romans 7:18 carefully, we see that this conclusion is inaccurate, for when Paul says that there is no good thing within us, he is referring to the condition in our flesh. And the flesh spoken of here, according to the context of verses 21, 23, and 24, refers to our fallen and transmuted body. In our fallen and transmuted body, that is, in our flesh, there dwells no good thing. This does not mean that there is no good thing at all in us fallen beings. On the contrary we are told clearly later in the chapter that within us fallen beings there is a will which desires to do good and a law of good in our mind. Both the will and the mind are parts of our soul. Therefore, although there is no good thing in our fallen and transmuted body, there is an element of goodness in both the mind and will of our soul, even after the fall. This element of goodness naturally belongs to our good created life. Therefore, the law of good in our mind is of our original created life and existed before we were saved, even at our birth.
Some may say that our good created life, having been corrupted by Satan through the fall, has lost its element of goodness. This is also inaccurate. For example, adding a sour element into a glass of honey-water damages the sweet taste, but does not eliminate the sweet element. Although man has been damaged by Satan, his element of goodness still remains. It is a fact that the element of goodness created in man has been corrupted by Satan and has thus become incurable, but we cannot say that it has been corrupted to the point of non-existence. If you smash a glass, it will disintegrate into pieces, but its element still remains. A piece of gold bar may be thrown into a filthy pool, but the element of gold still exists. Although our honor to parents, brotherly love, loyalty, sincerity, propriety, morality, modesty, and sense of shame are rather impure and mixed, yet these elements are genuine. Therefore, we can conclude that although our good elements have been defiled, they still remain after the destruction; though they are very weak, still they remain. It is for this reason that the Chinese sages and philosophers have discovered that within man there are some “illustrious virtues,” and “innate consciousness,” etc., and have concluded that the nature of man is good. The discovery of these philosophers concerning human nature is indeed right, because within us fallen beings there is still the element of goodness and the law which naturally causes us to desire to do good.
The law of sin in the members is derived from the fallen and evil life of Satan. We have said before that due to Adam’s fall through sinning—eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil—Satan’s life entered into man. Within this life of Satan there is contained a law of evil, that is, the law of sin in the members. Since the life of Satan is evil, the law which is derived from his life naturally causes man to sin and do evil.
The law of the Spirit of life is derived from the Spirit of life which is in our spirit and from the uncreated divine life of God. When we received the Lord and were saved, the Spirit of God together with the life of God entered into our spirit and mingled with our spirit to become the Spirit of life. In this life of the Spirit of life, there is contained a law which is the law of the Spirit of life, or the law of life.
Therefore, we must see clearly that when we were saved, God did not put the law of good in us; rather He put the law of life in us. God’s purpose in us is life, not goodness. When God saves us, He puts the law of life in us. The law of good is not given through God’s salvation, but through His creation. The element of doing good that is in us is inherent. But when God saves us, He puts His life in us. In this life there is contained a law of life, the law of the Spirit of life. This law is obtained at the time of our salvation and is derived from God’s salvation of life.
Therefore, concerning the origin of these four laws we can say that the law of God, derived from God, is of God; the law of good in the mind, derived from the life of man, is of man; the law of sin in the members, derived from Satan’s life, is of Satan; and the law of the Spirit of life, derived from the Spirit of life, is of the spirit.
In order to have a precise knowledge of the four laws, we must be clear about their respective locations.
The law of God is written on tables of stone; hence, it is outside of us.
The law of good is in our mind, that is, in our soul. Since the life of doing good is in our soul, the law which is derived from this life is also, of course, in our soul. The function of this law is especially manifested in the mind of our soul; hence this law is called “of the mind.” Therefore, in our soul we have the life of man, the law of good which is derived from such a life, and the good human nature.
The law of sin is in our members, that is, in our body. During man’s fall, he took the fruit of the tree of knowledge into his body; hence, the evil life of Satan entered into our human body. Thus, the law of sin, derived from the life of Satan, is also in our body. Since this law is in our body and the body is composed of the members, this law is in our members. Thus, in our body we have Satan, the life of Satan, the law of sin which is derived from the life of Satan, and the evil nature of Satan. Due to the fact that Satan and his evil things entered into our body and mixed with it, it was transmuted and became the corrupted flesh.
The law of the Spirit of life is in our spirit. Since the Spirit of life together with the life of God dwells in our spirit, the law derived from the Spirit of life is also in our spirit. This law is derived from the Spirit of God and is in our spirit; therefore, not only is its origin Spirit, but its location is spirit. Hence it is entirely of the spirit; it is neither of the body nor of the soul. Thus, in our spirit we have God, the life of God, the law derived from the Spirit of God’s life, and His nature of life.