Romans 7 and 8 are two chapters in the Bible that are completely different from each other. The focus of chapter seven is altogether different from that of chapter eight; thus, the central points of these two chapters are also different. The central point of chapter seven is that the “I” wants to do good and does not want to do evil. What it speaks of is related to the matter of good and evil, and what it focuses on is whether the “I” does good or evil. This is Romans 7. When we come to chapter eight, it is altogether not a matter of good and evil. In chapter eight there is only spirit and life. Chapter eight does not speak of the “I” doing good. Rather, it says that we should no longer live in the flesh but in the spirit. Chapter eight does not speak of doing good or doing evil. Rather, it is concerned with whether we do things in the flesh or in the spirit.
This shows us that Romans 7 and 8 are absolutely different. In chapter seven it is a matter of good or evil, that is, a matter of what we do. But in chapter eight it is a matter of the flesh or the spirit, that is, a matter of who does it. Chapter seven focuses on what we do—good or evil, whereas chapter eight focuses on who does it—the flesh or the spirit. Do not say that only what is evil is wrong. In God’s eyes even what is good may be wrong. Only what is done by the spirit is right.
For example, suppose there is a sister who, after waking up in the morning, becomes irritated by her child because he does not listen to her. At that time what is the right thing for her to do—to pray or to get angry? Of course, we all would say that she should pray, because it is right to pray and wrong to get angry. However, does the problem end there? Would it be enough for our sister to no longer be angry and to kneel down to pray? Suppose that when she kneels down to pray, she truly thanks and praises the Lord that although she should have been angry, she is not and instead is praying. Most people would say that this sister is very good. I am afraid that even we would testify for her, saying how good she is because she has such a good testimony. She should have been angry, but instead she asked the Lord, “Should I be angry, or should I pray?” In the end she prayed, so we would praise her. However, please remember that this matter does not end there. We have to ask a further question: When she knelt down to pray, was she the one praying, or was it the Lord who was praying? Did she put up with her child by herself and force herself to pray, or was the Lord praying with her? These two situations are completely different and are very serious.
Many times when we kneel down to pray, we are the ones who are praying. In other words, the Lord is not with us in our prayer. When the sister with the disobedient child kneels down to pray in the morning, she may say, “O Lord, You see that this child is very disobedient, and I should have beaten him, but I did not beat him. Rather, I came to pray and tell You this matter.” While she is saying this, however, within her there may be a voice saying, “O Lord, look how disobedient this sister is.” While she is bringing her accusations concerning the child’s disobedience to the Lord, deep within her there may be another voice accusing her, saying, “You are also disobedient.” She may persist, saying, “O Lord, I told him three or four times to obey, but he still did not listen to me.” Then the Lord may say in her, “You are just the same. I have told you to obey three or four times, yet you still do not listen to me.” Hence, this kind of prayer may be the sister’s praying in herself, not the Lord’s putting her on to pray or the Lord’s mingling with her in prayer.
Then what kind of prayer is the Lord’s prayer in us? Many times we are the same as that sister. When we pray, it is often the faculties of our soul—our mind, emotion, and will—that pray. We often pray according to our resolution, thought, emotion, and preference. At these times, however, the Spirit of God, the Lord Himself, will often give us the feeling in our spirit that our children’s disobedience is to remind us that we are also disobedient before the Lord. We may start by praying before the Lord concerning our children, but gradually, we will bring our own situation before Him and pray for ourselves.
Here we see that there are two layers. On the superficial layer we may pray concerning our children. This is the activity of our soul. On the deeper layer, however, we may have a feeling in our spirit that our situation is not good and that we need to pray for ourselves. If we do not care for this feeling in our spirit but merely pray according to the activity of our soul, saying, “O Lord, this child is disobedient,” the Lord within us will not pray with us. Instead, He will condemn and enlighten us inwardly. If we have learned the spiritual lesson, we would cease immediately, turn to our spirit, follow the feeling in our spirit, speak with the Lord, and move with the Lord. We would open our mouth and say, “O Lord, I have not listened to You for a long time. I am a rebellious one. Even though You told me to obey three or four times, I still did not listen to You. Lord, forgive me.” At such a time, are we praying from our soul or from our spirit? We are praying from our spirit. Is it we who are praying or is it the Lord who is praying? It is the Lord putting us on to pray. It is the Lord praying in coordination with us and we praying in coordination with the Lord.
If we do not pray like this, we will pray from the soul according to our preferences, decisions, and ideas. Sometimes we may even pray to a point where we cry, “O Lord, I really do not know how to deal with this child.” The wonderful thing is that it is at this time that we have another feeling deep within us that we truly do not have any way. Therefore, we have to see that there are two layers in our prayer. We may pray on the superficial layer or on the deeper layer. Do not merely ask whether it is right to be angry or to pray. To know this is insufficient. We must ask ourselves further whether it is we who pray or the Lord putting us on to pray and whether it is our soul or our spirit praying.
Hence, in our Christian living we should not merely ask what to do but how to do a certain thing. We must ask who is doing it—the flesh or the spirit? Are we doing it by the soul or by the spirit? Are we doing it, or is the Lord who puts us on doing it? The Christian living is not a living outside of the Lord, that is, a living in which we reject evil and do good by ourselves. This is merely the living of a Gentile or of a good man. The Christian living is a living that is in the Lord and is mingled with the Spirit of the Lord. This kind of living is one that also rejects evil and does good, but in this kind of living we do not do these things by ourselves. Rather, we are mingled with the Lord, and we do these things with the Lord. It is the Lord doing them by putting us on and by being mingled with us. Our living should not be merely a good living but a living that is the mingling of God and man. This is a living that is God mingled with man and man mingled with God, the two being mingled together. This is the Christian living.
Hence, in our Christian living we should not merely ask whether or not it is right to do something. Rather, we should ask who is doing it. Only when we are in the mingled spirit, in which God mingles with man and man mingles with God, and only in such a spirit of living can we have the proper Christian living and service.