What we do in our daily living depends upon the law we are living by. To do good is a law, to do evil is another law, and to live by life is still another law. Do not think that you can do anything without a law. Everything we do as Christians in our daily living is a function of one of the laws. Suppose I become angry at a brother. I may try to suppress my anger and say to myself, “Although you are angry with this brother, you must not show it. If you lose your temper, you will also lose your face and cause a problem.” Such behavior is not genuine; it is political. Furthermore, it cannot last very long. Some who suppress their anger develop stomach trouble as a result. Although we may be political in this way, eventually the law of the satanic life will cause us to lose our temper. To suppress our temper is to play politics; to lose it is to live according to the law of sin. If we are genuine, real, and frank, whatever we do or say will be a function of one of these laws.
Everything is determined by the law we live by each day. If we live by the human life, the law of the human life will function. However, the human life is weak, and its law is fragile because of the presence of the law of the satanic life, which is much stronger. Hallelujah, we have the strongest law in us, the law of the Spirit of life! We should live not by our human life but by the divine life.
In Romans 8 Paul says that we should walk according to spirit. To walk according to spirit is to live by the divine life. When we live by the divine life, the law of this life, the strongest law, works within us. No law can defeat the law of the divine life. By this law we are freed from every difficulty. Do not be concerned about your problems. As long as you walk according to the spirit and live by the law of the divine life, this law will work for you spontaneously.
We all need to be reminded to push the right button, not the button which causes “the law that” to function. Do not teach me to love my wife, for in my human life I simply cannot do so. Instead, teach me to put my finger on the right button, the law of the Spirit of life. If I do this, I shall love my wife spontaneously. Likewise, do not teach the sisters to submit to their husbands. The more you teach them to do this, the less they will be able to submit. Rather, teach them to press the right button, and they will submit to their husbands automatically.
The right button is in our spirit. The Spirit witnesses with our spirit (8:16), and the button is the Spirit of God Himself. Day by day and hour by hour, we must keep our finger on this button. To do this is to have our mind set on the spirit and to walk according to the spirit. Never take your finger off the button of the Spirit. If you keep your finger on the button, you will be in the spirit, the Spirit will be life to you, and every negative thing will be put to death.
The secret to keeping our finger on the right button is to know that we have a human spirit and that the Spirit of life is in our spirit. We need to turn our mind, our whole being, to the spirit and to set our mind there. Then we shall walk according to the spirit. When we do this, all the negative things are spontaneously put to death, and we enjoy the divine life. As we do this, the desire for good by the human life with its law of good is satisfied, and the requirements of the law of God are fulfilled. Furthermore, the evil law of the satanic life is defeated. All is a matter of law. Do not try to love or to do good. Instead, turn your being to your spirit and keep your finger on the right button, that is, on the Lord Himself, who is everything to us as the Spirit of life. In this way you will enjoy Him, and you will live by the law of the Spirit of life.