All these four things contain or convey a certain kind of consciousness. Except for the lowest plant life, every life definitely has a certain consciousness. The higher the life, the richer is its consciousness. The life of the Spirit of life spoken of here is the life of God Himself, which is the highest life; therefore, it is the richest in consciousness. This life within us causes us to be full of spiritual consciousness, enabling us to sense the spirit and the things of the spirit.
Although the law of an unconscious object does not belong to the realm of consciousness, the law of a conscious life does belong to the realm of consciousness. For example, if I hit a brother, he immediately feels pain; if I stretch out my hand toward his eyes, his eyelids immediately blink. He reacts in this way because in his body there is the law of life which compels him to do so. The moment I strike him, he feels pain—this is a law. The moment I stretch out my hand toward him, his eyes blink—this is also a law. Though these are laws, if you ask him what they are, he will say they are a matter of consciousness. This proves that the law of the physical life belongs to the order of consciousness. Since the life of the Spirit of life is the life of God, which is rich in consciousness, the law of the Spirit of life naturally is also full of consciousness.
The peace spoken of here is, of course, the peace within us. The peace within is entirely a matter of consciousness. It is not likely that we could have peace within and yet not feel it. Therefore, the peace spoken of here is also a matter of consciousness.
Moreover, even the death spoken of here is a matter of consciousness. Death causes man to lose his consciousness. When a man dies, he loses his consciousness. Therefore, when a man has no consciousness, it is proof that within him there is the working of death; though he may not have died completely, he is nearly dead.
Furthermore, in spiritual matters, death causes us not only to lose the sense of life but also to have the sense of death. When we set our mind on the flesh, death becomes active in us. On the one hand, it causes us to lose the sense of life within, and on the other hand, it causes us to have the sense of uneasiness, discomfort, depression, and oppression. This kind of uneasy, uncomfortable, depressed, and oppressed feeling is the sense of death and causes us to sense death.
Thus, these four—life, law, peace, and death—all have a consciousness related to them. The consciousness of these things enables us to touch the sense of the spirit and thereby know the spirit. Therefore, we should spend some time to examine the consciousness of these four things.
Let us first look at the sense of life. The life spoken of here is the life of the Spirit of life. Therefore, this life is of the Spirit, from the Spirit, and rests with the Spirit. The Spirit with which this life rests is not only the Spirit of God but also our spirit. This Spirit is the Spirit of God and our spirit mingled as one spirit. In the Old Testament time, the Spirit of God only fell upon men, so that men received the power of God from without. He did not enter into man so that man could receive the life of God from within. Thus, in Old Testament times the Spirit of God was only the Spirit of power; He was not yet the Spirit of life. Not until the time of the New Testament did the Spirit of God enter into man as the Spirit of life so that man received the life of God from within. Today in the New Testament time, the Spirit of God is not only the Spirit of power but also the Spirit of life. He not only descends upon man, causing man to obtain the power of God outwardly, and He not only moves man, convicting man and causing man to confess, repent, and believe in the Lord. He further enters into man so that man may have the life of God inwardly, and He also dwells within man as the Spirit of life. When upon being moved by Him, we repent, believe, and receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior, He then enters into us and puts the life of God in us. At this time He enters into us as the Spirit of life, the Spirit of the life of God. The life of God is in Him; thus, He is the life of God. Therefore, when He enters into us, the life of God enters into us. He enters into us with the life of God as the Spirit of life. When He enters, He enters into our spirit, not into our mind, emotion, or will. He enters into our spirit, puts the life of God in our spirit, and dwells in our spirit. Thus, the Spirit of life is mingled together with our spirit. Now, the Spirit of God together with the life of God (He is the life of God itself) dwells in our spirit, so that the three—He Himself, the life of God, and our spirit—may be mingled as one and never be separated.
We may use an illustration of a glass which originally had plain water within it. We can blend into it some concentrated fruit juice that contains sugar, so that it becomes a glass of sugar-juice-water, a three-in-one drink. The water signifies our spirit, the fruit juice concentrate represents the Spirit of God, and the sugar stands for the life of God. The Spirit of God containing the life of God mingles with our spirit, thus making these three—the Spirit of God, the life of God, and our spirit—a three-in-one spirit of life. This is what Romans 8:2 speaks of.
Thus, the spirit, in which rests the life of the Spirit of life of which we are speaking, includes the Spirit of God and our spirit. It is a spirit which is a mingling of the Spirit of God with our spirit. Bible translators have understood the Spirit mentioned in Romans 8 as the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they have written Spirit with a capital S. Many readers of the Bible have also thought that the Spirit mentioned here refers only to the Holy Spirit. Yet spiritual fact and spiritual experience tell us that the Spirit mentioned here is the mingling of the Holy Spirit with our spirit. In verse 16 of this chapter the apostle sets forth this spiritual fact, which is also our spiritual experience. He says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit.” By speaking in this manner, he clearly tells us that the spirit he mentioned before is the one spirit, which is the mingling of “the Spirit...with our spirit.” To say that this spirit is the Holy Spirit is all right, and to say that it is our spirit is also not wrong. It is like the water in the glass with concentrated fruit juice. You may say that it is fruit juice, and you may also say it is water. This is because the two have become mingled as one. Likewise, the Holy Spirit and our spirit are also mingled as one spirit. Within this one spirit, which is the mingling of the two, there is the life which God bestows on us. Thus, it becomes the spirit of life. Simply speaking, the life of God is in the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God enters into our spirit. Thus, the three are mingled as one and become the spirit of life.
Originally our spirit was merely the spirit of man, and it was dead. Now when the Spirit of God enters, He not only enlivens our spirit but also adds the life of God into our spirit. Now not only is our spirit alive, but it also has the life of God. Moreover, it is not only the spirit; it is the spirit of life. All the consciousness of life in the spirit enables us to know this spirit. When we walk by setting the mind on the spirit, and when our actions and deeds are according to this spirit, the life in this spirit causes us to have the consciousness of this life. Since this life is of God and is therefore fresh and lively, strong with power, bright and holy, real and not empty, the sense of this life makes us sense the presence of God. Thus, we feel fresh and lively, strong with power, bright and holy, real and not empty. When we have such feelings, we know we are setting our mind on the spirit, walking according to the spirit, and living in the spirit. Such feelings are the sense of life in our spirit, or the consciousness of our spirit of life, leading us from within to walk according to the spirit and live by the spirit. When we touch such feelings, we touch the spirit, and when we heed such feelings, we heed the spirit. The spirit itself is relatively difficult for us to sense, but we can easily sense such feelings of life in the spirit. If we follow such feelings closely, we can then know the spirit and live in the spirit.
The life of God in our spirit can be said to be God Himself. Therefore, the sense of this life surely will make us sense God Himself. If we live in the spirit and walk by setting our mind on the spirit, the sense of this life will cause us to feel that we are in touch with God and that God is in us as our life, our power, and our all. Thus, we will be happy, restful, comfortable, and satisfied. When we thus touch God in the inner sense of life, we touch life. Thereby we know we are living in the spirit and setting our mind on the spirit.
Since the spirit, in which rests the life of the spirit of life, is the mingling of God’s Spirit with our spirit, then whatever this sense of life causes us to feel must be the “story” of the Spirit of God in our spirit. The Spirit of God in our spirit reveals Christ to us, imparts God in Christ to us, and causes us to experience Christ and touch God in the spirit. Thus, it causes us to experience Christ—that is, to experience God—as our life. This also means that it causes us to experience life, that is, to experience the life of God in our spirit. When we thus experience this life, it causes us to feel the satisfaction of life, the power of life, the brightness of life, the freshness of life, and the liveliness and transcendence of life. When we have such a sense of life within us, we know we are living in the spirit and touching the spirit.