Search
Scripture Reading: 4, Rom. 8:6, 14, 28-30, 32, 35, 38-39; 9:16; 11:5; 12:1-2, 4-5, 11
As we saw in the previous chapter, Romans 7 and 8 speak of three lives and four laws. The law of God, that is, the law of letters, is outside of man, demanding us to do good and to do the will of God according to what God is. The other three laws are within us subjectively. In each part of man as a tripartite being there is a law. In our body is the law of sin, in our soul is the law of good, and in our spirit is the law of life. Our thought may be that the goal is merely to do good. However, God’s intention for man is not merely that we do good but that we live by His life, that is, by Him as life.
We must remember well that in this universe there are three parties — God, Satan, and man. With these three parties there are three wills — the divine will of God, the devilish will of Satan, and the human will of man. From the Scriptures it is easy to realize that the devilish will is always struggling to frustrate the divine will; Satan’s will always tries to damage and hinder God’s will. Therefore, in the universe there is a battle raging. Even science tells us that there is something contradictory in the universe, like a battle, a warfare. This is because there are two wills — the divine will and the satanic will — contradicting one another and fighting against one another.
In addition, God created a third will, that is, the human will. God created this will with the intention that this will would stand with Him. However, God did not force the human will to stand with Him; God gave man a free choice, his own volition. Therefore, this will can choose either side. If man so desires, he can choose God. However, if he likes, he can also choose to stand with Satan. If man chooses God and stands with God’s will, God can then accomplish His purpose. However, if man chooses to stand with Satan, then Satan can do something to frustrate God’s will. Therefore, there are three parties and three wills.
With each will there is a particular life. Just as there is the divine life with the divine will and the satanic life with the devilish will, there is the human life with the human will. Moreover, with each life there is an accompanying law. We do not say that a life is a law; rather, with any kind of life there is a law. According to biologists, it is a scientific fact that with any kind of physical life, there are principles and laws. With the divine life there is the divine law, with the satanic life there is the satanic law, and with the human life there is the human law. In short, there are three wills with their respective lives, and each of these lives has its own law. Always remember these three things.
At the very beginning of the Scriptures there are these three parties in the garden of Eden. Adam stood in front of two trees, which represent, or symbolize, two parties — God and Satan. The tree of life represented God, Adam was there representing man, and Satan was there as well represented by the tree of knowledge. This clear picture shows us that both God and Satan became a choice to man. God Himself was there with Satan in front of man, and God gave man a volition to allow him to make a choice. Therefore, in the garden there are three parties, three wills, three lives, and three laws.
In the garden these three parties were individual and separated. God was God, Satan was Satan, and man was man; none of these three was mingled with the others. God’s intention was that man would receive Him as life. However, before man received God into him, Satan took the first step; he did something first. Man was seduced to take in Satan, Satan entered into man, and the two — man and Satan, Satan and man — were joined together illegally. Hence, Satan is within man as well as outside of him.
Some may feel that it is too much to say that Satan is in us. However, Ephesians 2:2 says, “You once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit which is now operating in the sons of disobedience.” Satan, the ruler of the authority of the air, is working in man. This is a proof that Satan is in fallen man. When did Satan enter into man? It was at the time that Adam took the fruit of the tree of knowledge. This is why the Bible tells us that fallen men are called the children of the devil and that Satan is the father of sinful man (1 John 3:10; John 8:44). When Satan entered into man, the satanic law of his evil life came with him.
In God’s salvation He not only redeemed us but also regenerated us. Redemption is a matter of the Lord shedding His blood, and regeneration is a matter of life. In God’s salvation there is not only the wonderful blood but also a wonderful life. On the negative side, blood is for redemption, and on the positive side, the divine life is for regeneration. Blood represents what the Lord has done for us, His work. Life represents what the Lord is to us, the Lord’s person. We believe in the Lord’s redemptive work by the blood, and we believe in His person as life to us. When we believe into Him in this way, we are redeemed on the negative side, and we are regenerated on the positive side. This means that our sins are forgiven, and we receive Him as life. In this way He comes into us.
It is not difficult to prove in what part Satan came into us. Satan came into our physical body, because at the time of the fall Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge with his body and took it into his body. It is even less difficult to prove in what part the Lord came into us. We all know that the Lord comes into our human spirit (1 Cor. 6:17; Rom. 8:16). In addition to these two lives, the human life is in the soul. Now we can see the site of each of the three different lives within us. The body is the site of the satanic life, the soul is the site of the human life, and the spirit is the site of the divine life. This is why Romans 7 and 8 tell us clearly that in the members of our body there is the law of sin, in the mind of the soul there is the law of good, and in the spirit there is the law of the divine life. Nothing could be clearer than this.
The problem that we Christians face today is that there is a garden of Eden within us. All three parties were not only in the garden, but they now are in us, making us a miniature garden of Eden. In the ancient time there were three parties in the garden of Eden, and today the same parties are all within us. Within us there is the human life with the human will and the law of good. Within us there is also the satanic life with the satanic will and the satanic law. Furthermore, within us there is the divine life with the divine will and the divine law. Therefore, our story is the same as Adam’s. Even as God gave Adam a free will, a volition, to choose, He gives us the same volition and will with a choice.
If we want to go along with Satan, there is no need for us to go far away. If we choose to make friends with Satan, there is no need for a telephone call; he is close to us, even within us. Wherever we go, he always accompanies us; he never leaves us. Never think that Satan has ever left us. If we say this, we are deceived. The evil life of Satan is still in our members. One day Peter said something good to the Lord. However, he himself was not aware that Satan was in him. Therefore, the Lord turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!” (Matt. 16:23). Although we do not say that Satan is omnipresent, we must realize that he dwells in man’s flesh; this is a fact according to the Scriptures. Today Satan, the evil spirit, is working in mankind. As long as we are human beings, we are still in this fallen body, so we must be aware that the evil life with the evil law is still in us. However, although this evil thing is in our body, we still must praise and thank God that the divine life is in our spirit.
Since we are still in the body, we are very much related to the evil things. This is why we must daily and hourly rely on the Lord’s blood when we come to contact Him. Whether or not we sense that we are sinful or wrong, we still need the blood. In the Old Testament type, no one could go into the presence of the Lord without the shedding of blood. Whether we feel that we are sinful or holy, we still need the blood because we are still in this sinful body, the body of sin. Yet we must praise the Lord because He also is in us! He is in us in an even deeper way.
Satan dwells in the members of our body, but God is in our spirit. This brings us to Romans 8:6. This verse contains a real secret. In this verse there are three things: the mind, the flesh, and the spirit. It says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” I have studied many translations of this verse, and this is the one that is the most correct according to the meaning of the original Greek. The translations in the New American Standard Bible and the Revised Standard Version are also good and convey the same meaning.
In this verse we again see the three parties. We human beings are represented by the mind, and Satan, the evil one, is in the flesh. The spirit here is the mingling of two spirits — the divine Spirit and the human spirit. It is rather difficult to tell whether spirit in Romans 8 is the Holy Spirit or the human spirit. In verse 6 it refers to the two spirits mingled as one. This can be proved by verse 16, which says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit.” Therefore, in the spirit there is God, the divine One, in the mind there is man, and in the flesh there is Satan.
Now our experience depends on whom or what we would set ourselves, that is, our mind. If we set our mind on the flesh, that is, on Satan, the issue is death. Adam did this when he partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, with the same result of death. However, if we set our mind on God as life, the result is life and peace. As Christians, there is no need for us to try to overcome the flesh, and there is no need to try to defeat the law of sin; we cannot do that. What we need to do is simply stand with the Spirit and rely upon Him. What we need is the deliverance in the spirit. We must stand with the spirit, set our mind on the spirit, and rely upon the Lord. Then we will be delivered.
This is the secret that we all must learn. After being a Christian for many years, I believe that no other teachings are so necessary as this teaching. Of course, the teachings concerning the Lord Himself, who the Lord is, what the Lord is, and what the Lord has done for us are very necessary. Subjectively speaking, however, the teaching of Romans 8:6 is the most necessary. We may illustrate this with driving a car. There are many things involved with driving a car, but the most important thing is to be aware of what is immediately around us. If we know this, we can drive enjoyably and without effort. There is no need to push or pull the car, and there is no need for us to run, walk, or use much energy. We simply can sit there and enjoy our driving, because it is not we who are running but the car.
However, we must learn the secret of cooperating with the car. Whether or not the car runs depends on us. Today we have the “car,” but we must know how to “drive” it. If we know how, there is no problem, and there is no need of our energy. Thirty-five years ago I was still struggling, but praise Him, today I have no struggle! I know that my spirit is my “car,” and I know how to “drive” it. Today even a person who is crippled can drive a car, because it is not he who carries the car but the car that carries him. However, the car needs him to drive it. In the same way, it is not we who defeat the enemy; it is the divine life that carries us to gain the victory, but the divine life needs us to “drive” it.
The secret is not found even in Romans 6:6 or 6:11; the secret is found in Romans 8:6. We must learn how to set our mind on the spirit. In other words, we must learn to trust in God and depend on the Lord. If we know how to rely on the Lord and trust in Him, and if we do it, everything will be all right. This can be illustrated by the use of electric appliances. All we have to know is how to plug them in. There is no trouble unless we do not plug them in; in that case, no one can help us. If we desire and know how to handle the appliances, then we can plug them in whenever we need them. This is simple, yet it is a secret that we all must learn.
I stress these matters because I do not have the burden to give you mere doctrine. If there is a need for us to learn doctrine, it is solely for the purpose to “drive the car.” Our knowledge and understanding of the construction of a car and the arrangement of its parts are for one purpose — to drive it. To be familiar with the parts of the car and the operation of the engine helps, but that is not the secret. The secret is the driving. Similarly, although we must study the Bible with its narratives and instructions, the real secret is in Romans 8:6. We may be very knowledgeable of the Scriptures, but if we do not apply Romans 8:6, whatever we know and do will accomplish little.
Day and night for many years I have been studying the Bible. I have not found another verse as important as Romans 8:6 as far as our spiritual experience is concerned. The way to “drive” in our spiritual experience is in this verse. Now that I have presented many things to you from Romans, beginning from chapter 1 up to chapter 8, we come to 8:6. This is the very place and the secret for us to know how to “drive the car.”
Within us there are three wills, three lives, and three laws. We ourselves are here, Satan is in us, and God is in us. Now we must pray, “Lord, help me to choose You. Help me to rely on You, depend on You, and drop my effort and striving. Help me to never do anything by myself to overcome evil or temptation. Rather, help me always to rely on You, stand with You, and trust in You. Lord, I would never do anything to try to correct myself or deliver myself. Lord, help me always to thrust myself upon You, trust in You, and depend on You.”
Such an experience of depending on the Lord is sweet and very available. Its availability may be compared to the electricity in homes. In our homes electricity is so available. Likewise, we should “plug” into the Lord right away, because He is so available. Just as electricity is installed in a house, even in the innermost and hidden chambers of the house, the Lord has been installed in our innermost part. Although this divine electricity is so available, there is one thing that is needed: We need to learn the secret and pray that the Lord would give us the willingness to apply it. We must always be willing to apply it and “plug ourselves in.” Although we may listen to hundreds of messages, they may all miss what the real secret of our Christian life is. We have to practice to set our mind on the spirit and to live in this reality all the time.
Romans 8:4 tells us to walk according to the spirit. To walk according to the spirit means to go along with the spirit. How can we know the spirit? It is by the sense of life and peace. To understand the sense of life is rather difficult, but to say something about the sense of peace is easier. Whatever we do, we must check within us whether or not we have the peace. Of course, this peace is not an outward peace but an inward peace. Do we have the inner peace or not?
This peace is the issue and result of the inner anointing. When we set our mind on the spirit, the Spirit moves and works within us. If we go along with the anointing, we will feel peaceful, comfortable, and very much in the light. We will be refreshed, strengthened, and satisfied. This is the anointing, and this is the sense of life. We should simply follow this consciousness within. To follow this inner sense, this inner consciousness, means that we are walking according to the spirit.
How do we know that we have life? We are refreshed, strengthened, energized, and satisfied within. Similarly, we know that we have peace because we are at ease and in the light. When we feel empty and darkened within and when we sense a lack of inner peace and comfort, this means that we are not walking according to the spirit. However, when we walk according to the spirit, within us we are always refreshed, satisfied, and strengthened. We continually experience life, peace, and comfort. This means that we are following the Spirit.
Romans 8 uses another term — led by the Spirit. Verse 14 says, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Even though led is a small word of three letters, it is very important. When we set our mind on the spirit and walk according to the spirit, we are constantly led by the Spirit. In this way we live the life of the genuine sons of God. We are sons of God not only in life and nature but also in daily walk. In daily walk and in everything we are led by the Holy Spirit, and we cooperate with Him in every way.
Following this, Romans 8:29 speaks of being conformed to the image of God’s Son. By walking according to the spirit, we are progressively conformed to the image of Christ. This is a progression; it is not something accomplished once for all. This is a work that lasts our entire life. The more we walk according to the spirit, the more we are conformed to the image of Christ. This is God’s intention. God’s intention is to conform us to the image of His Son, that is, to make His Son the Firstborn among many brothers. His intention is to reproduce many sons by and with His Son as the model, the form. Therefore, we must be conformed to the very form, the very image, of Christ.
Day by day, little by little, and part by part the Holy Spirit progressively conforms us to the image of Christ. Verse 28 says, “All things work together for good.” This is for the purpose to conform us to the image of Christ. For our conformation we need the Holy Spirit within us and “all things” outside of us. This may be compared to baking a cake. To bake a cake, we need the batter within, and we need the heat from the outside. The “batter” on the inside is the Holy Spirit, and the “heat” on the outside is “all things.”
Romans 8 has two sections. In the first half there is the Spirit working within, and in the second half the “all things” work together for good without. All things include sufferings, tribulation, anguish, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities, things present, things to come, powers, and so forth (vv. 35, 38). Even our dear wife and children are included in the all things. We praise God that these all things are under His sovereign hand. His sovereign hand is working to arrange all necessary things for our good. This is for the purpose of conforming us to the image of Christ, that is, to produce many brothers for Christ as sons of God so that the only begotten Son might become the Firstborn among many brothers.
The last key word in Romans 8 is glorified (v. 30). We are currently in the process of conformation, but our aim is that one day when He returns, He will glorify us; He will bring us into glory. This glory is already within us today. One day it will shine out of us in full and swallow up the death in our body. Our body will change in form from a body of humiliation to a body of glory (Phil. 3:21). This is the meaning of glorification.
Although today the glory is within us already, it needs to shine out. It has not yet shined out in full. From the center — the hub — to the rim of our being, this glory is continually expanding, permeating, and saturating our soul to the point that we await only one thing — the Lord’s coming. When He returns, this glory will saturate our entire body. At this point our entire body will be changed from a form of humiliation into a glorious form. This is the glorification spoken of in Romans 8.
We can never exhaust the study of this chapter. I have come back to it many times, and it is well-marked in my Bible. The more we read, study, and enter into this chapter, the more glorious it is. In this one portion we can realize the three laws within us, the law of the Spirit of life, and the indwelling Spirit working within us. In addition, there are the “all things” working together for our good to conform us to the image of Christ. This is not simply a matter of overcoming sin, helping us to do good, or fulfilling the requirements of the law; God desires to conform us to the image of His Son. Nothing less than conforming us to the image of Christ will please God. Therefore, we need to be conformed to His image.
We may not have much realization of this truth. We are often troubled that we are weak, defeated, and sinful and that we cannot do good or overcome our weak points. This is largely what we hold in our concept. However, this is not related to God’s intention. His intention is much higher. God’s intention is to conform us to the image of Christ. It is not a matter of doing good. It is not a matter of defeating the enemy or overcoming our weaknesses. It is a matter of being conformed to the image of Christ. This is much higher and more positive.
It is impossible for us to do this kind of work. There is no potential for this in ourselves, but we praise the Lord that the potential is in Him. He is the Spirit within us, and His sovereign hand is arranging all the necessary things to work together for us. Therefore, we must trust Him. We must entrust ourselves to Him, leave it to Him, and enjoy His working. I say again, it is not simply a matter of doing good, overcoming sin, or defeating the enemy but to have the very living image of Christ. God will work this out. What we need to do is to cooperate with Him and go along with Him without complaining or murmuring. Whatever happens to us, we praise the Lord, because it is for good. We should always have the assurance that whatever happens to us is measured to us under His sovereign hand. It is in His hand. Then one day He will come, and we will be in His glorification.
Chapters 9, 10, and 11 of Romans can be summed up in one phrase, the selection of grace (11:5). Without these three chapters we may think that believing in the Lord Jesus is something initiated by us. However, after reading these chapters, we realize that it is not we who initiated it; it is God. God elected us; that is, He selected us. Because He selected us in eternity past, we now can believe in Him. Our believing is a proof that He has selected us. Moreover, this selection can never be changed. It is a selection of God’s grace, not a choosing according to our human work or deeds. Therefore, in this section of Romans the most important verse is 9:16, which says, “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” It is not of us who work and struggle but of God who shows mercy and grace.
The last main section of Romans is chapters 12 through 16. Why do we have to be regenerated and conformed to Christ’s image? It is to make us the members of the Body of Christ. All the items mentioned in the first eight chapters plus the selection of grace in the following three chapters are for the purpose to have a Body for Christ.
The last section of this book is the section of the Body life. If we read these five chapters carefully, it may seem that only chapter 13 has a little to say about the Body life; however, something more follows concerning the Body. Chapters 14 and 15 tell us especially how to receive one another as members; this is something for the Body life. Furthermore, the last part of chapter 15 tells us how to take care of the needs of other members, how to communicate and contribute something to supply the needs of the members in other parts of the earth; this is also a part of the Body life. Although the last chapter, Romans 16, may appear to have little to do with the Body life, it is full of the Body life. The entire chapter displays the real and practical Body life.
In this last section of Romans, there are a number of important terms. First, we must present our bodies (12:1). This is not only a consecration of our mind, will, intention, and heart but a consecration of our bodies. It is to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. There are two bodies mentioned in this chapter. When we present our bodies, we realize the Body of Christ. If we love our body, then His Body, the church, suffers. However, if we present our bodies as a sacrifice, His Body will be built up. We must offer our bodies for His Body’s sake. For the church life, the Body life, there is the need of a bodily consecration. We should offer ourselves definitely, materially, and bodily to the Lord. However, if we preserve our bodies for ourselves, then His Body will suffer. In order to build up and care for His Body, we must give our body over to Him by presenting our body.
The second matter mentioned in this section is transformation by the renewing of the mind (v. 2). This is something involving our soul. First, we need to present our body, and second, our soul must be transformed. The mind is a part of the soul. Regeneration has already been accomplished in our spirit, the center of our being, but what we need now is for our soul to be transformed. The Spirit, who is indwelling our spirit, is saturating the part of our being surrounding our spirit as the center in order to transform the soul.
The three parts of man — body, soul, and spirit — are involved here. First, when we practice the church life, the first step that we must take is to present our bodies. However, this is not all. After we present our bodies, our soul needs to be dealt with, so the second thing that we should do is to allow our soul to be transformed. Our mind, our thoughts, and our way of thinking especially have to be transformed. Otherwise, we will not be able to understand what the church life is, and we may even damage the church life. The presenting of our bodies and the transformation of our soul, especially the mind, are the necessary steps for us to practice the Body life.
In addition, our spirit must be burning (v. 11). Here we have the body, the soul, and the spirit. We must present our bodies, be transformed in our soul, and learn how to be fervent, that is, burning in spirit, in order to function. By practicing these three steps, we have the real, practical experience of the Body life, the church life. The church life depends on our presenting our bodies in a definite way. It also depends on our being transformed in our soul by the renewing of the mind in order to understand God’s will in the entire universe, which is to have the church, the Body. In addition, it also depends on our being burning in our spirit to function as a member of His Body. If we do these things, then we will be in the practical experience of the Body life.
For the church life we need to present our bodies, be transformed in our soul, and be burning in spirit for our function in the Body. Our function is an important matter in Romans 12. Verse 4 says, “All the members do not have the same function,” and the following verses tell us how to function. Even to show mercy and to extend hospitality to others is a function (vv. 8, 13). To do these things indicates that we are active members, not inactive ones. If we are active members who function all the time, the Body life will be very practical. If we do not function but merely meet together again and again, we will not have a real and practical church life. The genuine and practical church life depends on the function of the members. Romans 12 is a chapter on the Body, but it is the Body in function.
Romans 12:1-2 tells us to present our bodies a living sacrifice and 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.” This verse speaks of “the” will of God; the King James Version renders it as “that” will of God. God does not have many wills but only one will. What is the one will? In speaking of the will of God, many Christians wrongly apply this verse. Strictly speaking, this verse indicates that the will of God is to have the church life. If we mean business with the Lord, present ourselves bodily to Him, and are willing to be transformed in our soul — our mind, emotion, and will — we will realize what God’s will is in this universe and on the earth. God’s will is nothing less than to have the church, that is, to have a Body for His Son. When we see this, we will sacrifice everything for it, because we will realize that this is the unique will.
The more we read these verses, the more we can realize that this is what they mean. By reading the entire context of Romans 12 we can realize what “the” will, or “that” will, of God is. It is to have the Body life, the church. This is the will of God. Of course, the will of God includes other things, but all the other matters are secondary. The primary item of God’s will is the church. No matter how good we are or how many things we do, if we are not in the church, if we do not practice the church life and live for the church, we are not in the will of God. I say this with certainty; we will be outside of the will of God, even though we are doing something for God.
Although the things mentioned in chapters 12 through 16 may be considered the “wills” of God, the Body life is the foremost item. Chapters 14 and 15 tell us how to receive others, how to care for others, and how to avoid stumbling others, but all these matters are secondary. They depend on our practice of the church life. The first item that is revealed in chapters 12 through 16 is the church, the Body, and all of the following items are supplementary to this will. Therefore, to prove what the will of God is, is to practice the church life. If we are proper members of the Body, acting and functioning in the church life, then we will have everything else. We will be persons in the will of God.
