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Scripture Reading: Rom. 7:15-23; 8:1-2
In this chapter we come to Romans 7 and 8 to see a matter that is both basic and important to our spiritual life — four laws and three lives.
For what I work out, I do not acknowledge; for what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do. But if what I do not will, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. Now then it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not. For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice. But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. (7:15-23)
There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death. (8:1-2)
Romans 7:17 and 20 speak of the “sin that dwells” in us. Sin, here, is very particular. This sin is not something dead. Rather, it is something that actively dwells. Only something living can dwell. Hence, sin here is something that is living. Verse 18 says that “in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells.” Here, me does not mean the entire tripartite being; it means only the flesh.
In verse 22 we find the expression the law of God. Paul writes that he delighted in this law according to the inner man. In the next verse he speaks of a “different law,” which was in the members of his body. Whereas the law of God is outside of us, this “different law” is within our members. Paul identifies this “different law” as “the law of sin which is in my members” (v. 23). This law is not a good law but an evil law. He writes that the law of sin was warring against the law of his mind. In this phrase he introduces yet another law — the law of our mind. The mind is the most important part of the soul. This third law is therefore in our soul. The law of sin in the members of the body fights against and defeats the law in our mind and brings us into captivity. Then in Romans 8 we see a fourth and final law — the law of the Spirit of life, or the law of life. This law frees us in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.
After reading this passage, it should be clear to us that four laws are related to us — the law of God, the law of sin, the law of good, and the law of life. The first is the law of God, which is outside of us and is objective to us. The other three laws are within us and are subjective to us. We as human beings have three parts — body, soul, and spirit. Within each part of our being there is a particular law. In the body there is the law of sin, in the mind (the leading part of the soul) there is the law of good, and in our spirit there is the law of life. The laws that are in our body and soul (the law of sin and the law of good respectively) always war against one another. When we do not try to do anything, the law in the members of our body does not operate. In other words, when the law of our mind “sleeps,” the law in our members also “sleeps.” However, when the law in the mind tries to obey the law of God and do good, the law in the body rises up to fight against and defeat that law, bring us into captivity, and make us do what we do not want to do. The law in our mind may say, “I want to do something good.” But as soon as we say that, the law of sin in our members may reply, “You say that you are going to do something good, but I do not agree. I will fight against and defeat you, for I am a stronger and more powerful law than you are.” The law of sin in the body inevitably defeats the law in our mind that is trying to do good. Once it has defeated the law of good, the law of sin always brings us into captivity and makes us do what we hate doing. Yet we cannot help it; we do the things that we do not want to do because we have been captured by the law of sin in the members of the body.
Besides these three laws, there is a fourth law — the law of life. Because this law is of the Spirit of life and the Spirit of life is in our spirit, the law of the Spirit of life is in our spirit. This law is the strongest and most powerful law. As such, this law can free us from the law of sin and of death. Whereas the law of good in our mind is always defeated by the law of sin in our members, the law of life in our spirit always overcomes the law of sin and frees us from it.
We must remember these four laws and understand how they are related to us. The first law is the law of God, and it is outside of us. The other three laws are in the three parts of our being respectively: the law of sin in the members of our body, the law of good in our mind, and the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit. As men created by God, we know something about the law of God. Because we know the law of God, we make up our mind to keep that law. Our deciding to do the law of God is actually the operation of the law of good in our mind. When, however, the law of good in our mind tries to do good and keep the law of God, a stronger law, the law of sin in the members of our sinful body, the flesh, rises up. Because the law of sin in our flesh is stronger than the law of good in our mind, the latter is always defeated by the former. Since that is the case, we have become captives to sin. However, there is deliverance! This deliverance comes through the fourth law — the law of life. This fourth law, which is in our spirit, is the strongest and most powerful law — stronger even than the law of sin in our members. It subdues the law of sin and sets us free from it. When it does, we are delivered from captivity and gain the victory.
Now we must go on to consider the three lives. As with the four laws, each of these three lives is related to us. God created us to be human beings. First, because we are humans, we have the human life, which is the created life. This is on our side. On God’s side, He has the uncreated, eternal, divine life. Because we have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God, we now have the divine, eternal life. The third life is that of the devil. This life is also very much related to us, for through the fall, the devil himself has become related to us. We cannot say that because we are creatures of God, we do not have anything to do with the life of the devil. On the contrary, we must admit that because of the fall, the life of Satan is related to us.
Because we are regenerated believers, three tremendous things have happened to us. First, we have been created. Second, we have fallen. Third, we have been regenerated. Because these three things have happened to us, there are three lives in us. When we were created by God, we received the created life, the human life. Then when we fell, we received the life of the devil. Whether we realize this or not, it is a fact. When we partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, something of Satan came into our being; it was not Adam alone who ate of that tree — we are included in Adam (Rom. 5:12; cf. Heb. 7:9-10). When Adam ate of that tree, he not only committed an act of sin; he also received the life of Satan into his being. We can see this in a simple illustration. Let us say that there is a bottle of poison, which a mother warns her child not to touch. One day when the mother goes out, the little child takes the bottle and drinks the poison. In doing so, he disobeys his mother’s command. However, disobedience is a small concern compared to a much greater problem that has arisen — the deadly poison is now inside the child. When the mother discovers that her child has drunk the poison, she is concerned not mainly with his disobedience but with getting the poison out of him. On the day that Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he did not merely do something that was contrary to God’s command; something of Satan came into his being. From that day onward there has been something evil in our flesh. First John 3:10 says that we are “children of the devil.” In the very same way that we are the children of Adam because we have Adam’s life, the human life, we are the children of the devil because we have Satan’s life. Not only have we been created and not only have we fallen, however; we have also been regenerated. Praise the Lord that when we received the Lord Jesus as our life, the Holy Spirit came into our spirit, bringing the divine life into us! At that point, we became the children of God possessing the life of God (5:12; John 1:12-13).
We must realize that as created, fallen, and regenerated men, we have three fathers. Our first father is the first man, Adam. Our second father is the devil, Satan. Our third father is God the Father. The Lord Jesus told the Pharisees, who represent us, that they were the children of their father, the devil (8:44). This verse clearly tells us that Satan is our evil father. But praise the Lord, we have been regenerated by God! We have become His children, and He has become our Father (20:17; 1 John 3:1; 5:18). Our being the children of Satan is a thing of the past. We are now the children of God. We must realize that these three lives — the human life, the satanic life, and the divine life — are all related to us.
We must see the principle that with every kind of life there is a corresponding law. We may illustrate this with the example of a bird. Inherent in the bird life is the law of flight. So long as a bird is a bird, it will naturally fly. Although we can confine a bird to a cage and thereby keep it from flying, the moment we set the bird free, it will fly. That birds fly is a law of the bird life. Similarly, the law of the fish life says that in order for a fish to live, it must remain in the water. Because the bird life and the fish life have certain laws, if we were to put a bird under water or take a fish out of the water, both would die. Even the vegetable life has a law. Hence, we can see that with every kind of life there is certain kind of law. This is also true related to us. With the human life there is a law, with the satanic life there is a law, and with the divine life there is a law. The law of the created human life, since that life is good, is the law of good. This law of good is in our soul. The law of the satanic life, since that life is evil, is the law of sin. This law of sin is in the members of the body. The law of the Spirit of life is the life of God, and it is in our spirit.
Let us consider the life of Satan and the law of sin in greater detail. When Adam took the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he took something of that tree into his body. From that moment, something was added into the body, causing it to become flesh. We must realize that there is a difference between the body and the flesh. The body was the original creation of God (Gen. 2:7a), whereas the flesh is the body with Satan added into it (Rom. 8:3; 6:6). When Satan entered man’s body with his satanic life, man’s body became sinful. Because we have the life of Satan, we have the law of sin in our body. Romans 6:6 speaks of “the body of sin.” Our body is called the body of sin because sin dwells in the body. Hence, our body is the flesh. Romans 8:3 identifies the body of sin, the flesh, with the term the flesh of sin. The body of sin and the flesh of sin both denote the same thing.
This body of sin always works through the soul. When the soul is living, active, and in motion, the body of sin works. When, however, the soulish life is put to death, the body of sin is made “jobless,” for there is nothing left for it to do. This is essentially what Paul says in Romans 6:6. When our old man, the life of which is the soul-life, is crucified, the body of sin is annulled. Hence, when the soul-life is killed, there is nothing for the body of sin to do. Sin is not in the soul; it is in the body. But the body of sin works through the soul. If therefore the soul-life is dead, the body of sin has no way to operate. The more living and active our soul-life is, the more actively the body of sin will operate.
Let us use an illustration. Since people use their body when they gamble, only when their soul-life is killed would their gambling bodies cease gambling. If those gamblers were stripped of their soul-life, the sinful members of their bodies would no longer be able to gamble. Those members would no longer have the soul-life as their “employer” and would therefore be “jobless.” Romans 6:7 says, “He who has died is justified from sin.” Some translations render the word justified as “freed.” The gamblers’ bodies would never be able to be freed from gambling until their soul-life, the life of the old man, had been put to death. Only once their soul-life had been put to death would their gambling body, their body of sin, be jobless.
We all desire to be delivered from the law of sin but may not know how to experience this deliverance. The law of God is outside of us and is objective. Everyone who has been stirred up by the Holy Spirit has the intention to live and act according to the law of God. However, in dealing with the law of sin, if we mind the law of God and try to use the law of good in our mind to overcome the law of sin, we will experience much trouble. Instead of actually doing good, we will only be able to try to do good and will inevitably fail. In order to be delivered from the law of sin, we must forget about the law of God and give up the law of good in our mind. All we must do is simply pay attention to the law of the Spirit of life and go along with it. As long as we continue to contact the law of life, remain in fellowship with the Lord, and stay in His presence, this law will operate within us. This law is the most powerful of the three laws that are within us. This law releases us and sets us free from the law of sin.
The law of good in our mind can be likened to a broken-down automobile. If we drive such a car, we will experience much trouble and encounter many problems. The law of the Spirit of life in our spirit, on the other hand, is like a jetliner. If a jetliner is available for our transportation, there is no reason for us to depend on the broken-down car. The law of the Spirit of life is powerful. Rather than focusing on the law of God or struggling to keep the law of good that is in our mind, we should simply remain in fellowship with God and go along with the law of the Spirit of life within. If we do this, we will be transcendent over the law of sin and will at last gain the victory. This is the simple way to victory.
We can illustrate these four laws in our experience in the following way. One item of the law is that we must love our brother (1 John 4:21; John 13:34). Let us say that two brothers meet each other. The first brother knows that according to the law of God he should love the other brother. Within him there is the law of good, which corresponds to the law of God outside of him. According to this inner law, he tries to do good, please God, and keep God’s commandments. Therefore, when this brother sees the second brother, the law of good within him responds to the law of God outside of him, and he tells the Lord that he will love his brother. It is at that very moment that he will experience the law of sin rising up within him to fight against his keeping the law of God. As a result, he will be unable to love the brother. Inevitably, the law of sin will capture this brother. Although he intends to love his brother and keep the commandment of God, the result of his intention is inevitable defeat and capture by the law of sin. Eventually, he may do something evil to his brother even though it is not only against God’s law but also against his own intention, desire, and the law of good within him. I believe that we have had similar experiences.
Implied in Paul’s thought in Romans 7 and 8 is the thought that we should forget about the law of God, give up on the law of good within ourselves, and simply remain in fellowship with the Lord, for only our fellowship and contact with Him in our spirit will allow the strongest law, the law of life, to operate. When we follow the law of the Spirit of life and align ourselves with the divine life, we will love our neighbors even without intending to do so. Our love for them will be the result of the divine life being lived out through us. In other words, the law of life within our spirit will strengthen and energize us to love others.
Let us consider another illustration. There was once a man who was very proud. One day he came to a preacher to talk about his problem with pride. The preacher, who knew about the law of God and the law of good but nothing about the law of the Spirit of life, advised the man in this way: “Try your best to be humble. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” This bit of advice scared the proud man because within him the law of good had already been operating as he attempted to be humble. Nevertheless, he took the preacher’s advice and prayed to the Lord, “Lord, I wish to be humble. Help me to be humble.” The result of his prayer should be clear to all of us. The more we pray in such a way, the more proud we will be. Despite our prayers we cannot help but be proud. As a result of our proud thoughts we may be full of regret and tell the Lord, “O Lord, I am very evil. No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot be humble.” The apostle Paul has solved this problem for us. He tells us to simply keep in fellowship with God so that the law of the Spirit of life can operate. We need to forget about the law of God, give up on the law of doing good, and realize the fact that the divine life is within us. God is so near and dear to us. We must simply keep in contact with Him as the living and powerful law of the Spirit of life within us. Once we get in line with this law, we will be full of rest and satisfaction and will be humble automatically and unconsciously. Even if people would admire us for our humility, we would not be aware of the fact that we are humble. Our humility will not be an act; it will be the spontaneous life of Christ being lived out through us by the energizing of the law of life. Such a living corresponds absolutely with the law of God and fulfills the requirement of the law of God perfectly (8:4). If we follow the Holy Spirit, we will be in line with the law of life, and we will naturally and automatically fulfill the requirements of the law of God.
I ask you all to practice this. Forget about the law of God, and give up the law of good. Instead, always keep in contact with the Lord, and go along with the law of the Spirit of life that is in your spirit. Then you will have a daily living that perfectly corresponds to the law of God and absolutely fulfills all its requirements.
