In Romans 8 Paul does not say, “There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus because the blood of Jesus has cleansed me.” This kind of condemnation is not dealt with by the blood. We are freed from subjective condemnation, not because of the blood which cleanses us, but because of the law which liberates us. There is a law which sets us free from inward condemnation. This law that releases us has the greatest potential of any law. Although we have the law of God outside of us demanding, the law of good in our mind agreeing with the law of God, and the law of sin in our body warring against and defeating the law of good, we must nevertheless praise the Lord that in our spirit is the law of the Spirit of life. No law can prevail against this law. Who can defeat the Spirit of life? Nobody and nothing can defeat the Spirit of life. This law of the Spirit of life is the spontaneous power of the Spirit of life. It is the most powerful law in the universe; it is in us and it sets us free.
How does the law of the Spirit of life set us free? It frees us in a “super” way. If, according to the ancient method of warfare, some soldiers were surrounded by enemy troops, they would have had to fight their way through. However, in modern warfare there is no such need. If we are surrounded by the enemy, we need not fight through—we have a way up. We have an upward way. Thus, we may say to Satan, “Satan, compared to me you are powerful. But don’t you know that I have a wonderful God who is both in my spirit and in the heavens? It may be difficult for me to go to the heavens, but it is easy for Him. He is both in me and in the heavens. Satan, I don’t need to fight through. I just say, ‘Praise the Lord’ and I am in the third heaven. Satan, you and your attacking army are under my feet, and I am free.”
In case you think this is little more than a good theory, let me apply it and make it very practical. Suppose we have a sister who wants to submit to her husband according to Ephesians 5. She says, “I love this word. It is so sweet and holy. I want to submit myself to my husband.” This is simply the exercise of her mind as it attempts to fulfill the commandment given in Ephesians 5. However, when she determines to practice this, something strange happens. It seems that her surroundings change and the very opposite of submission occurs. Her husband, who is always nice and gentle with her, on the very morning that she determines to submit to him, is quite mean. Much to her disappointment, she fails to fulfill the commandment. Satan comes up against her, surrounds her, and attacks her. The more she tries to suppress her irritation with her husband’s behavior, the more angry she becomes, until she finally loses control of her temper. Her struggle, her attempt, was vain. The sister was defeated because she used the wrong strategy. Whenever we are surrounded by the enemy we should forget about every attempt of fighting through and say, “Praise the Lord! Amen!” Immediately we will be transcendent. Every enemy, including the people who aggravate us, will be under our feet. If you do not believe this, I ask you to try it. This strategy works; it is the most “modern,” most prevailing weapon against the enemy. Instead of condemnation there is praise. Why is there praise and release instead of condemnation? Because the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin and death.
For the two types of condemnation we have two different remedies. The blood of the crucified Christ is the remedy for objective condemnation, and the Spirit of life—Christ processed to be the life-giving Spirit—within our spirit is the remedy for subjective condemnation. When we experience subjective condemnation, all we need to do is praise the Lord and we will be transcendent. Do not pray at such a time, for the more you pray, the more condemnation you will experience. Neither should you say, “Lord, I apply Your blood.” This is not the remedy for this kind of situation. It is the wrong medication for the illness. When we are under subjective condemnation we need the Spirit of life. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death.”
This is not an experience outside of Christ, but an experience absolutely in Christ. In Christ, not in Adam nor in ourselves, but in Christ, we have the Spirit of life, who is Christ Himself as the life-giving Spirit, in our spirit. In Christ our spirit has been made alive with Christ as life. Because we are in Christ the Spirit of life, who is Christ Himself, dwells in our spirit and mingles Himself with our spirit as one spirit. In Christ we have our quickened spirit, the divine life, and the Spirit of life. In Christ these three—our spirit, the divine life, and the Spirit of life—are all mingled as one unit. In Christ, with this unit, there is the spontaneous power, which is the law of the Spirit of life, that continually sets us free from the law of sin and death as we walk according to the mingled spirit.
This experience is not once for all; it must be a continuous daily experience. Day after day, moment after moment, we need to live in the mingled spirit, walk according to this spirit, and have our minds set on this wonderful spirit, forgetting our attempts of keeping the law of God and of doing good in order to please God. For once we drift back to our old, habitual way of trying to do good, we are insulated immediately from the powerful law of the Spirit of life. We must look to the Lord that we may abide in our spirit always so that we may enjoy the freedom of the law of the Spirit of life.