Second, let us look at the three persons and the three laws in the universe. The first person is God, who has become the first law, the law of the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2a). The second person is Satan, who has become the second law, the law of evil (Rom. 7:21, 23, 25b; 8:2b). The third person is man, who has become the third law, the law of good (Rom. 7:23b). Today, all three laws are in the believers. God's law of the Spirit of life is in our spirit. Satan's law of evil is in our flesh, and man's law of good is in our soul. The evil law of Satan overcomes the good law of man, taking man captive; but God's law of the Spirit of life overcomes the evil law of Satan, releasing man (Rom. 7:23; 8:2). The processed Triune God who is living in our spirit as the law of the Spirit of life functions mainly in freeing us from all things and in delivering us from Satan, who is the law of sin and of death in our fallen nature.
The third point is Christ as life and the Spirit of life as the law. When Christ becomes our life, at the same time, the Spirit of life becomes the law within us. Christ as life is the element in the Body of Christ—what the Body of Christ is. The Spirit of life as the law is the capacity of the Body of Christ. It is a natural power. A law is a capacity and is a natural power. With every life there is its nature, and within its nature there is the capacity. This capacity is the natural power of its nature, which is the law of its life. The peach tree grows peaches because in the peach tree there is a nature, and this nature has an innate ability, which produces a capacity. It is the law of the life of the peach tree, and it brings forth peaches. In the same way in the Body of Christ, Christ as life is the element of this Body, and the Spirit of life as the law is the capacity of this Body. All these have their source in God the Father.
Hence, we can say that God the Father is the source of life in the Body of Christ. This results in God the Son being the life element of the Body of Christ, and as the element of the Body of Christ, God the Son brings in God the Spirit as the capacity of the Body of Christ. First, there is the source; then, there is the element; and finally, there is the capacity. The source is God the Father, the element is God the Son, and the capacity is God the Spirit. Actually, the three are just one. Today, in our living and service, apart from this capacity, we can do nothing and can accomplish nothing. This is the problem with Christianity today. Few realize this fact. By the Lord's mercy, it is a very great thing for us to see this revelation. As Christians, the whole key to our living and service in the Body of Christ depends on this capacity of the law of the Spirit of life.
We all have to see clearly that the Lord is in us today as the law of the Spirit of life. Hence, strictly speaking, we do not pray for the Lord to help us. Rather, we have to go along with His demand as the law within us. This is like an apple tree. For it to grow there is the need for watering and fertilizing. But it takes time for the fruit to grow. This is a law of life. There is a certain law to fruit-bearing. One must follow this law before the fruit will grow. It is the same way in our living and our service. We must go along with this capacity of the law of the Spirit of life before we can have normal growth and fruit bearing.