The spirit of life in us is not only the place where the Spirit of God and the life of God dwell, it is also the place where the new man is. Furthermore, the spirit in us—the spirit mingled with the life of God—is also the new man within us. If in our outward action and behavior we mind the spirit of life within us, then we are living by the spiritual new man within us. In this way our inner man and our outward actions are in agreement, hence, natural and peaceful. We can say that this consciousness of being natural and peaceful is the result produced by the sense of the law of the spirit of life. If we mind the spirit of life within us, we will naturally walk and live according to the law of the spirit of life within us. This will cause us to feel natural within and have the sense of peace. This sense of peace and the sense of life go hand in hand. The sense of life is fresh and lively; the sense of peace is natural and at ease. The sense of life is satisfaction and fullness of vigor; the sense of peace is rest and comfort. If we mind the spirit and walk and live by the spirit, we will not only have the sense of life, feeling fresh, lively, satisfied, and vigorous, but also have the sense of peace, feeling natural, at ease, restful, and comfortable. Such a sense is also the sense of the spirit. Once we have such a sense, we may know that we are living in the spirit. When we follow such a sense, we follow the sense of the spirit, which means that we follow the spirit. Such a sense enables us to know the spirit and recognize the spirit. The more we walk according to the spirit and live in the spirit, the richer and deeper this kind of sense within us will become.
There is a contrast in Romans 8:6. The apostle says that the result of setting the mind on the flesh is death, and the result of setting the mind on the spirit is life and peace. This word reveals that just as the flesh is versus the spirit, so also the result of setting the mind on the flesh, which is death, is opposite to the results of setting the mind on the spirit, which are life and peace. Thus, the apostle tells us here that death is not only the opposite of life but also the opposite of peace. Therefore, the sense of death is not only the opposite of the sense of life but also the opposite of the sense of peace. The sense of life makes us feel fresh, lively, satisfied, and vigorous; the sense of death makes us feel the opposite of these—old, deadened, empty, and powerless. The sense of peace makes us feel natural, at ease, restful, and comfortable. The consciousness of death makes us feel just the opposite of these—unnatural, uneasy, unrestful, and uncomfortable. Thus, whenever we feel inwardly deadened, depressed, empty, dry, weak and powerless, dark and dull, or unrestful, uneasy, uncomfortable, out of harmony, full of conflict, unnatural, sad, and bound, we should know we are not living in the spirit; rather, we are living in the opposite of the spirit, which is the flesh.
The flesh the apostle speaks of here refers not only to the lusts of our flesh but also to our entire old man. All that belongs to our inward new man belongs to the spirit; likewise, all that belongs to our outward old man belongs to the flesh. Whatever is not from the spirit and does not belong to the spirit is from the flesh and belongs to the flesh. The soul differs from the flesh, yet because the soul has already fallen and become captive to the flesh, all that is from the soul or belongs to the soul is also from the flesh and belongs to the flesh. Thus, if we live by the soul, we live by the flesh. Whether we set the mind on the flesh or set the mind on the soul, we are in both cases setting the mind on the flesh. The result of setting the mind on the flesh is death. This sense of death causes us to feel either depressed and empty or unrestful and uneasy. Whenever we have such consciousness, we should know that we are mindful of the flesh and that we are living either in the flesh or in the soul. Such a sense causes us to know the opposite of the spirit, which is the flesh, and to recognize it. Thus, by knowing the opposite of the spirit, we may know the spirit itself.
Whatever we do, regardless of whether we think it is right or wrong, spiritual or unspiritual, if deep within us we feel restless, uneasy, empty, and depressed, it proves that we are walking by the flesh and not living in the spirit. Even in praying and preaching, not to mention doing other things, including things which are not good, if we feel empty and depressed within, dissatisfied or unhappy, then it is proof that we are praying or preaching by the flesh, not in the spirit. Many times, by our mind or by the flesh (because it is not in the spirit), we pray as if we are reciting from a book. The more we pray, the more we feel dry and depressed, without watering and joy. After praying, we only feel empty; we do not feel satisfied. Such prayer by our mind makes our spirit incapable of obtaining the supply of life. Instead, it only touches the sense of death. Although what we prayed may have been quite appropriate, it was not in the spirit. Therefore, we could not touch the watering and joy of life and peace, but sensed only the dryness and depression of death. Many times, our preaching is also like this. When we preach not according to the spirit but by our mind, we feel empty and dry within, and we sense death. We do not feel satisfied or watered, and we do not have the sense of life. If we were in the spirit, and if we spoke by the spirit, we would feel satisfied and restful within, which means we would sense life and peace. Thus, by such a sense we can know whether what we do is in the flesh or in the spirit. Such a sense can cause us to know the flesh, and by knowing the flesh to know the spirit.
Death not only causes us to have such depressed, empty, uneasy, and unhappy feelings but also makes us lose the sense of life. Such feelings of death are warnings to us, urging us to be delivered from the flesh and live in the spirit. If we have such a sense of death, yet we continue to live in the flesh and act and behave by the flesh, after a continued period of time, death can cause our spirit within to lose consciousness and become numb. If our spirit within is numb and unconscious, it is because we have lived by the flesh for such an extended period that our spirit is damaged by death. Thus, we can and we should know how we are treating our spirit and whether or not we are living in the spirit.
All the senses of which we have spoken are those which the spirit of life within us causes us to have. Therefore, we may say that they are the senses of the spirit. If we want to know the spirit directly, it is somewhat difficult, but it is comparatively easy to know the spirit itself by such senses of the spirit. We cannot quite apprehend directly what the spirit actually is, but by the sense of the spirit, it is not difficult for us to know it. If we walk and live by closely following the sense of the spirit, then we are following the spirit and setting our mind on the spirit. If we follow the naturalness of the law of the Spirit of life, take care of the sense of life and peace, heed the warning given to us by the sense of death, and live in these senses, then we are living in the spirit. These senses are from the spirit; therefore, they can cause us to touch the spirit and thereby know the spirit.