Verse 14 may be considered as a conclusion of the preceding thirteen verses. So verse 14 begins with the little word “for” to indicate that something has preceded it. Of the foregoing verses, the most crucial and the most basic is verse 2. These three elements—the law, the Spirit, and the life—are the very constituents that constitute the leading of the Spirit. In those thirteen verses, the first few verses talk about the law and the function of the law. In previous messages concerning the law, we have pointed out that the law is a Person, that is, the Triune God. The law is the Triune God, who after being processed, has become the indwelling Spirit as the law. The law of the Spirit of life is just the processed Triune God as the indwelling Spirit working in us. The law indicates the function, the working principle. This is the first item of the constitution or the composition of the leading of the Spirit.
From verse 6 through verse 11 life is defined. Verse 6 says that to set your mind on the spirit is life. Verse 10 says that when Christ is in you the spirit is life. Then verse 11 says that the Spirit will give life to your mortal body. This means that life gets into your spirit, into your mind or soul, and into your body. So the second section of the foregoing verses defines the matter of life.
In the third section the definition is mainly concerning the Spirit. So there is the definition of the law, the definition of the life, the definition of the Spirit, and then verse 14 as a conclusion. This indicates that these three, the law, the Spirit, and the life, are the constituents or the composition of the leading of the Spirit.
In the past few messages I said that if you add the residing, the life giving, and the putting to death together you have the leading. These three things added together equal the leading. This is right, but that does not mean the leading of the Spirit is composed of these matters. It means that the leading is realized in this way. Actually, the residing, the life giving, and the putting to death are the realization of the leading. How do you realize the leading of the Spirit within you? By the residing of the indwelling God, by the life giving of such a God, and by your putting to death. In other words the leading is carried out by God’s residing, God’s life giving, and our putting to death. But that doesn’t touch the nature, the composition, of the leading of the Spirit.
What is the very essence, the very element, of the leading? Substantially speaking, essentially speaking, the leading is composed with these three elements: the law, the Spirit, and the life.
Let us illustrate once again with a dog and a cat. A dog lives a dog’s life, and a cat lives a cat’s life. Both of them have a kind of leading within them composed of the dog life and the cat life. Life refers to some substance with a nature. The dog life has the dog substance with its nature, and the cat life has the cat substance with its nature. The human life has the human substance with a human nature. Even with a human life there is a difference; there is the male life, and there is the female life. The male life has its characteristics, and the female life has its characteristics. These characteristics are mainly the nature and the substance.
What then is the law? The law is the automatic function of the life. It is the working principle of the life. A dog life just works that way. There is a law, an automatic regulation and direction. There is an automatic control working in a dog or in a cat or even in a human being. Every dog is led by its life and its law of life. Every cat is led by its life and its law of life. And every human being is led by the law of the human life. More particularly every human female is led by the female human life with its law. Every human male is led by the human male life with its law. It is hard for a man to live like a lady. He has to perform. When I speak, I speak according to my leading, composed with my male life. When my wife sings or talks, she has her leading composed of her female life. These are natural leadings of natural living creatures including dogs, cats, and human beings.