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Scripture Reading: Rom. 8:4-6, 13; 12:1-2, 5, 11; 16:1, 5a, 16b, 20
In Romans 8:4 Paul says, “That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” In this verse the word walk means to live, move, and have our being. This word indicates that we should do everything in spirit. This is to have our being and our daily life according to the spirit.
Bible translators realize that it is difficult to determine whether spirit in 8:4, as well as in other verses in Romans 8, refers to the Holy Spirit or our human spirit. Of course, in certain verses, such as 8:9 and 16, the Holy Spirit and the human spirit are clearly designated. In 8:4 spirit refers to our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. Actually, these two spirits have become one. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” We have such a wonderful mingled spirit, our human spirit regenerated by the divine Spirit and indwelt by the divine Spirit. In the New Testament we are charged to live, walk, and have our being according to this mingled spirit.
Recently, I gave a message in Chinese entitled “Walk according to the Spirit.” In that message I pointed out that we need to do everything according to the spirit. If we truly live according to the spirit, we will not lose our temper, argue with our husband or wife, gossip, or murmur. I can testify that when I live according to the spirit, I cannot argue. Whatever we do, we should do according to the spirit. We should dress ourselves according to the spirit and also have our hair cut according to the spirit.
In His wisdom the Lord caused the apostle Paul to tell us that if we walk according to the spirit, the righteous requirement of the law will be fulfilled in us. Instead of hundreds of commandments, Paul gives us a unique commandment — to live, walk, and have our being according to the spirit. Suppose, for example, that we are tempted to lose our temper. Instead of trying to suppress our temper, we should simply live and walk according to the spirit. This means that instead of trying to deal with our temper, we should live according to the spirit. If we walk according to the spirit, the “gopher” of our temper will be dealt with automatically. This means that the problem of our temper will be solved not by our effort but as the result of our living according to the spirit.
By walking according to the spirit, we will keep ourselves under the “shower” of the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. However, if we do not walk according to the spirit, we will move away from the shower of the divine dispensing. The more we walk according to the spirit, the more we remain under the dispensing of the Triune God.
In Romans 8:6 Paul goes on to say, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” We know from experience that our mind is unruly. Within a short period of time, our thoughts can travel around the world. Sometimes this happens while we are sitting in a prayer meeting. As the meeting is going on, in our mind we may travel from place to place and imagine all sorts of things. Therefore, we surely need to set our mind on the spirit.
Praise the Lord that we can set our mind on our regenerated spirit! Our spirit is no longer dead, for it has been enlivened by the Holy Spirit. In 8:10 Paul tells us that our spirit is life. Our regenerated and enlivened spirit is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Now we need to set our mind on this mingled spirit. In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul says, “God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness.” Continually, we need to turn our mind to the spirit and set our mind on the spirit.
I can testify that it is a great protection for us to set our mind on our regenerated spirit. This will also help us to keep ourselves under the shower of the divine dispensing, and it will enable us to be victorious in our daily living. By setting our mind on the spirit, we enjoy the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
We should not take the matters of walking according to the spirit and setting our mind on the spirit merely as doctrine. As points of doctrine, these do not mean very much. We need to put these matters into practice in our daily living.
If we walk according to the spirit and set our mind on the spirit, then spontaneously we will by the Spirit put to death the practices of the body. Concerning this, Paul says, “If you live according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13). If we live, walk, and have our being according to the spirit and set our mind on the spirit, then continually we will by the Spirit put to death all the practices of the body. Then we will be absolutely under the divine dispensing, and we will participate in this rich dispensing and enjoy it. Furthermore, if we walk according to the spirit, set our mind on the spirit, and put to death the activities of the body by the Spirit, we will automatically be in the Body in a practical way.
In chapter 8 of Romans Paul says that our spirit is life, that the mind set on the spirit is life, and that life may be supplied to our mortal bodies (vv. 10, 6, 11). Then in chapter 12 Paul goes on to speak again concerning the spirit, the mind, and the body. First he speaks of the body, then of the mind, and then of the spirit. In 12:1 Paul says, “I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.” Here Paul speaks about the presenting of the body. In verse 2 he goes on to speak concerning the mind: “Do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.” In this verse Paul speaks of the renewing of the mind. In verse 11 he says, “Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.” Therefore, in Romans 12 we have a presented body, a renewed mind, and a burning spirit. By this we can see a link between chapters 8 and 12. In both chapters we have the body, the mind, and the spirit worked upon by the Spirit of life.
If we do not by the Spirit put to death the practices of the body, how could our body ever be presented to the Lord for the Body life? This would be impossible. In order to have our body presented to God for the Body of Christ, we need to put to death the practices of the body. The reason this putting to death is necessary is that our body is occupied by many different kinds of practices. For example, a young brother may stay away from the church meetings for a few weeks. When he returns to the meetings, he may claim that in the past weeks he has been too busy to attend the meetings. Actually, this brother has been busy with certain practices that have kept him away from the meetings. He has had time to do what he wanted to do, but he did not have time to come to the meetings.
Let us use as a very practical illustration the matter of talking on the telephone. When some sisters begin talking on the telephone, they go on and on, talking perhaps for more than an hour. Although they have the time to talk on the telephone, they may tell you that they do not have the time to pray or to come to the church meetings. Therefore, the practice of talking too long on the telephone must be put to death. When we are tempted to talk unnecessarily, by the Spirit we need to put to death that practice of the body. This will save us a great deal of time, and it will also make it possible for our body to be presented to the Lord for His Body.
We have pointed out that if our body is occupied by certain practices, it cannot be presented to the Lord. A young sister may spend much time in front of the mirror dressing herself, but she may say that she does not have time to read the Bible. A brother may spend much time reading a newspaper and yet claim that he does not have time for the church life. I hope that through these illustrations we will see that if we do not put to death the practices of the body, we will not be able to present our body for the church life. Our body must be emancipated from all different kinds of practices.
But how can our body be emancipated? The only way for the body to be emancipated is for us to put to death by the Spirit the practices of the body. Only then will we have time and will our body be presented to the Lord for His Body. Therefore, the body must first be set free from various practices, and then it can be presented to the Lord according to Paul’s word in 12:1.
In both 8:6 and 12:2 Paul speaks concerning the mind. In 12:2 he tells us that we need to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. But if our mind is not set on the spirit, it cannot be renewed. The renewing of the mind results from setting the mind on the spirit. Therefore, the mind set on the spirit in 8:6 becomes the renewed mind in 12:2. Our mind can be renewed only by its being set on the spirit.
Paul’s word concerning the body and the mind in chapters 8 and 12 links these chapters. The same is true about what he says concerning our spirit. In 12:11 he exhorts us to be burning in spirit. But if our spirit has not been made alive, it cannot be burning. Only when life is prevailing in our spirit can we be burning in spirit.
The fact that Paul’s word concerning the body, the mind, and the spirit in chapters 8 and 12 links these chapters indicates that the enjoyment of the divine dispensing in chapter 8 issues in the Body life in chapter 12. This matter is very experiential. If we do not have the adequate experience of what is revealed in chapter 8 and do not enjoy the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity into the three parts of our being, we will not realize the Body of Christ. Rather, the teaching concerning the Body will merely be a doctrine to us, and our talk regarding the Body will be vain. But when we experience and enjoy the divine dispensing in Romans 8, this experience and enjoyment issues in the realization of the Body life in chapter 12. When I enjoy the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, I aspire to be in the Body. The enjoyment of the divine dispensing makes me a living member of the Body of Christ in a practical way.
We know that Paul did not conclude the Epistle to the Romans with chapter 12 but went on until he came to chapter 16. This chapter contains Paul’s greetings. When I was young, I did not care for this chapter of greetings. However, in recent years I have seen that this chapter is not merely a list of greetings; this chapter is on the local church life. In verse 1 Paul mentions the church in Cenchrea. In verse 4 Paul refers to “all the churches of the Gentiles,” and in verse 5, to the church in the house of Prisca and Aquila. Then in verse 16 he says, “All the churches of Christ greet you.” As I considered these verses, I realized that the greetings in this chapter were given in the sphere of the church life. This is a strong indication that if we are serious with the Lord concerning the Christian life, we need to come to the point of having the church life in a practical way. The church life is part of the full gospel revealed in the book of Romans.
In the first two and a half chapters of Romans, we see that we were sinners. But according to the second part of chapter 3, all of chapter 4, and the first part of chapter 5, we have been justified and reconciled to God. Following this we see, in the second part of chapter 5 and in chapters 6 through 8, that in Christ we are being sanctified. We have pointed out that in chapter 8 we enjoy the divine dispensing, the dispensing of the divine life into our tripartite being as our supply. It is by this dispensing that we are sanctified, transformed, and made living members of the Body of Christ in chapter 12. After writing about all this, Paul brings us to the local church life portrayed in chapter 16.
Wherever we may be, we should participate in the church life in our locality. It is here in the local church life that Satan, the devil, will be crushed beneath our feet. Therefore, in 16:20 Paul says, “Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” From experience we know that when we live in the church life, Satan is crushed under our feet, and the grace of the Lord Jesus is with us. Therefore, in the church life we have the crushing of Satan and the enjoyment of grace. All this is included in the gospel of God.
The full salvation of God’s complete gospel includes the church life. Not only does this salvation include justification, sanctification, and the Body in a doctrinal way; it also includes the church life in a practical way. The Body of Christ can be practical to us only through the genuine practice of the local church life. If we are not in a local church, how can we be in the Body of Christ in a practical way? Apart from the church life, the teaching concerning the Body is theory. Unless we are in the church life in a practical way, our talk concerning the Body will be vain.
Here in the church life not only do we have all the experiences described in chapters 1 through 12, but here Satan is crushed under our feet, and we enjoy the grace of the Lord Jesus. Praise the Lord that the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity issues in the genuine Body life practiced in the local churches!
