In the past few messages we have entered into several vital points. The law of the Spirit of life has been installed into us. This law is just the Triune God, who, after being processed and becoming the life-giving Spirit, indwells our spirit. We have such a processed God and such an indwelling God who is now the law of the Spirit of life.
In a recent conference we had three messages telling us how that God is the positive law within us, and Satan is the negative law within us. God is the law of the Spirit of life, and Satan is the law of sin and of death. Two laws have been installed into our being. The negative law came first. Satan as the law of sin and of death was installed into our being first. Then God, after passing through all the processes, became the life-giving Spirit and was installed into our being. In that conference we also pointed out that these two laws are very much related to the two trees in Genesis 2. The law of the Spirit of life is the operation of the tree of life. The law of sin and of death is the operation of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The law of the Spirit of life has been installed into us, and this law is just God Himself. But this is not the “raw” God, but the processed God. It is not the God in Genesis 1, but the God at the end of Matthew 28. Matthew 28:19 reads, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The God into whom we have been baptized is the very God who is now in us as the law of the Spirit of life.
Another vital point that we have covered in the past weeks is this: since God as the processed God who became the indwelling Spirit has been installed into our being, He works within us not by activities but by law. You must realize that this is one of the biggest discoveries, even recoveries, in God’s economy. Since God, the processed God, has been installed into our being, He works within us not by any activity but by law. This makes a big difference. Through all the centuries few Christians have seen that God is working in His chosen and redeemed people not by activity but by law. Nearly all Christians pray that God would do something in them by activity. If they have a bad temper, they pray that the Lord would help them to overcome it.
Let me illustrate once again with the matter of electricity. One day electricity was installed into this building. Since that day if we need any heating or cooling or power to operate certain kinds of appliances, all we need to do is flip the switch fulfilling the law. To kneel down and pray, calling on the power plant or calling upon the mighty God in the heavens, does not work. Regardless of how earnestly you may pray, you are praying in a foolish way. All you need to do is to fulfill the principle of the operation of electricity. The principle of the operation of electricity is a law. There is a law in the installed electricity. You simply need to go to the switch and fulfill the law. Once you fulfill the law, the electricity works. So electricity works not by activity but by law. The power plant serves you not by activity but by law.
By this illustration you can understand that since God has been installed into us, He works in us not by activity but by law. We can all testify that it seems God didn’t answer our prayers concerning our temper and other things. Rather, the more we prayed the worse we became. Many Christians have prayed to overcome the besetting sins. But it seems the more they pray to overcome the besetting sins, the more they get beset and entangled. There is little result in this kind of prayer because this kind of prayer is against the principle of the law.