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Three lives and four laws are the foundation of the spiritual experience of Christians. The three lives are the life of man, the life of Satan, and the life of God. Now we need to consider the matter of the four laws. What are the four laws? Where are they recorded in the Bible? The four laws are recorded in Romans 7 and 8. These two chapters, which specifically speak of the matter of law, refer to four different laws: the law of God, the law of good in the mind, the law of sin in our members, and the law of the Spirit of life.
The law of God (7:22, 25), referring to the law in the Old Testament, is God’s requirement on us. The law of good in the mind (v. 23) gives us a desire to do good. “The law of sin which is in my members” (v. 23) causes us to commit sins. Finally, the law of the Spirit of life (8:2) enables us to live in the life of God. Of these four laws, one is outside of us — the law of God. The other three are inside of us — the law of good in our mind, the law of sin in our members, and the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit.
The law of God, written on stone tablets, was given by God to men through Moses in the Old Testament. The other three laws are derived from the three lives that we have spoken of earlier. We know that with every life there is a law. Since we have three different lives within us, we have three laws corresponding to these three different lives.
The law of good in the mind is derived from the good created life, which was obtained not at the time of our salvation but at the time of our physical birth. It is a natural endowment in God’s creation, not a gift in God’s salvation. It was created in God’s creation, not given in God’s salvation. It is not weighty enough simply to say that we have the law of good in our mind through birth. We need to say that it is a natural endowment in God’s creation. The law of good in the mind was given to us when God created us. Hence, it is a natural endowment in God’s creation, not a gift in God’s salvation.
When God created us, He gave us a life that is good. Even though this good life was defiled by sin, it did not lose its good elements and become evil. If it had become evil, then Chinese sages and philosophers like Confucius and Wang Yang-ming would not have been able to discover the so-called “bright virtues,” “innate consciousness,” and “innate ability” in man. Based on Romans 7:18, which says, “In me...nothing good dwells,” many Christians, both in the East and the West, conclude that absolutely nothing good dwells in us. When I was young, I was affected by this teaching, thinking that nothing good dwelt in me. However, deep in my being, I did not agree with this teaching, because even though there was evil in me before I was saved, I was not without any goodness.
Therefore, I spent much time to study the book of Romans. I discovered that when Paul says, “In me...nothing good dwells,” he also adds, “that is, in my flesh.” This indicates a particular realm. Thus, in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells means that nothing good dwells in our fallen flesh; it does not mean that nothing good dwells in our entire being. In fact, after verse 18 we can still see that there is an element of goodness in our mind (vv. 19, 21-22).
Nothing good dwells in our flesh, but in our soul there is still an element of goodness. Since we have the good life in our soul, we have the law of good in our soul. With every life there is a law, and the law of a particular life always corresponds with the nature of the life. Since the nature of our good life is good, the function and nature of its law are also good; hence, this law is the law of good. Although our good life has been damaged and defiled because of the fall, it cannot be damaged and defiled to the point of obliteration. For example, a glass may be smashed, but the broken pieces are still glass. Sometimes we cannot do the good that we desire, because even though we have the good life, this life has been damaged and made powerless. Our willingness to do good proves that we have the element of goodness in our being; our inability to do good proves that the element of goodness in our being has been damaged.
In the light of God we can see that the good we live according to the life of God is absolutely different from the good in our created life. However, Christians today mix up the two. Some people say that before we were saved, nothing good dwelt in us, but since we have been saved, the good that we try to do is from God, from the life of God. This is truly dangerous. This will cause us to focus on the goodness in our natural life as the intrinsic content of our spiritual life and to regard the small amount of good that we can do in ourselves as goodness that comes from the life of God.
We must point out to people that before we were saved, we had a life of good. Although this life has been defiled and damaged, its good element still exists. Very often, we desire and endeavor to do good, yet we cannot work it out. This is because the power of our life has been damaged and made powerless. Not only this, but before we were saved, we desired to honor our parents, help others, show mercy toward others, and perfect others, but our honoring of our parents, our help, our mercy, and our love contained pride and impurities; they were not pure.
Nevertheless, in fallen man the good from creation is present. If we did not have any element of good before we were saved, we would all be like poisonous snakes and fierce beasts. Before we were saved, there was truly an element of goodness in us. However, this goodness was not clean and pure; rather, it was filthy inwardly. It is only after we are saved that we can genuinely pursue the growth of life and live in fellowship. Through this we can learn to reject the good element in us. The life that we live after we are saved should be absolutely out of God, not out of ourselves. We should reject both evil and goodness because neither is out of the spirit or of God.
Some saints are humble by nature. Although this natural humility is not fake, it must be rejected just as hatred must be rejected. We need to condemn and abhor our humility, just as we condemn and abhor our pride. Some saints are forbearing even before they are saved. After they are saved, they become “forbearing” Christians. In the past they applied their forbearance to their social life; now they apply their forbearance to their coordination and service. When they serve, they never argue with the brothers and sisters.
Very often, we simply apply spiritual terms to the goodness of our natural life and regard it as being spiritual. This can be compared to putting a label saying Made in the U.S.A. on Japanese products and considering them American products. Christians recognize the “label” but not the “product.” Hence, we are not able to discern between the goodness that comes out of our natural life from that of the life of God. When I was first saved, I was fervent in preaching the gospel and bringing people to believe in Jesus. One day I preached the gospel to an elderly friend of mine. He said, “Do not ask me to believe in Jesus. I have a bad temper. If I believe in Jesus, I will put your church to shame. If another person who is gentle in his temperament and proper in his character becomes a Christian, he will bring glory to the church.” Many saints “bring glory to the church” because they are good by nature. They bring their natural goodness to the church. They not only treasure but also continue to develop their natural goodness. Little do they realize that this is merely “a label of spirituality,” not genuine spirituality. We need to be clear about what is of the natural life and what is of the spiritual life.
Before we are saved, we have the element of goodness within us. This is the reason Chinese sages and philosophers were able to discover “bright virtues,” “innate consciousness,” and “innate ability.” Although the natural goodness in man has been damaged, it can never be annulled. Nevertheless, we must admit that nothing good dwells in our flesh. Our flesh is the body that has been transmuted by the addition of the life of Satan. God created our body, and the flesh is the body created by God that has the added element of Satan’s life. The body has been transmuted into the flesh, and lust dwells in it.
The law of sin in the members is derived from the evil and sinful life of Satan. When the life of Satan entered into us, it brought in a law also. The nature of the life of Satan is evil and sinful. When this life entered into us, strictly speaking, it dwelt in our body, in each of our members, that is, in every part of our body, and it manifested its functions and capabilities. Hence, this law is called the law of sin in the members.
The law of the Spirit of life is derived from the life of God. Because the nature of the life of God that enters into our spirit is life, the nature and functions of its law are also life. Hence, it is called the law of the Spirit of life. This law is of the Spirit of God, and it is also in our spirit.
The law of God is written on the tablets of stone; hence, it is outside of us. The law of good is in our mind, that is, in our soul. The law of sin is in our members, that is, in our body. The law of the Spirit of life is in our spirit.
Human beings have three parts — spirit, soul, and body. Each part is related to a particular life. The created life of man is in the soul, the fallen life of Satan is in the body, and the life of God is in the spirit of every believer. Since the three parts — spirit, soul, and body — each have their own life, they also have their own law. In our spirit we have the law of the Spirit of life from God, in our mind we have the law of good given through God’s creation, and in our body we have the law of sin from Satan. Our being is not simple. We have three persons — God, man, and Satan — with three lives — the life of God, the life of man, and the life of Satan — in our three parts — spirit, soul, and body — with three natures — life, good, and evil.
Today God, man, and Satan with their three lives dwell in our spirit, soul, and body respectively. Hence, we have the life of God, the life of man, and the life of Satan in us. Each of these lives has its own law: the law of God’s life, the law of man’s life, and the law of Satan’s life. The law of God’s life enables man to live out the divine life, the law of man’s life prompts man to do good, and the law of Satan’s life causes man to sin. The natures of the three laws reflect the natures of the three lives. The nature of God’s life is life, the nature of man’s life is good, and the nature of Satan’s life is evil. These four groups of three — three parts of man, three persons, three lives, and three laws — require our proper understanding.
The first law is the law of God; its nature is holy, righteous, and good (Rom. 7:12). The second law is the law of good; its nature is good, and it matches the nature of the law of God outside of us. The third law is the law of sin in the members; its nature is evil, and it is in opposition to the law of God and incompatible with the law of good in our mind (v. 23). The fourth law is the law of the Spirit of life; its nature is life (8:2).
Within fallen human beings there are two contradictory laws. One is derived from the created life of good; this is the law of good in our mind. The other is derived from the fallen, evil life of Satan; this is the law of sin that operates in the members of our body, causing us to commit sins. These two laws war against each other. This is what the Chinese call “the war between reason and lust.” Reason is the law of good in the mind, and lust is the law of sin in the members. In an unbeliever there is a war between reason and lust. Reason is related to the intellect, the mind, and lust is related to the flesh. In other words, there is a war between our soul and our flesh.
After smoking opium, every addict always regrets his actions. He will often say to himself, “I am truly a wretched man! Smoking opium ruins my body, my family, and my future. Why am I like this?” With his intellect thus awakened, he will determine in his mind to quit smoking opium. This is the law of good operating in his mind. However, after a period of time the craving for opium will stir up his body. Since he cannot suppress it, a war breaks out, and he will be taken captive and smoke opium again. The same pattern can be seen in the matter of losing one’s temper. After a person loses his temper, he will have regrets and make up his mind not to lose his temper again. This is the operation of the law of good in his mind. However, when he is offended at a later time because of a certain matter, his flesh will be stirred up, especially if others are speaking negatively of him. Eventually, his temper will explode. This shows that there is a constant warring between the law of good in our mind and the law of sin in our members.
These two laws in us are constantly warring against each other, but the law of sin always overcomes the law of good, causing us not to do the good that we desire but rather to do the evil that we hate (7:18-23). But thank the Lord that there is still another law, which is the law of the Spirit of life in us (8:2). This law is derived from the life of God, that is, from the uncreated, divine life of God. Because this life is the strongest life, the power of this law is also the strongest. This law not only keeps us from obeying the law of sin, but it also enables us to obey its law and live out God.
The strength of a law is according to the strength of its life. A strong life has a strong law; a weak life has a weak law. Thus, the three different laws in us are different in strength. The life of man is the weakest, the life of Satan is stronger, and the life of God is the strongest. The law of good derived from the life of man is the weakest, the law of sin derived from the life of Satan is stronger, and the law of the Spirit of life derived from the life of God is the strongest. Hence, every time the law of good wars against the law of sin, the law of good is always defeated. However, when the life of God comes in, the law of the Spirit of life is able to overcome the law of sin and of death.
Romans 8:2 says that if we live by the law of the Spirit of life, we can be freed from the law of sin and of death; that is, we can overcome the law of sin and of death. In the garden of Eden, Adam had only the life of man but not the life of Satan or the life of God. One day, however, Adam took the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and fell. In the fall Adam did not simply make a mistake; rather, he allowed the life of Satan to come into him. Thus, today we not only have the law of good that comes from the life of man but also the law of sin that comes from the life of Satan. Outside of us the written law of God demands that we honor our parents and love others as our self, and the law of good echoes an Amen within us. However, the law of sin in our members rises up to oppose the law of good in our mind and causes us to fail continually. Eventually, with a sense of condemnation, we cry out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (7:24).
This is the story in Romans 7 and 8. Whenever the law of God demands, the law of good in us echoes its approval, but at the same time, the law of sin interferes. Those who are not saved can never keep or fulfill the law of God because they do not have the law of the Spirit of life. But Paul could say, “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (7:25).
When the life of God comes in, it comes with a higher and stronger law, that is, the law of the Spirit of life. This law is stronger than the law of good in man and also the law of sin in Satan. This law enables us to transcend and break through the law of sin, and it sets us free and delivers us from the law of sin and of death. The Spirit of God with the life of God is a powerful life in man, enabling man to do good. It not only fulfills the outward requirement of the law but even transcends the requirement of the law.
When we see this, our whole being will be subdued, and we will never again rely on the law of good. When we walk according to the Spirit, the Spirit will set us free and save us. We do not need to will to do good (v. 18). As long as we walk according to the Spirit, we will be freed from the law of sin and of death (8:2). We do not need to expend any energy in this regard; rather, the life of God spontaneously will enable us to soar, to transcend, to overcome, and to break through the bondage of the law of sin and of death. This indeed is a salvation that is living, powerful, and of life; it is a salvation that we can experience subjectively. But regrettably, many children of God do not know this law. They still endeavor to do good and improve themselves; they think that through more prayer they can become stronger so that they can do good. May the Lord have mercy on us to show us the wonderful way of deliverance that He has given to us.
Man’s way of improving his behavior is by developing the good life he received through creation, but God’s way of deliverance is by His Spirit and life. Throughout the centuries, in the East and in the West, man has attempted to improve his behavior by developing the element of good in man and by dealing with the lusts in the flesh of man. All religions and forms of moral cultivation are focused on these two aspects. For example, Hinduism practices the severe treatment of the human body. Sometimes Hindus walk on hot iron so that they can forget their lusts through suffering; others sit on spiked chairs when their lusts are aroused in order to deal with their lusts through suffering. They ill-treat their body in order to deal with their lusts. They also use various methods to cultivate their conscience, to develop their “bright virtues.” On the one hand, they cultivate the element of goodness in their soul, and on the other hand, they try to restrain the lusts in their flesh. These are the two efforts in religious and moral cultivation; these are also the methods used by man for the improvement of behavior.
The way of God’s salvation is different. God saves us by enlivening our deadened spirit with His Spirit and His life. When our spirit is enlivened, He spreads from our innermost being to renew our soul; eventually, when the Lord comes again, He will renew our body, working His element into us from the inside out. This is different from the behavioral improvement of man. The most that man’s behavioral improvement can attain is a high level of goodness that has no element of God. God’s salvation is not to make us good men but to make us God-men who live out God — God mingles Himself with us and lives out from us. This is the goal of God’s salvation. God’s salvation does not take goodness as the goal; rather, it takes God Himself as the goal. God’s salvation is not to work goodness into man but to work God Himself into man.
Since God’s salvation is for us to live Him out, we must live in Him. Saying that we must live in God seems vague. Precisely speaking, God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit, that is, they must contact Him in spirit (John 4:24). We use our mouth to eat food and our eyes to see colors; we must use our spirit to worship and contact God. To live in God, man must live in the spirit. Specifically, living in the spirit is to walk according to the law of the Spirit of life; to walk according to the law of the Spirit of life is to follow the sense of life within.
First, we need to live in God; second, we need to live in the Spirit; third, we need to follow the law of the Spirit of life; and fourth, we need to follow the sense of life. Sense is related to what we can touch and feel. God is Spirit. In the Spirit is the law of life, and in the law of life is the sense of life. If we desire to live in God, we must live in the Spirit. If we desire to live in the Spirit, we must live in the law of the Spirit of life. If we desire to live in the law of the Spirit of life, we must live in the sense of life. When a doctor examines a patient to determine his illness, he must search methodically to find the source. Life is the content of the Spirit, and the law of life is the function and operation of the Spirit; in other words, the law of life is the manifestation of the Spirit. These points are all related.
This is similar to light being the manifestation of electricity. Electricity is invisible, but it has a manifestation. Similarly, although the Spirit is intangible, He has some manifestations. The law of the Spirit of life is the greatest manifestation of the Spirit, but the law of the Spirit of life is contained in the sense of life. By its function and operation, the law of the Spirit of life provides us with a sense of life. These matters are being explained in great detail so that we may learn the lesson of spiritual fellowship in a proper way. I hope that we can all be calm before the Lord and learn to touch these fine details.
When the Spirit of God regulates us inwardly, we have some feelings. The fact that we have feelings means that we have touched the operation of the Spirit. When we touch the law of life, we touch the Spirit, who is God. We touch the law of life through our inner sense; hence, when we obey the inner sense, we obey God. When we constantly live in the sense deep within, we live in God. The top Christians are those who obey the sense deep within. When the inner sense moves, they move. When the inner sense stops, they stop. When the inner sense agrees, they go forth. When the inner sense disagrees, they stop. Their living and work, their message and prayer, and their contact and conversation with others are all according to the inner sense. All the great and small things in their living are according to the inner sense. To obey the inner sense is to obey the law of life, to obey the law of life is to obey the Spirit, and to obey the Spirit is to obey God. In this way they live in God, in the Spirit, and they move according to the law of the Spirit of life. At a certain point what they live out is God Himself.
Our living is not according to the law of good but according to the law of the Spirit of life. We do not take goodness as our goal; rather, we take God, Christ, and the Spirit as our goal. We take the Triune God as our goal. Ultimately, what we live out, what we express, and what people touch and sense from us will be life, which is God Himself. This is the way of life.
Those who have touched the way of life advance and progress in life rapidly. But those who have not touched this way, even though they speak about spiritual matters and seemingly pursue spiritual progress, are merely going around and around without much growth. We need to learn to obey the inner sense of the Spirit of life in a simple way. Instead of making resolutions and exerting effort, we need to cease our efforts. When God comes to shine on us and give us revelation, we need to stop our being; we need to stop our desire and effort to do good. When we completely stop, God has an opportunity to spread Himself in us. In this way the law of the Spirit of life within us will operate and manifest its functions, and we will also be full of spiritual feelings.
We should obey and walk according to the inner sense. Then we will live out and work out God Himself, not our goodness. The purpose of a Christian is to be a God-man. This is God’s salvation, and this is also the goal that God desires to attain in us.
