Search
In the last chapter we have seen the three lives and four laws. Now we will especially see the law of life, which is also the law of the Spirit of life mentioned in the last chapter. Of the four laws, only the law of life is the natural capability of the life of God, enabling us to live out the life of God quite naturally; therefore, if we want to touch the way of life, we must have clear knowledge concerning the law of life.
In the Bible, only the following five portions can be said to mention the law of life directly or indirectly:
Romans 8:2: “The law of the Spirit of life...”
The law of the Spirit of life mentioned here is the law of life. The Spirit, from which this law comes, contains life, or it may be said that it is life; therefore, the law is a law of the Spirit, and it is also the law of life.
Hebrews 8:10: “This is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will inscribe them; and I will be God to them, and they will be a people to Me.”
Hebrews 10:16: “This is the covenant which I will covenant with them after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws upon their hearts, and upon their mind I will inscribe them.”
The above two passages in Hebrews 8 and 10 mention first impart, and then inscribe, and both speak of the mind and the heart; thus, both speak of the same thing. They are quoted from Jeremiah 31:33.
Jeremiah 31:33: “This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Jehovah: I will put My law in their inward parts and write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
Ezekiel 36:25-28: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and My ordinances you shall keep and do...and you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
These few verses speak of at least five things: (1) cleansing with clean water, (2) giving us a new heart, (3) giving us a new spirit, (4) taking away our heart of stone and giving us a heart of flesh, and (5) putting the Spirit of God within us. The result of these five things combined together is that they cause us to walk in the statutes of God and to keep and do His ordinances. We will be His people, and He will be our God. This means that the Holy Spirit within us gives us new strength to do the will of God and to please God so that God can be our God and we can be God’s people. Thus, the result mentioned here is the same as the result mentioned in Jeremiah 31:33.
If we wish to speak of the origin of the law of life, we must begin from regeneration, for regeneration is the receiving of God’s life into our spirit. Once we are regenerated, we have the life of God in our spirit; and once we have the life of God, we naturally have the law of life that comes from the life of God.
When speaking of regeneration, we must begin with the creation of man. When man was created by the hand of God, he had only a good and upright human life; he did not have the divine and eternal life of God. Yet when God created man, His central purpose was to blend His life into man, to be united with man, and to reach the goal of the oneness of God and man. Therefore, when God created man, in addition to the body and soul of man, He especially created a spirit for man. This spirit is the organ by which man receives the life of God. When we use this spirit to contact God, who is Spirit, we then can receive His life and become united with Him, thus fulfilling the central purpose of God.
But before man received the life of God, he fell. The most essential factor of the fall of man was not just that it caused him to commit sin and offend God but that it caused his spirit to become deadened, and it brought death to the organ by which man receives the life of God. To say that the spirit is dead does not mean that the spirit is nonexistent, but that it has lost its function to fellowship with God and has become separated from God; thus, man could no longer fellowship with God. Henceforth, man was unable to use his spirit to contact God and thereby receive His life.
At this time man had needs on two sides: on one hand, because of the fall, he needed God to deal with the sin he committed; on the other hand, he needed God even more to regenerate him by giving life to his dead spirit so that he might receive God’s life and fulfill God’s central purpose in creating man.
Because of these needs, God’s way of deliverance consists of two aspects, the negative and the positive. On the negative side, by the Lord Jesus shedding His blood on the cross, redemption was accomplished, and the problem of man’s sin was settled. On the positive side, by the death of the Lord Jesus the life of God was released; then by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus the life of God was put in the Holy Spirit; eventually, the Holy Spirit entering into us causes us to obtain God’s divine and eternal life.
The Holy Spirit thus enabling us to obtain the life of God means that He regenerates us. But how does the Holy Spirit regenerate us? It is by the Word of God. The Holy Spirit first prepares an opportunity for us in our environment to hear the words of the gospel. Then by the words He shines upon us and moves us; He causes us to acknowledge our sins, reproach ourselves, repent and believe, thereby accepting the words of God and receiving the life of God. In the words of God is hidden the life of God, and the words of God “are life” (John 6:63). As we receive the words of God, the life of God enters into us and regenerates us.
Therefore, regeneration is nought else but the fact of man, in addition to his own life, receiving the life of God. When we thus receive the life of God, we receive an authority that enables us to become children of God (1:12). The authority itself is the life of God; therefore, when we have this life, we have the authority to be the children of God.
When we have the life of God and become children of God, we naturally have the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). If we live by this life and the nature of this life, we can become like God and live out the image of God.
How does the life of God within us work to make us become like Him? It works from the center to the circumference, or from the spirit to the soul and then to the body, accomplishing its outward expansion. When the life of God enters into us, it first enters into our spirit, enlivens our dead spirit, and makes it lively, fresh, strong, vigorous, and able to touch God, sense God, and have sweet fellowship with God. Then it spreads gradually from our spirit into every part of our soul and makes our thoughts, affections, and decisions gradually become like God’s, having the savor of God; even in our anger there is something of God’s likeness, something of the savor of God. Oh, what a wonderful change this is!
Furthermore, this life will work continuously until it expands into our body so that our body also may have the life element. This is what Romans 8:11 speaks of by saying that the Spirit of God that dwells in us will give life to our mortal bodies.
The life of God within us will work and expand more and more until it causes our spirit, soul, and body, our whole being, to be completely filled with the nature of God, the element of God, and the savor of God; until we are raptured and transfigured; until we enter into glory and become completely like Him.
The life of God continuously working and expanding within us does not force its way through by ignoring us; rather, it requires the inclination of our emotion, the cooperation of our mind, and the submission of our will. If we refuse its working, if we do not follow it closely and cooperate with it, it has no way to show forth its power or manifest its function. Because man is a living being with an emotion, a mind, and a will, the question of whether he will cooperate and whether he can cooperate remains a problem. Hence, when God regenerates us, besides giving us His life, He also gives us a new heart and puts within us a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26); thus, we are made both willing and able to cooperate.
The heart has to do with our willingness, whereas the spirit is a matter of capability. Our original heart, because of rebellion against God, became hard or old; therefore, it is called a “heart of stone” or an “old heart.” This old heart is against God, does not want God, and is not willing to cooperate with God. Now God gives us a new heart. It is not that He gives us another heart in addition to our old heart, but that through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, He softens our heart of stone to become a “heart of flesh,” thus renewing it to become a new heart. This new heart is inclined toward God and has affection for God and the things of God. It is a new organ for inclining toward God and loving Him; it makes us willing to cooperate with God and willing to allow the life of God to expand and work freely from the inside out.
The spirit we originally had, because of separation from God, is dead and has become old; therefore, it is called an “old spirit.” Since this old spirit has lost its ability to fellowship with God and contact God, it naturally has no way to cooperate with God. Now God gives us a “new spirit.” This does not mean that He gives us another spirit in addition to our old spirit, but that by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit He enlivens our dead spirit into a living spirit, thus renewing it into a new spirit. This new spirit can fellowship with God and can apprehend God and spiritual things. It is a new organ for contacting God; it enables us to cooperate with God and, through fellowshipping with God, to allow the life of God within us to expand and work outward.
With a new heart we are willing to cooperate with God, and with a new spirit we are able to cooperate with God. However, a new heart and a new spirit at most only enable us to thirst after God and contact God, thus allowing the life of God within us to freely expand and work outward; they cannot answer the unlimited demand of God upon us, which is that we reach the divine standard of God Himself. Therefore, when God regenerates us, He does in addition a most glorious and transcendent thing: He puts His own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, into our new spirit. This Holy Spirit is the embodiment of Christ, and Christ in turn is the embodiment of God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit entering into us is the Triune God entering into us. In this way the Creator and the creature are united. Oh, this truly deserves our praise! Moreover, the Spirit of God, the eternal Spirit or the infinite Spirit, has unlimited functions and transcendent strength. Hence, when He dwells in our new spirit, He can use His unlimited power to anoint and supply us and to work and move within us; thus, He enables us to answer the unlimited demand of God upon us, thereby allowing the life of God to expand continually from our spirit, through our soul, and into our body. Finally, He causes us to reach that glorious stage of being completely like God! Hallelujah!
One thing is clearly revealed to us here: God’s way of deliverance and man’s self-improvement are fundamentally different. Man’s self-improvement is but a work wrought upon that which man originally has, namely his soul and his body with their capabilities. Even if the improvement is successful, it is still very limited because the power of man is limited. But, with the deliverance of God, though it also passes through every part of our soul and gradually renews each one, reaching also into the body, the essential point is that the Spirit of God, bringing with it the life of God, is added into our spirit. Having divine, unlimited power, it is fully able to answer the unlimited demand of God. This is an addition, not an improvement. To attempt improvement is but to improve the things we already have, and this is limited; but to add something of God Himself is unlimited.
What we have just said should make us see clearly that regeneration causes us to receive the life of God. In this life is contained a natural function, and the natural function of this life is the “law of life.” Thus, the life of God is the source of this law of life, and regeneration is the origin of this law of life. Though this law of life is derived from the life of God, yet it is through regeneration that it enters into us.
If we would know the meaning of the law of life, we must know what a law is. A law is a natural regulation, a constant and unchanging rule. A law is not necessarily derived from a life, but a life is definitely accompanied by a law. This law that accompanies life is called the law of life. The law of a particular life is also the natural characteristic, the innate function, of that particular life. For example, cats can catch mice, and dogs can stand watch for the night; or, our ear can hear, our nose can smell, our tongue can taste, and our stomach can digest. All these abilities are the natural characteristics and innate functions of a life. As long as any particular life exists and is free, it can naturally develop its characteristics and manifest its abilities. It does not require human teaching or urging; rather, it develops very naturally without the least effort. Such natural characteristics and innate capabilities in a life constitute the law of that life.
The life of God is the highest life; it is the surpassing life; therefore, the characteristics and capabilities of this life must definitely be the most high and surpassing. Since these highest and surpassing characteristics and capabilities constitute the law of the life of God, this law naturally is the most high and surpassing. Since by regeneration we have received the life of God, we have naturally received from the life of God the most high and surpassing law of this life.
In the first chapter, “What Is Life?” we said that only the life of God is life; therefore, the law of life that we are now speaking about refers specifically to the law of the life of God.
The law of life is that which God specially gives to us under the new covenant. It is very different from the laws given by God at Mount Sinai. In the Old Testament time God gave a law written on tablets of stone outside of man’s body. That law was an external law, a law of letters. It made demands upon man outwardly, rule by rule, requiring what man should do and what he should not do. But the result was nil; no one could keep it. Though the law was good, yet man being evil and dead did not have the power of life to meet the demands of that law. On the contrary, he fell under the condemnation of that law. Romans 8:3 refers to this when it says, “That which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh...”
In the New Testament era, when God through the Holy Spirit regenerates us, He puts His own life, accompanied by the law of life, into us. This law of life is the inward law, which is God’s special gift to us in the New Testament time. This fulfills the promise of God written in the Old Testament, “I will put My law in their inward parts” (Jer. 31:33).
This law of life is put within us; therefore, according to its location, it is an inward law. It is not like the law of the Old Testament, which was outside of man and was therefore an outward law. Furthermore, this law of life is derived from the life of God and belongs to the life of God; therefore, according to its nature, it is a law of life; hence, it can supply. It is not like the law of the Old Testament, which is a law of letters, and which can only demand but cannot supply. This law of life in us, this law which is the natural characteristic and capability of the life of God, is able very naturally to regulate out item by item all the content within the life of God. The result of this regulating perfectly answers the demand of the outward law of God.
Let us use two examples to illustrate how the law of life functions. Consider a withered peach tree. Suppose we set up some laws for it, demanding, “You must grow out green leaves, bloom red flowers, and bear peaches.” We know that such demands, though made from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, are absolutely futile and vain, because the tree is withered with no power of life to answer the demands of such outward laws. Yet if we could transfuse life into it and restore it to life, though we do not demand anything outwardly from it, that life will have a natural capability that will enable the tree to grow leaves, flower, and bear fruit in season, even to exceed the demand of that outward law. This is the function of the law of life.
Suppose now that we make demands on a dead man, saying, “You should breathe; you should eat; you should sleep; you should move.” We know that the demands of such laws upon this dead man are of no effect at all; none of them can be fulfilled. Yet if we could put resurrection life into him and bring him back to life, he will very naturally want to breathe, eat, sleep, and move. This is due to the function of the law of life.
From these two examples we can clearly see that our entire spiritual life before God cannot be accomplished by our own striving; neither can it be achieved by self-improvement with utmost effort; rather, it is the responsibility of the life of God, which we have already received into us. The life of God accompanied by the law of this life dwells in our spirit; if we live and act according to this law of life in our spirit, this law of life can very naturally regulate out from within us, item by item, all the content within the life of God. This will correspond very well with the demand of the external law of God, and even exceed it with no deficiency. Romans 8:4 speaks of this: “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 Romans 8:2 this law of life written on the tablet of the heart within us is called “the law of the Spirit of life.” This means that this law is not only from the life of God and belongs to the life of God, but it also depends on the Spirit of God and belongs to the Spirit of God. This is because the life of God relies on the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God can also be said to be the life of God. When we speak of the life of God, we are stressing that which is itself the life of God; when we speak of the Spirit of God, we are emphasizing the Executor of the life of God. In other words, the life of God is not a person, but the Spirit of God is a person. This life, which is not a person, belongs to the Spirit, who is a person, and cannot be separated from this Spirit, who is a person. This Spirit, who is a person, brings the life of God into us; and this life is accompanied by a law, which is the law of life, or the law of the Spirit of life. This law has the eternal life of God as its source, and this law has the Spirit of God, who is a person with great power, as its Executor. Therefore, this law of the Spirit of life has eternal and unlimited power to answer the unlimited demand of God.
Thus, we have seen that the law of the Old Testament is the law of letters written on tablets of stone. Though it made many demands upon man, the result was nil. The law of the New Testament is the law of life written on the tablet of our heart. Even though it would not make any demand upon us, yet in the end it can naturally regulate out from us all the riches of God, thus making us more than able to answer all the demands of God. How wonderful and how glorious this is! This is the central grace that God gives us in the new covenant. How much we should thank and praise Him!
The life from which issues the law of life is the life of God. When at our regeneration we first receive this life, this life within us, though it is complete organically, is not grown up and mature in each individual part of our being. It is like fruit borne on a tree. The life of this fruit when it first appears, though it is complete, is only complete organically. For it to be complete in every part, it must wait until it is grown and mature. Likewise, the life of God that we receive at the time of regeneration is only complete organically. If we want this life to have completion of maturity, it also needs to gradually grow and mature in every part of our being. The growing and maturing of this life comes about by the working of the law of life in every part of our being. This reveals that the place where the law of life works is in every part of our being. This is what Jeremiah 31:33 refers to as our “inward parts.”
What are our inward parts? These are the parts of our spirit, soul, and heart. This heart is not the biological heart but the psychological heart. Within us human beings, the spirit and the soul are independent parts, but the heart is of a composite nature. According to the record in the Bible, the heart contains at least:
(1) The mind. For example: “Thinking evil things in your hearts” (Matt. 9:4), and “Thoughts...of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
(2) The will. For example: “With purpose of heart” (Acts 11:23), and “intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
(3) The emotion. For example: “Do not let your heart be troubled” (John 14:1), and “Your heart will rejoice” (16:22).
(4) The conscience. For example: “Having our hearts...an evil conscience” (Heb. 10:22), and “If our heart blames” (1 John 3:20).
These references show that the heart contains the mind, will, and emotion, which are the three parts of the soul, and the conscience, which is a part of the spirit. The heart has these parts as its components. Thus, the heart not only consists of a component of the spirit and all the components of the soul, but it really connects the spirit and soul together.
Of the various parts within us, the intuition and fellowship parts of the spirit are more related to God and are for God; the conscience part in the spirit, having the power to discern between right and wrong, is more related to man and is for man. The mind, will, and emotion in the soul, being the seat of the personality of man, are also more for man and related to man’s side. Since the heart contains the mind, emotion, will, and conscience, it is thus a composite part that brings together these various inward parts of man. It can be considered as man’s chief representative.
The law of life within us continuously works in these various inward parts. Whichever part its work reaches, it becomes the law of that part. When its work reaches the mind, it becomes the law of the mind. When its work reaches the will, it becomes the law of the will. When its work reaches the emotion, it becomes the law of the emotion. When its work reaches the conscience, it becomes the law of the conscience. In this way, it becomes a law to each of our inward parts. Thus, Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16 name this law, “laws.” These “laws” actually are but the one inward law, which is the law of life, or what God speaks of as “law” in Jeremiah 31:33; but it is put in the various “parts” within us.
In Jeremiah this law of life is called “law,” whereas in Hebrews it is called “laws” — one is singular and the other plural. This is because when speaking of the law itself, there is only one; therefore, it is singular. Yet when speaking of the effects of the working of this law, since it manifests its capabilities and functions in the various parts of our being, it becomes various laws; therefore, it is plural. Whether Jeremiah calls it the singular law or Hebrews calls it the plural laws, they both really refer to this one law.
We have seen that the place where the law of life works is in our various inward parts. Of these various parts, the heart is the chief part. This is because the heart is the conglomerate of man’s inward parts, and it is man’s chief representative. Therefore, the heart is very closely related to the law of life, which works in our various inward parts and thereby becomes the various laws. For this reason we will speak in detail of the situation of the heart.
We have already mentioned that the heart connects the spirit and the soul; thus, the heart is in between the spirit and the soul. If life is to enter into the spirit, it must pass through the heart; if life is to proceed out from the spirit, it also must pass through the heart. Thus, the heart is the pathway through which life must pass. It can be said to be the entrance and exit of life. For example, when someone hears the gospel of the Lord and feels the pain and sorrow of sin or the sweetness of God’s love, the emotion of his heart is touched, his conscience is grieved, his mind repents, and his will determines to believe. Then his heart is opened to the Lord, he receives salvation, and the life of God thereby enters into his spirit. Conversely, if his heart does not agree and is not open, regardless of how you preach to him, there is no way for the life of God to enter into his spirit. It is for this reason that the great British evangelist, Mr. Spurgeon, once said that in order to move man’s spirit, one must move man’s heart. This statement is really true; only when the heart is moved can the spirit receive the life of God.
Likewise, after man is saved, if the life of God is to come out from within him, it must pass through the heart and have the cooperation of the heart. When the heart agrees, life can pass through. When the heart does not agree, life cannot pass through. Sometimes the heart only partially agrees. Perhaps only the conscience agrees, and other parts do not. Or, perhaps the mind of the heart agrees, whereas the emotion part does not. Hence, life still cannot pass through. Thus, the heart is really the entrance and exit of life. Just as the receiving of life begins with the heart, so also the living out of life begins with the heart.
The heart is the entrance and exit of life: the coming in of life and the going out of life both depend on the heart. Moreover, the heart is also the switch of life. If the heart is shut, life can neither enter in nor be regulated out. Once the heart is open, however, life can enter in and also be freely regulated out. Whichever part of the heart is closed, the life of God cannot regulate to that part; whichever part of the heart is open, the life of God can regulate to that part. Thus, the heart is really the switch of life. Though life has great power, yet its great power is controlled by our small heart. Whether life can be worked out depends entirely on whether our heart is open. It is like the electric power of a generating plant, which, though powerful, is controlled by the small switch for the light in our room; if the switch is not turned on, electricity cannot enter.
This does not mean, of course, that as long as we have a proper heart, it is sufficient. The heart can only cause us to love God and be inclined toward God; it cannot make us touch God and have fellowship with God. It is the spirit that causes us to touch God and have fellowship with God. This is why many brothers and sisters, though they love the Lord very much, cannot touch God in prayer. They have a heart, but they do not use their spirit. Many revivalists fail in their work for the same reason. They only move man’s emotion, stir man’s will, and make men love God and be desirous of God; they do not lead men to exercise their spirit to fellowship with God.
It is true that in order to understand spiritual things we need to use the mind of the heart, yet we must first use the spirit to contact these things, for the spirit is the organ to contact the spiritual world. We must first contact all spiritual things by the spirit, then comprehend and understand them with the mind of the heart. It is like hearing sound: it is first contacted with the ear and then comprehended by the mind. It is also like beholding a certain color: it must first be contacted with the eyes and then distinguished with the mind. Therefore, when we preach the gospel to men, if our spirit is weak, we only use words to cause people to comprehend and understand with their mind; later, we may lead them to touch the Spirit. When our spirit is strong, however, we send God’s salvation directly into men’s spirit by the words of the gospel. As soon as men hear the gospel, they touch the spirit and are saved. After that we gradually lead their mind to comprehend and understand.
Though the main function in contacting God and spiritual things is the exercise of the spirit, yet if man’s heart is indifferent, the spirit is then imprisoned within and is unable to show forth its capability. Even if God wants to fellowship and commune with him, it is impossible. Therefore, in order to contact God and spiritual things, we need to use the spirit, and we also need to have the heart so inclined. The spirit is the organ to contact the life of God, and the heart is the key, the switch, the strategic point that allows the life of God to pass through.
Since the heart is the entrance and exit of life and the switch of life as well, it has great influence on life; its slightest problem can fully hinder the working of life. Whichever part of the heart has a problem, life is obstructed and brought to a standstill there, and the law of life cannot regulate any more.
The life of God within us should be able to freely work and grow, causing us to receive daily revelation and frequent light. This is normal and is also fitting. But actually this is often not the case. There are many brothers and sisters whose spiritual life does not grow and whose spiritual living is not normal. It is not because the life of God in them is unreal; neither is it because there is any problem with the life of God within them; it is their heart that has trouble. Their heart is not turned sufficiently toward God, it does not love the Lord enough, it does not seek the Lord enough, it is not clean enough, and it is not sufficiently open. This reveals some trouble or problem with the heart. Either there is some problem with the conscience, which has the sense of condemnation but is not dealt with, or there is a problem with the mind concerning some care, worry, evil thought, argument, or doubt, etc. Either there is a problem with the will being stubborn and stiff-necked, or there is a problem with the emotion having fleshly desires and natural inclination. All these matters in the heart become a hindrance to the working of the life within us, making it impossible for the law of life to regulate. Therefore, if we desire to grow in life, we need first to deal with the heart and then to exercise the spirit. If the heart is not dealt with, there is no point in mentioning the spirit. The problem of many brothers and sisters is not with the spirit but with the heart. If the heart is not right, then life in the spirit is hindered, and the law of life cannot work freely. If we desire to seek after life and walk in the path of life, we must have no problem in the heart; then the law of life can work freely and move without obstruction, thereby reaching every part of our being.
Since the heart is so vitally related to life, God has no other alternative but to deal with our heart so that His life might be regulated out from us. Toward God, our heart has four great problems: hardness, impurity, unlovingness, and unpeacefulness. Hardness is a matter of the will, impurity is a matter not only of the mind but also of the emotion, unlovingness is a matter of the emotion, and unpeacefulness is a matter of the conscience. When God deals with our heart, He deals with these four aspects so that our heart may be soft, pure, loving, and at peace.
First, God wants our heart to be soft. To be soft means that the will of the heart toward God is submissive and yielding, not stiff-necked and rebellious. When God deals with our heart so that our heart is soft, He takes away the heart of stone out of our flesh and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). This means that He softens our hard, stony heart so that it becomes a soft heart of flesh.
When we are newly saved, the heart is always softened. But after a certain time the heart of some turns back and becomes hard again. Not being submissive to the Lord and not even fearing the Lord, they gradually fall away from the Lord’s presence. Whenever our heart is hardened, we have a problem before God. If we desire the condition of our spiritual living before God to be right, our heart must not be hardened; on the contrary, it must be continually softened. Indeed, we should not be fearful of this thing and that thing, but we ought to be fearful of offending God. Fear not heaven, and fear not earth; only fear to offend God. Our heart must be dealt with until it is soft to this extent; then it is all right. It is indeed sad that many brothers and sisters are soft in many things; yet as soon as God and the will of God are mentioned, they become very hard. They would even say: “I am just this way; let us see what God will do about it.” This is dreadful! There are also brothers and sisters who are hard toward everything; yet when God and the will of God are mentioned, they become soft. Such people have soft hearts. We should ask God to make our heart soft like this.
How does God make our heart soft? How does He soften our heart? Sometimes He uses His love to move us, and sometimes He uses chastisement to strike us. God often uses His love first to move us; if love cannot move us, He uses His hand through the environment to strike us until our heart is softened. Once our heart is softened, His life can work within us.
Second, God wants our heart to be pure. A pure heart means a heart that sets its mind specifically on God. It is also a heart in which the emotion is exceedingly pure and simple toward God. (See 2 Cor. 11:3.) It only loves God and wants God; besides God, it has no other love, inclination, or desire. Matthew 5:8 says, “The pure in heart...shall see God.” Thus, if the heart is not pure, we cannot see God. If our thought is a little concerned with things outside of God, or if our emotion has a little love toward things outside of God, our heart is no longer pure; the life in our spirit is also hindered because of this. Therefore, we must pursue “with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22), and be those who love the Lord and want God with a pure heart; then we can let the life of God work freely within us.
Third, God wants our heart to be loving. A loving heart means a heart in which the emotion loves God, wants God, thirsts after God, yearns for God, and has affection toward God. In the Bible there is a book that speaks specifically of the love of the saints toward the Lord — Song of Songs in the Old Testament. It says that as the Lord’s people, we should love the Lord as a woman loves her beloved. This love is so deep and unchanging and is as strong as death (8:6-7). Because this book speaks especially of our love toward the Lord, it also shows forth especially our growth in the life of the Lord. Then in the New Testament, in John 21, the Lord asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” This means that the Lord desired to lead the emotion of Peter to so love the Lord that he could be one who has a loving heart toward the Lord. The Lord did this because He wanted Peter to afford His life an opportunity to work and grow within him. This event is recorded in the Gospel of John, a book that speaks of how we may receive the Lord as life and how to live in this life. If our heart has such love toward the Lord, the life of the Lord within us can move smoothly and do as it pleases.
Fourth, God wants our heart to be at peace. A heart at peace means a heart in which the conscience has no offense (Acts 24:16), no condemnation or reproach; it is safe and secure. The conscience within us represents God to govern us. If our conscience blames us, God is greater than our conscience and knows all things (1 John 3:20); He would even condemn us more. Thus, we must deal clearly with all the offenses, condemnation, and reproach; so we “will persuade our heart before Him” (v. 19). When our heart is thus at peace, God can pass through, and the law of the life of God can continue to work within us.
If our heart is soft, pure, loving, and at peace, it is then upright. Only such an upright heart is a suitable counterpart to the law of life. It can allow the life of God to be freely regulated out from within us. How often toward God our heart seems to carry a sign: Not a Through Street; thus, we make it impossible for God to pass through; we cause the life of God to become obstructed and come to a standstill so that it is unable to work and expand freely from within us to without.
Though these words are not of great eloquence and wisdom, yet they should make us carefully examine, as in a physical examination, all the conditions of our heart. We must ask ourselves, Does the will of our heart really choose God? Is it submissive and surrendered before God, or is it stiff-necked and rebellious? We also should ask, Is the mind of our heart pure before God, or is it crooked? Our thoughts, our cares — are they purely for God Himself, or is there outside of God a person, a matter, or a thing that we are deeply concerned for and that has occupied our heart? Then we need to ask, Is the emotion of our heart single toward God? Does it love God and want God wholly, or does it have some other love, some other inclination, some other attachment outside of God? We also should ask, How is our conscience before God? Is it without offense? Is it assured, or does it have condemnation and reproach? We should carefully examine all these items and deal with them carefully so that our heart may become a soft heart, a pure heart, a loving heart, and a peaceful heart — in other words, an upright heart. If so, the life in our spirit will definitely have a way out, and the law of life can definitely be regulated out from within us.
Thus, in whatever part our heart has been dealt with, there the life of God can work, and there the law of the life of God can also regulate. When all parts of our heart are examined and dealt with, the law of the life of God can then regulate out from our spirit through our heart to every part of our being. Hence, every part of our being can manifest the capability of this law of life and be filled with the element of the life of God, thereby reaching the glorious end of the unity of God and man.
Since we have seen the seat of the law of life, we know that this law of life works in the various inward parts of our whole being. Yet in actual practice, if the law of life is to work freely in our various inward parts, we need to fulfill two requirements:
The first requirement is to love God. The Gospel of John speaks especially of life; it also speaks emphatically of belief and love. To believe is to take in life, whereas to love is to flow out life. If we want to receive life, we must believe. If we want to live out life, we must love. Only belief can allow life to enter in, and only love can allow life to flow out. Therefore, love is a necessary condition that enables the law of life to work.
In another place we see that the Bible wants us to love God from our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind, and from our whole strength (Mark 12:30). When we love God to such an extent that we allow our love for God to reach the many parts within us, the life of God can begin to function and regulate in these many parts within us. Thus, these parts gradually become like God.
Thus, God first sows His life within us; then He uses love to move the emotion of our heart and cause our heart to love Him, turn toward Him and become attached to Him. In this way the veil within us is taken away (2 Cor. 3:16), and we can see light, receive revelation, and know God and the life of God. Furthermore, when we love God from our whole heart, we are naturally willing to submit to God and cooperate with God. In this way we allow the law of the life of God to freely work within us and supply every part of our being with all the riches of the life of God. Whichever part is filled with love for God, in the same part the law of the life of God then regulates. If our whole being loves God, the law of the life of God then works through our whole being. Then our entire being, both within and without, will become like God and be filled with the riches of the life of God.
The second requirement is to obey the first sense of life. In chapter 7, “The Sense of the Spirit and Knowing the Spirit,” we mentioned that the law of life belongs to consciousness; it can give us a sense. As soon as we are regenerated and have the life of God, this law of life inside us definitely causes us to have a certain consciousness. Our responsibility is to obey the sense of the law of life, thus allowing this law of life to freely work within us.
Nevertheless, in the beginning the consciousness of this law of life may be comparatively weak and infrequent. Yet if only we are willing to obey the first sense, though it be comparatively weak, the consciousnesses following will be stronger and stronger. We just have to begin by submitting to this first weak consciousness and continue to submit. In this way the law of life can work within us unceasingly, until it reaches the various inward parts of our whole being. Thus, the life within us will be enabled to expand outward very naturally and to increase in depth and height.
Some may ask, After we obey the first consciousness, what should we do next? Our answer is this: Before we obey the first sense, let us not be concerned about what we should do after that. God only gives us one consciousness at a time, just as God only gives us one day at a time. As we live day by day, so we obey the senses, one by one. When God gives us one consciousness, we simply obey this one consciousness. When we have obeyed this first consciousness, God naturally will give us the second consciousness. When God called Abraham, He only told him the first step: “Go from your land / And from your relatives / And from your father’s house.” After leaving these, what he should do and where he should go would be shown to him. God said, “I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). When the Lord Jesus was born and King Herod sought to destroy Him, God only told Joseph the first step, which was to flee into Egypt; he was to stay there until God would bring him word for the next step (Matt. 2:13).
This shows that the reason God only gives us one consciousness at a time is that He wants us to look unto Him step by step and depend on Him moment by moment, thereby submitting unto Him. Therefore, the sense of the law of life is in the same principle as the tree of life — the principle of dependence. It makes us dependent upon God, that is, dependent upon God to give us one consciousness after another consciousness. It is not depending on Him only once, but depending on Him continuously. It is unlike the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is independence from God. Thus, every one of us who desires to live by the law of life must regard the first sense of life as important and obey it, and then continue to obey thereafter.
The law of life sometimes also gives us negative feelings. That is, when we take some action that is against God, that is not in harmony with the life of God, the law of life causes us to feel uneasy and insecure and to have the taste of death. This is the being “forbidden” and the “not allowing” of God within us (Acts 16:6-7). No matter what we want to do or what we are doing, as soon as we have such a sense of forbidding within us, we should stop. If we are able to move or stop according to the consciousness of the law of life within, this law of life can then work within us without hindrance; the life within us can also grow and expand continuously. Therefore, obeying the consciousness of the law of life — especially the first consciousness — is also a very vital condition for the law of life to work within us. The reason the apostle Paul in Philippians 2 wants us to obey with fear and trembling is for God to work within us (vv. 12-13). The working of God within us requires our cooperation through obedience; therefore, our obedience becomes a requirement for the working of God.
We have seen that love and obedience are the two requirements for the working of the law of life. They are also our two responsibilities toward the law of life. If we are able to love and willing to obey, the law of life can spontaneously work in the various parts within us and manifest its natural function.
There are two kinds of functions of the law of life. One is to take away or to kill, and the other is to add or to supply. On the one hand, it takes away what we should not have in us, and on the other hand, it adds in what we should have in us. What is taken away is the element of Adam in us, and what is added is the element of Christ as the life-giving Spirit. What is taken away is old, and what is added is new. What is taken away is dead, and what is added is living. When the law of life works within us, it has these two kinds of functions manifest within us: one is to gradually take away all our old creation, and the other is to gradually add all of God’s new creation. In this way the life within us gradually increases.
The reason the law of life within us can have these two kinds of functions is that the life from which this law is derived has two special elements: one is the element of death, and the other is the element of life. The element of death is that wonderful death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, that death which includes all and ends all. The element of life is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, or the life of the resurrection power of the Lord; hence, it is also called the element of resurrection.
The function of taking away in the law of life is derived from the element of the Lord’s all-inclusive death contained in the life; therefore, just as the Lord’s death on the cross eliminated all the difficulties that God found in man, so also today, through the working of the law of life, His death is being executed within us. It kills and takes away one by one all that which is not in harmony with God and which is outside of God, such as the element of sin, the element of the world, the element of the flesh, the element of lust, the element of the old creation, and the element of the natural constitution. The function of adding, which is in the law of life, is derived from the element of the Lord’s resurrection contained in the life; therefore, just as the Lord’s resurrection brought man into God, enabling man to participate in all of God Himself, so also today, through the working of the law of life, His resurrection is being applied within us. This means that it adds into us and supplies us with God’s power, God’s holiness, God’s love, God’s patience, and all the elements of God or the elements of the new creation, that we may be filled with all the fullness of the Godhead.
It is like the medicine we take, some of which contains two kinds of elements: the element to kill the germs and the element to nourish. The function of the killing element takes away the sickness, which we should not have; the function of the nourishing element supplies the life elements we need.
It is also like the blood in our body, which contains two kinds of elements: the white blood cells and the red blood cells. White blood cells have one function — to kill germs; the red blood cells also have one function — to supply nourishment. When the blood circulates and flows within us, the white blood cells kill and clean up the germs that have invaded our body, while the red blood cells supply our entire body with needed nourishment. Likewise, when the law of the life of God works within us, or when the life of God works within us, the two elements, life and death, contained in the life of God, have the functions of killing and supplying within us — that is, killing our spiritual germs, such as the world and the flesh, and supplying us the spiritual nourishment, which consists of all the riches of God Himself.
Thus, we should see that here is a correct way for the pursuit of the growth in life. As soon as we are saved and have the life of God, the law of the life of God in us causes us to have a certain consciousness. If we want to seek growth in life, we have to love God and obey this consciousness, to deal with the conscience, and to deal with the emotion, the mind, and the will. By having these dealings, the life of God in our spirit will continue to give us a certain consciousness. When we obey these feelings, the law of life will then regulate within us and manifest its two functions: taking away that which is outside of God and adding in all that is God Himself. In this way we can gradually grow and mature in the life of God. These are very real and practical experiences. The way of life we are speaking of lies here!
Besides the two functions mentioned above, the law of life also has power. We have already mentioned that the law of the Old Testament is the law written outside of man, the dead law, the law of letters. It only makes demands on man; it has no power to supply man so that he can answer its demands. Therefore, it “could not do” (Rom. 8:3), and it also “perfected nothing” (Heb. 7:19). But the law of the New Testament is the law written in our inward parts, the living law, the law of life. This life is the “indestructible life” of God, which has “power” (v. 16). Thus, the law that comes from this life also has power, and it can enable us in all things.
We should see here that the power of the law of life is the power of the life of God from which the law comes. It was this power that enabled the Lord Jesus to rise from death and ascend to heaven, far above all. It is also this power that seeks to regulate within us every day and is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph. 1:20; 3:20). This power can accomplish the following things within us:
First, this power can incline our heart toward God. When we spoke of the relationship between the law of life and the heart, we mentioned that the law of life can be hindered by the heart. If our heart is not inclined toward God, the life of God cannot pass through. But, thank God, His life within us does not just stop there. It will still continue to work within us to such a degree that our heart, which is not inclined toward God, becomes inclined toward God. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is like streams of water in the hand of Jehovah; / He turns it wherever He wishes.” Thus, we can ask God, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies / And not to unjust gain” (Psa. 119:36). When we are willing to ask in this way, the power of the law of life of God can very naturally turn our heart back and make our heart completely inclined toward God.
Second, this power can make us submissive toward God. When we spoke of the requirements of the law of life, we also mentioned that the working of the law of life in us requires our submission to match it. Yet how many times we not only cannot submit, but we even do not want to submit. At such times the power of the law of life is fully able to deal with our condition to make us submissive.
Although we who are saved and have the life of God sometimes backslide and our heart becomes hardened and unable to obey God, God is merciful to us in that His life within us will not stop its regulating work. By His power He regulates our emotion and regulates our will; thus, by regulating to and fro, He enables us to obey Him again.
Philippians 2:13 says that the matter of our will before God is also due to the working of God within us. Thus, the submission of our will is also the outcome of the working of the power of the law of God’s life within us. This power can turn our disobedient will to be obedient to God.
Once there was a sister who felt she really could not obey. Not only was her mind disturbed, but her conscience also suffered accusation. She then asked God to rescue her. When she cried to God, God showed her the light in Philippians 2:13. She then knew that God could work to make her obedient. Thus, she was cheered and found rest.
Third, this power can also make us do the “good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Such good is from God and flows out from the life of God; therefore, to do such good works is to live out God Himself. Such good, which far exceeds the good of man, can never be lived out by the human life. But the life of God within us, regulating us with His power, can cause us to live out such extraordinary good.
Fourth, this power can make us work for the Lord from our whole heart and whole strength. The apostle Paul said that the reason he could labor more abundantly than the other apostles was not due to himself but to the grace of God bestowed upon him, or the grace of God which was with him (1 Cor. 15:10). He also said that he labored, struggling according to God’s operation which operated in him “in power” (Col. 1:29). The word power can also be translated as “dynamite.” This means that his work was not dependent on his own soulish power but on the dynamic power of the life of God, which dwelt in him. In all the past generations, those who were used by the Lord toiled continuously and suffered constantly in the work of the Lord. They labored not out of their individual striving, but because they loved God and inclined toward God, so that they allowed the life of God to work within them, to regulate within them, and to regulate out of them an activity, exploding out a work. This regulated-out activity or exploded-out work is the working out of the dynamic power of the life of God. When this dynamic power of the life of God regulates man from within, no one can remain inactive. Everyone who allows the dynamic power of the law of the life of God to work within him will definitely work with his whole strength, measuring not his own life in any labor.
After the Sino-Japanese War we went to work in several local churches. We were quite blessed and had much fruit. When we returned to Shanghai, Brother Nee said to me, “Brother, we are ‘troublemakers.’ We have just made trouble in other churches, and now we are going to make trouble in the church in Shanghai.” Though these were humorous words, yet, seriously speaking, all who live in the life of God and allow the law of the life of God to work are definitely “troublemakers.” This is because the life of God within them is an endless and powerful life, a positive and motivating life, a life with dynamic power. Whenever this life works and regulates within them, they will explode inside; they will carry out the work that has the dynamic power. Consequently, they naturally become troublemakers. Conversely, whenever a person working for the Lord causes no stir and makes the Lord’s work to have neither sound nor smell, it is needless to inquire — it must be that the life within him is restricted, and the law of life cannot work through.
If you would not misunderstand me, I would testify that many times I dare not spend time in prayer. If I pray only half an hour every day, the wheel of life begins turning, the law of life begins regulating, and the motivating power begins to urge within me, until I cannot bear any longer not to go to work. And even if I have to die there, I have to work. If I do not work, I suffer; but if I work, I am satisfied. Oh, here lies the motivating power of work!
Fifth, this power can cause us to have living and fresh service. The service of the Old Testament is according to letter. Since it is old, it is dead, and it deadens man. The service of the New Testament is according to the Spirit; it is fresh, and therefore, it is living and makes man alive. Old Testament service is an activity based on outward dead rules; therefore, it cannot give man the supply of life. New Testament service is the outcome of the regulating of the law of life in the spirit. It comes from life; therefore, it can give man life and cause him to receive a living supply. Take for example the activities we have in the meetings. If the law of life within us is moving, then even sharing a few words, giving a testimony, or making an announcement can be living, causing man to receive the supply of life.
We become competent ministers of the New Testament with living service, not by our own capability, eloquence, or education, but by the Spirit of God (2 Cor. 3:5-6) and according to “the gift of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:7). Such a gift does not refer to the supernatural gifts, such as speaking in tongues, seeing visions, healing, casting out demons, etc., but to the gift of grace, which is given to us according to the operation of the power of God, and which is gained by us because of the continuous operating of the power contained in the life freely given to us by God. Therefore, the apostle Paul says that this gift of grace could enable him to announce the unsearchable riches of Christ and to enlighten all men that they might see what is the mystery hidden throughout the ages in God who created all things (vv. 8-9). Oh, what a great gift this is! Yet such a great gift is given to him according to the operation of the power of the law of the life of God. Therefore, the gift of grace we receive by the operating of the power of the law of the life of God is fully able to make us serve God in a living and fresh way.
When we allow the law of the life of God to work unhindered in us in ever-expanding spheres, the life of God within us can then spread to such a degree that “Christ is formed” in us (Gal. 4:19). When Christ is thus gradually formed in us, we are gradually transformed into the same image as the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18) and have the image of the Son of God (Rom. 8:29) until eventually, we are entirely “like Him” (1 John 3:2). This is the glorious result of the working of the law of life within us.
What does it mean for Christ to be formed in us? We will use a simple example. Within an egg there is the life of a chicken. Yet in the first few days when the chick is being formed, if we use an electric light to see through the egg, we cannot distinguish which part is the head and which is the feet. When the end of the hatching period approaches, and the little chick within is just about to break the shell and come out, if we again use an electric light to see through the egg, we will see the completed form of a chick. This means that the chick has been formed in the egg. Likewise, when Christ is formed in us, it means that the form of Christ is completed within us. When we received the life of Christ through regeneration, Christ was only born in us, which means that He was complete organically but not complete in form. Later, as the law of this life works repeatedly in our inward parts, the element of this life is gradually increased in our various parts; thus, Christ grows within us until His life is completely formed in us.
As Christ is gradually formed in us, we are also gradually transformed. To the extent that Christ is formed in us, to that extent we are transformed. The formation of Christ and our transformation proceed simultaneously both within and without. As the formation of Christ is the increase of the element of Christ in our various parts from within to without, so our transformation is also in these various parts from within to without, until gradually we become like Christ. Thus, the transformation proceeds from the spirit to the understanding (or the soul), and then to the conduct (or the body). When our spirit is made alive by regeneration, it is transformed by renewal. (See ch. 4, concerning the new spirit.) Later, by the working of the law of life, the understanding in the soul is also transformed by renewal. Then, by the shining of the light of the life of God, we recognize our self, we resist our self, and by the Holy Spirit we crucify our self and allow only the life of God to live out from us. Thus, in our spiritual experiences we put off the old man and put on the new man more and more in our conduct; therefore, our outward conduct is also gradually renewed and transformed. Thus, Christ formed in us means that our nature is being transformed into the likeness of the Lord. When we are being transformed from the spirit through the understanding to the conduct, it means that our likeness is being transformed into the likeness of the Lord. The result of such transformation always causes us to be like the Lord Jesus, or, in other words, like the glorious human nature of the Lord. This is the conformity to the image of His Son mentioned in Romans 8:29. It is like being molded from the mold of the Son of God. Thus, transformation is the process, and to be like the Lord, or to have the same image and nature as the Lord, is the end result of transformation. This is the work “from glory to glory,” which the Lord does on us. How much we should praise the Lord!
We also should realize that the goal of transformation is not only to make us like the Lord or to cause us to have the same image and nature as the Lord, but, even more, to make us completely “like Him.” This is “the redemption of our body” spoken of in Romans 8:23. When the Lord comes again and appears to us, He will “transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:21). Thus, He makes us like Him not only in the nature of our spirit and in the form of our soul and of our conduct, but even completely like Him in the body, which will be glorious and incorruptible and will never fade away. This is the final outcome of the operating of the law of the life of God within us. Oh, how wonderful! How glorious! Therefore, all we who have this hope should purify ourselves, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3). We should, by the light of the life of God, know ourselves and all that is outside of God, and we should deal daily with our sin, the world, the flesh and all of the old creation so that we can be pure, without mixture. Then God can soon attain His glorious purpose, and we can soon enjoy the glory with the Lord.
In Hebrews 8:10, after God said, “I will impart My laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will inscribe them,” He said, “And I will be God to them, and they will be a people to Me.” This shows that God puts His law of life within us because He wants to be our God in this law of life, and He wants us to be His people in this law of life. This sets forth the intention of God, or the purpose of God, and it is a very important matter; therefore, we cannot neglect to examine it.
Why did God create man? And why did the devil steal man? These matters are not explicitly revealed in the beginning of the Bible. It was not until God declared the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai that God’s intention in man was clearly revealed. In the first three commandments we see that He wants to be God to man. And it was not until later, when the devil tempted the Lord in the wilderness and wanted the Lord to worship him, that the intention of the devil in stealing man was revealed; that is, he wants to usurp the position of God and wants man to worship him as God. This shows clearly that the struggle between the devil and God rests in the matter of who is God to man and who receives the worship of man. But only God is God; only He is worthy to be the God of man and receive the worship of man. In Old Testament times He lived among the people of Israel as their God. In the New Testament, through incarnation, He lived among men and declared that He is God. Then, through the Holy Spirit, He lives in the church and is God to man in the church. In the future, in the millennium, He will be God to the whole family of Israel; and He will furthermore dwell among men eternally in the new heaven and new earth and be the eternal God to men.
God wants not only to be God to man but even more to be Father to man. He wants not only that man take Him as God but even more that man have His life. He wants to be Father to man, thereby being God to man in His life. Only when man has His life and becomes His son can man really know that He is God and really allow Him to be God.
In the morning of His resurrection the Lord Jesus told Mary Magdalene, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). Here the Lord mentioned first the Father and then God. This means that God must be our Father; then He can be our God. And the Lord Jesus in His prayer on His last night on earth also clearly stated that only when we have the eternal life of God can we know Him, the only true God (17:3). Therefore, we must experience God as Father in life; then we can know God as God. The more we allow the life of the Father to work in us, the more we worship and serve this glorious God. God is Father to us because He wants to be our God in this life of the Father. This also means that He wants to be our God in the working of His life.
God is our Father because we have His life. Since His life has entered into us, it also brings the law of this life into us. When the law is working, it regulates God Himself out from us. Thus, God intends to be our God in this law of life.
The Mohammedans indeed worship the God in heaven, and even more those in Judaism worship the God in heaven. But they only worship an objective God, a God who is high above all; they have not allowed God to be their God within them. Today, even among Christians, many worship an objective and far-above-all God. They only worship a God outside of them, according to certain outward teachings or rules of letter. They have not allowed God to be a living God to them in the life that is within them. But we must be clear that when we worship God and allow God to be our God, we should not follow the doctrines or laws of letter; rather, we should do it in the life of God or in the law of the life of God. This law is the function manifested by the life of God. When this law of the life of God regulates within us, or when God works within us, God is being our God in this law, that is, in His working.
Today when we serve God, we must serve Him in the law of this life, in His working. Whenever we allow His life to work within us and the law of His life to regulate within us, our service is the service of life, spiritual service, or living service. When we thus allow God to be our God in the law of His life, then the God we worship is not a God in doctrine or imagination but a living God, a practical God, a God who can be touched. In our experiences of life, in our daily living, and in the activities of our work, our God is indeed a living God, a God whom we can touch and whom we can meet. He is not our God in belief; neither is He our God in rules; but He is our God in a living law of life, in a living function of life.
But sometimes, due to some problem in our heart, we do not love Him or allow the law of His life to regulate us. Then, though we have God, yet God becomes a God in doctrine or in belief. When we recover our former love toward Him and again allow Him to regulate within us by the revolving wheel of His life, then the function of the wheel of His life is again manifested, and the law of His life again does its work of continually moving and regulating within us. At this time He again becomes our God in a practical sense; He is no longer a name or a doctrine but a living God.
Hence, we must put ourselves in the hand of God, letting the law of the life of God regulate us; then we can actually have God as our God. Whenever we do not allow this law of life to regulate us, God cannot be our God, and we cannot be His people. For Him to be our God and for us to be His people in a very practical way, we must allow the law of His life to regulate us and allow Him to be our God in the law of His life.
God must be our God in the law of His life, and we must be His people in the law of His life, because our relationship with God must be living. When His life moves and regulates within us, His law of life brings Him to us and brings us to Him. It is in the working of His law of life that we can obtain Him and He can obtain us. Whenever His law of life within us ceases to regulate, this living relationship of Him as our God and us as His people also ceases. Therefore, we must allow the law of the life of God to regulate us; only then can we have God as our God, and only then can we be His people in a manifested, living way.
Thus, we can see clearly that God being God to man in the Old Testament and in the New Testament differ very greatly. In the Old Testament, God was God to the people of Israel, high above all on His throne, and according to the regulations of law. He also wanted the people of Israel to be His people according to these regulations. Therefore, if they only followed these regulations, they had no problem before God. But in the New Testament, God enters into us to be our life, and it is in the law of this life that He is our God and we are His people. Therefore, it is necessary that we live by the law of this life.
By seeing the main points of every aspect of the law of life, we know how important this law of life is to our experience of spiritual life. Therefore, we must see clearly and understand thoroughly every main point concerning this subject; then we can have real experiences in life. Hence, without fear of repetition, we shall again summarize these main points so that we may have a deep impression of them.
When we become regenerated, we receive the life of God. At this time, though we have the life of God in us, this life is only complete organically; it does not have the completion of growth and maturity. For this we must allow the power of this life to work within us continually and unceasingly in order to reach His perfect goal of growth and maturity. The working of this life comes from the natural function and characteristic of this life; in other words, it comes from the law of this life.
If this law of life is to regulate us, it must pass through our heart; therefore, the working of this law of life within us requires the cooperation of our heart. As soon as our heart cooperates, this law of life has an opportunity to regulate within us freely. The result is that it causes us to have a certain consciousness within. When we have this consciousness, we must obey it by the power of this life. Whenever we obey, we let this law have another opportunity to regulate us, thus giving us another consciousness and causing us to proceed further in obedience. The more we obey, the more we afford Him the opportunity to work. Such continued interaction of cause and effect working within us results in the unceasing manifestation of the functions of the two elements, death and resurrection, contained in life. The function of death takes away all that we should not have within us. The function of resurrection adds in all that is of the life of God. Furthermore, the working of this law and these two functions of death and resurrection are also full of power to enable us to answer the unlimited demand of God and live out all that is in the life of God. Thus, we allow the life of God to grow up gradually and mature within us.
In the meantime, when this life works within us, constantly regulating us, our inclination toward God, submission to God, and service to God become natural and easy, living and fresh. It is in this living law that God becomes our living God, and we become His living people. We may say that our relationship with God is all in this law of life. This really deserves our deep attention!
