What are the nature and functions of these four laws outside and inside of us? The law of God is composed of the statutes of God, and its nature is holy, righteous, and good. This law, being outside of us, enables us to know what God condemns and what He justifies; it requires us to reject what God condemns and do what God justifies in order to comply with God’s holy, righteous, and good statutes.
The law of good in our mind, derived from our created, human life of good, contains the good human nature and exactly fits the nature of the law of God outside of us. This law creates in us, that is, in our mind, the desire to do good. Especially when the law of God outside of us requires us to be good, this law of good in us gives us the inclination toward doing good. Therefore, the mind in us delights in obeying the law of God outside of us. This is what the apostle says, “I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God” (Rom. 7:25).
The law of sin in our members, derived from the evil and fallen life of Satan in our flesh, contains the evil nature of Satan. The evil life of Satan is the “evil” that is present in our flesh and the “sin” that dwells within us (Rom. 7:21, 20). The law that comes out of this evil life causes us to sin, because it is a “law of sin.” This law displays from our flesh its natural power to do evil and wars against the law of good in our mind. When the law of good in our mind gives us the desire to do good, this law of sin rises to war against it and brings us into captivity (Rom. 7:23). Hence, not only are we unable to fulfill our desire to do good or to satisfy the good requirement of God’s law; on the contrary, we obey the law of sin in our members, committing all kinds of sins and obtaining death, just as described in Romans 7:21-24. Therefore, we sin not of our own choice nor of our own volition; rather it is the law of sin which motivates us from within.
Hence, we can see here that within us fallen beings there are two contradicting laws. One is derived from the created life of good and works in the mind of our soul, giving us the desire to do good. The other is derived from the fallen, evil life of Satan and works in the members of our body, causing us to commit sin. These two opposite laws, doing contradictory works in our mind and in our members, war against one another within us. The result is that the law of sin usually overcomes the law of good; hence we fail to do the good which we desire and are forced to do the evil which we do not want to do. This is what the Chinese call the war between reason and lust. Reason is the element of doing good, inherent in our created life; lust is the sin that dwells in our fallen body, or the evil that is in our flesh. Although reason is partly derived from our human conscience, it works in our mind; hence the goodness resulting from the outworking of “reason” is either derived from or passes through the intellect. Although lust is related to our fallen human nature, it works in the members of our body; hence the evil which is the outworking of lust is derived from the lust. For this reason, one who is strong in intellect is more capable of doing good, while one who is more passionate easily does evil. In other words, all the good done by men either originates from or passes through the intellect in the mind, whereas all the evil done by men is the outworking of the lusts in the members. When the reason in our mind gains the position of advantage, it causes man to do good; when the lust in the members gains the superior position, it causes man to do evil.
Some people think that this kind of war is the same as the strife mentioned in Galatians 5. This is not accurate. Galatians 5 speaks about our flesh striving against the Spirit; this occurs only after we are saved and have obtained the Holy Spirit. But the war between the two laws is related to the war between the fallen, evil life of Satan and the created life of good, and this war exists even before we are saved. Therefore, this is an inner war existing before we are saved. It is also a war between good and evil existing in all worldly people.
This “Sin,” out from which came the law of sin, is the life of Satan and is therefore alive. “Sin,” shown capitalized, signifies that it is personified and is unique. In the universe there is only one God, and there is only one Sin. Sin is a special term and a unique object; Sin is another name of Satan. Therefore, Romans 5 to 8 tells us that Sin can reign over us, have dominion over us, cause us to be his slave in opposition to God, dwell in us, and overpower us, causing us to do the evil which we would not. The many sins outside of us are but the actions resulting from the working of the unique Sin within us. This unique Sin is the root and mother of all sins.
How does Sin cause us to sin outwardly? We have seen that Sin dwells in our body. However, it is the will, not the body, that is the motivating organ. The will, which belongs to the human soul, being controlled by Sin and obeying the orders of Sin, instigates the human body to commit sin. Hence, although Sin dwells in our body, its damaging work advances from the circumference to the center. With the body as the base, it projects forth the poison of sin, causing damage to our soul and spirit, until our whole being is corrupted. Therefore, Jeremiah 17 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things.” Romans 1 and Mark 7 also declare that there are all kinds of sins within man. These scriptures prove that man is completely corrupted by Sin within and is full of sins. Hence, in the soul of man today, his mind is evil, his emotion defiled, his will rebellious, and even his spirit darkened. These are the results of the work of Sin in man.
But we must thank the Lord, for in us who are saved there are not only the two laws of good and of evil, of man and of Satan; there is also the law of the Spirit of God’s life. Since this law is derived from the Spirit of God’s life, it comes from the uncreated, divine life of God. As far as the nature of being both divine and eternal is concerned, of all the so-called lives in the universe, only the life of God is “life.” (This has been discussed in detail in chapter one, What Is Life?) Therefore, the nature of God’s life is “life.” Since the law of the Spirit of life is derived from the life of God, its nature is “life,” just as the nature of the life of God is “life.” It is not like the two previously mentioned laws which are either “good” or “evil” because of the life from which they are derived.
According to scriptural revelation, life and good are different. Here we have three main points: first, life is the nature of the life of God, whereas good is the nature of the life of man; second, life is good, but good is not necessarily life; third, the tree of life and the tree of good and evil in the Garden of Eden show us that life and good are definitely different; life is neither good nor evil. Life, good, and evil are three different and independent things.
We should realize not only that life and good are not the same, but that good differs from good. There is the good of God, and there is also the good of man. God’s good comes from the life of God and contains the nature of God’s life. Man’s good comes from the life of man and contains only man’s good nature. The good mentioned in Ephesians 2:10 and 2 Timothy 2:21 is the good which we live out through the life of God; hence it is the good derived from the life of God and is God’s good. The good mentioned in Matthew 12:35, Romans 7:18, 19, 21 and 9:11 is the good which we live out according to our own life; hence it is the good derived from the life of man and is the good of man. The good derived from the life of man is but the good of man, without the nature of “life” or the element of God. Only the good of God derived from the life of God is not only good, but also possesses the nature of “life” and God’s very element. Therefore, when we say that life and good are different, we mean that the life of God and the good of man are different. The good of man, derived from the life of man and containing nothing of the life nature of God, naturally differs from the life of God. However, since God’s good is derived from the life of God and contains the life nature of God, we cannot say that it differs from the life of God.
Thus, we see that the law of the Spirit of life containing the “life” nature of God can cause us to live out the life of God, that is, to live out the good of God.
Moreover, these three different laws within us differ also in their degree of strength. We know that laws vary in strength according to the degree of strength of the objects of their respective origins. The law of good is derived from the life of man, and the life of man is the weakest; hence the strength to do good of the law of good is also the weakest. The law of sin is derived from the stronger life of Satan; hence this law’s power of sinning is stronger than the power of doing good of the law of good; it not only disables us from doing good, but it causes us to commit sin and do evil. The law of the Spirit of life is derived from the strongest life, the life of God; hence the power of this law is also the strongest; it not only keeps us from obeying the law of sin to commit sin, but also enables us to obey itself and live out the life of God naturally.
Philosophers throughout generations have advocated various ways of cultivating morality or improving behavior. In fact, what they have advocated is a working through human intellect, self-will, and self-effort on the already corrupted body and soul, in order to restore or reactivate the original good in man. All this cannot overcome the natural power of the law of sin. The strength of man is limited, while the power of the law is enduring; man’s striving is a self-exertion, while the power of law is spontaneous. Man by using his own effort may be able to sustain himself for a while, but once his strength is exhausted, the power of law manifests itself again. Therefore, God’s way of deliverance is not to work on our outward body by dealing with the Sin which surrounds us, nor to work on the soul, which is between our body and our spirit, by strengthening our will to do good. But it is in our center, that is, in our spirit, that God adds into us a new element, which brings with it a mighty power of life. Then He advances from our center to the circumference, penetrating through all the parts of our being, by using one law to subdue another law to overcome the power of sinning in the law of sin. Moreover, we are enabled to live out the good required by the law of God, which we were unable to live out formerly through the law of good. And much more, through the life which is derived from the law of the Spirit of life, we are able to live out the life which God desires.
Therefore, the Bible shows us that there are four laws related to us, one outside of us and three inside us. The one outside us is the law of God. Of the three that are inside us, one is in our soul, one in our body, and one in our spirit. The law in our soul, derived from the created, good human life, is good and gives us the desire to do good; the law in our body, derived from the fallen, evil life of Satan, is evil and causes us to sin; the law in our spirit, derived from the uncreated, divine life of God, is divine and causes us to live out the divine life of God.
The law of God outside of us represents God in giving us the requirements of holiness, righteousness, and goodness. The law of good in our soul, upon touching the holy and good requirements of the law of God, desires and determines to fulfill the requirements. But the law of sin in our members, when it realizes that the law of good in our soul desires to fulfill the holy and good requirements of the law of God outside of us, will surely oppose, resist, and usually overcome the law of good in our soul. Thus, we are not only disabled from fulfilling God’s law, but instead we violate the holy and good requirements of the law of God outside us. This is because the law of sin in our body is stronger than the law of good in our soul. However, the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit is even stronger than the law of good in our soul. Therefore, if we turn to our spirit and live according to our spirit, the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit will deliver us from the law of sin in our body and cause us to live out the divine life of God. Thus, not only will we be able to fulfill the holy and good requirements of God, but we can meet the divine standard of God Himself.
For example, the outward law of God requires us not to be covetous. The law of good in our soul, upon touching this requirement of God’s law, desires to fulfill it and determines not to be covetous any more. But at this time the law of sin in our body immediately rises in opposition, causing us to be inwardly covetous; thus, we are unable to fulfill the law of God which requires us not to be covetous. At this time, however much we will and determine, we cannot rid ourselves of a covetous heart. On the contrary, the more we will and strive to rid ourselves of covetousness, the more it grows within us. Whenever, due to the outward requirement of God’s law, the law of good in our soul desires to do good, the law of sin in our body will immediately cause evil to work in us and war against our thought of good. Furthermore, the law of good in our soul is no match for the law of sin in our body; in almost every encounter it loses to the law of sin in our body. But, praise the Lord, the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit is stronger than the law of sin in our body and is able to deliver us and set us free from the law of sin. If we would cease from our struggling and strife through the law of good in our soul, and walk instead according to the law of the Spirit of life, we should be delivered from the covetous desire motivated by the law of sin in our body. We would be enabled to fulfill the requirement of the outward law of God not to covet and live out the surpassing holiness of God.
Hence we can see clearly that the outward law of God puts certain requirements upon us, and immediately the law of good in our soul desires to fulfill them. But the law of sin in our body between these two laws—the outward law of God and the law of good in our soul—obstructs and hinders us so that the law of good in our soul cannot fulfill the requirement of the outward law of God as it wishes. Just as our body surrounds our soul, so the law of sin in the body surrounds the law of good in our soul and is stronger than it. Therefore, it is very difficult for the law of good in our soul to overcome the law of sin in our body, to break through its surrounding and fulfill the requirement of the outward law of God. However, the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit is stronger than all; hence it can overcome the law of sin in our body and deliver us from the engulfing of that law, thus more than enabling us to fully fulfill the requirement of God’s law.
We may use another illustration here to explain the relationship of these four laws to us. The outward law of God is like a respectable man proposing to us, while the law of good in our mind is like a virtuous lady saying yes to his proposal. However, the law of sin in our members is like a villain who always follows the lady and attempts to create trouble between her and that man. Whenever he observes this lady saying yes to the man’s proposal, he kidnaps her and compels her to act neither according to her own will nor her own wish. At this very moment, the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit, which can be likened to an angel from heaven, rescues the lady from the villain and enables her to fulfill the man’s proposal; thus, her desire is fulfilled. Consequently, she discovers that this angel from heaven is in fact the One whom the man represented. Therefore, this angel, by causing her to fulfill the man’s proposal, actually enables her to fulfill his own desire.
From this illustration we see that although the outward law of God places requirements upon us, it cannot cause us to fulfill its requirements. The law of good in our mind desires to fulfill the requirements of the outward law of God, yet it has no strength to overcome the law of sin in our members. Moreover, the law of sin always opposes the law of good, and when it sees that the law of good is attempting to fulfill the requirement of the law of God, it will surely hinder and prevent it from fulfilling its wish. But the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit, our deliverance from God with the mighty power of the life of God, sets us free from the law of sin, thus enabling us to fulfill all the requirements of the law of God and live out the divine life of God. If we live according to this law of the Spirit of life, we shall be delivered from the law of sin in our members and become a victorious Christian automatically.
At this point we can draw several conclusions: First, God’s deliverance differs from man’s reformation. First of all, the basis is different. Man’s reformation is based on the original good of man, while God’s deliverance is based on the life of God and the Spirit of God, that is, the Spirit of life. Next, the methods differ. Man’s reformation is by way of exerting human strength, inflicting harsh treatment on our body, and subduing the passions, thus bringing forth the good in man. God’s deliverance is by way of putting His Spirit and His life into our spirit, thus quickening our spirit; then a renewing work begins from our spirit, renewing firstly the various parts of our spirit, then the different parts of our soul, and finally our physical body. Lastly, the results are different. The result of man’s reformation is but the highest human excellence; it cannot cause man to live out the divine standard of God’s nature. The consequence of God’s deliverance is that we become God-men, living out the divine life of God.
Second, God’s deliverance does not make us good men but life-men. There are all together three classes of man in the universe: God-men, good men, and evil men. God’s deliverance is not to make us evil men or good men, but life-men.
Third, we who have been delivered by God ought to live in God. God is life, and God’s deliverance is for us to become life-men. Life is God; to be a life-man is to be a God-man. To be such men we ought to live in God. But to live in God is a vague doctrine. If we want to live in God, we must live in the law of the Spirit of life. This requires us to live in spirit, for the law of the Spirit of life is in the spirit. This also requires us to live in the sense of life, for the sense of life is the sense of the law of the Spirit of life. If we obey the sense of life, we mind the spirit and live in the spirit. If we mind the spirit, we live in the law of the Spirit of life. When we live in the law of the Spirit of life, we live in God. Consequently, what we live out is God Himself. God is life; therefore, what we live out is life, and we become life-men.
Fourth, the goal of God’s deliverance is the unity of God and man. When we obey the law of the Spirit of life and live in God, God lives also in us, and He and we mingle in a practical way until the two are completely united as one.
There are two more points on the subjective side. First, we must touch the inner sense, which means to obey the inner feeling. Second, we must live in fellowship. Fellowship is the flowing of life. To live in fellowship is to live in the flowing of life. These two points enable us to experience life in a practical way. The purpose of this chapter on the three lives and four laws is to bring us to this point. If we touch the inner sense in a practical way and live in fellowship, we will automatically be able: (1) to be freed from sin, (2) to do the good works which we are unable to do, (3) to fulfill the law of God, and (4) to live out the life of God. Eventually we can become God-men, manifesting the life of God. This is the goal of God’s salvation, and this also includes all matters pertaining to life.