Message Six

The Key to Being an Overcomer¡ª
the Law of the Spirit of Life for the Body Life

Scripture Reading: Rom. 7:15¡ª8:2, 4, 6

Rom. 7:15-8:2  For what I work out, I do not acknowledge; for what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do. But if what I do not will, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. Now then it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not. For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice. But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:4  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.

Rom. 8:6  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

I.      The key to being an overcomer is the law of the Spirit of life in Romans 8, a chapter for desperate seekers¡ª7:24¡ª8:2, 28-29:

Rom. 7:24-8:2  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:28-29  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;

A.     Romans 7 is the experience of being ¡°in the flesh¡±; Romans 8 is the experience of being ¡°in the spirit¡± (the divine Spirit dwelling in our human spirit and these two mingled together to be one spirit)¡ªvv. 4, 9-10, 16; 1 Cor. 6:17; 2 Tim. 4:22.

Rom. 8:4  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.

Rom. 8:9-10  But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

Rom. 8:16  The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

1 Cor. 6:17  But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

2 Tim. 4:22  The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

B.     The enjoyment of the law of the Spirit of life in Romans 8 ushers us into the reality of the Body of Christ in Romans 12; this law operates within us as we live in the Body and for the Body¡ª8:2, 28-29; 12:1-2, 11; Phil. 1:19.

Rom. 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:28-29  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;

Rom. 12:1-2  I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

Rom. 12:11  Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.

Phil. 1:19  For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

C.     The whole key to our living and service in the Body of Christ is the law of the Spirit of life, which operates within us:

1.      The law of the Spirit of life makes us God in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead, shaping us into the image of the firstborn Son of God so that we may become His corporate expression¡ªRom. 8:2, 29.

Rom. 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:29  Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;

2.      The law of the Spirit of life constitutes us the members of the Body of Christ with all kinds of functions¡ªEph. 4:11-12, 16.

Eph. 4:11-12  And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

Eph. 4:16  Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

II.    In order to experience the indwelling Christ as the law of the Spirit of life, we must see the three lives and four laws in Romans 7 and 8:

A.     The created human life with the law of good is in our soul; this law derives from the natural human life, that is, from man himself¡ª7:21-23; Gen. 1:31; Eccl. 7:29.

Rom. 7:21-23  I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members.

Gen. 1:31  And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Eccl. 7:29  See, this alone have I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.

B.     The evil satanic life with the law of sin and of death is in our flesh; this law derives from Satan, who as sin dwells in the believers¡¯ flesh¡ªRom. 6:6; 7:15-20, 23-24; 1 John 3:10; John 8:44; Matt. 13:38; 23:33; 3:7; Rom. 3:13.

Rom. 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves;

Rom. 7:15-20  For what I work out, I do not acknowledge; for what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do. But if what I do not will, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. Now then it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not. For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice. But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me.

Rom. 7:23-24  But I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?

1 John 3:10  In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, neither he who does not love his brother.

John 8:44  You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks it out of his own possessions; for he is a liar and the father of it.

Matt. 13:38  And the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;

Matt. 23:33  Serpents! Brood of vipers! How shall you escape the judgment of Gehenna?

Matt. 3:7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of vipers, who prompted you to flee from the coming wrath?

Rom. 3:13  Their throat is an opened grave; with their tongues they practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips;

C.     The uncreated divine life with the law of the Spirit of life is in our human spirit; this law derives from God, who as the Spirit dwells in man¡¯s spirit¡ª8:2, 9-10, 16; John 1:4; 10:10b; 14:6a; 1 Cor. 15:45b:

Rom. 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:9-10  But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

Rom. 8:16  The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

John 1:4  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 10:10b  I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.

John 14:6a  Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life¡­

1 Cor. 15:45b  The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

1.      Every life has a law and even is a law; God¡¯s life is the highest life, and the law of this life is the highest law¡ªcf. John 1:4-5; 12:24; 14:6a; 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b.

John 1:4-5  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

John 12:24  Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

John 14:6a  Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life¡­

John 10:10b  I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.

1 Cor. 15:45b  The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

2.      The Triune God has been processed through incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to become the law of the Spirit of life installed in our spirit as a ¡°scientific¡± law, an automatic principle¡ªRom. 8:2-3, 11, 34, 16.

Rom. 8:2-3  For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death. For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,

Rom. 8:11  And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

Rom. 8:34  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Rom. 8:16  The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

3.      The law of the Spirit of life is the spontaneous power of the divine life; it is the natural characteristic and the innate, automatic function of the divine life¡ª12:2; Phil. 2:13; Ezek. 36:26-27; Isa. 40:28-31; Heb. 12:2a; Phil. 4:13; Col. 1:28-29; cf. Prov. 30:18-19.

Rom. 12:2  And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

Phil. 2:13  For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.

Ezek. 36:26-27  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.

Isa. 40:28-31  Do you not know, / Or have you not heard, / That the eternal God, Jehovah, / The Creator of the ends of the earth, / Does not faint and does not become weary? / There is no searching out of His understanding. He gives power to the faint, / And to those who have no vigor He multiplies strength. Although youths will faint and become weary, / And young men will collapse exhausted; yet those who wait on Jehovah will renew their strength; / They will mount up with wings like eagles; / They will run and will not faint; / They will walk and will not become weary.

Heb. 12:2a  Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith¡­

Phil. 4:13  I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.

Col. 1:28-29  Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ; for which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power.

Prov. 30:18-19  There are three things which are too wonderful for me, / Indeed four which I do not know: the way of an eagle in the sky, / The way of a serpent upon a rock, / The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, / And the way of a man with a maiden.

D.    These three parties with the three laws are now present in the believer in much the same way that they (God, man, and Satan) were present in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3).

E.     In addition to these three laws within the believer, there is the law of God outside of him¡ªRom. 7:22, 25.

Rom. 7:22  For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man,

Rom. 7:25  Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.

III.  While we remain in touch with the Lord, staying in contact with Him, the law of the Spirit of life works automatically, spontaneously, and effortlessly:

A.     We must cease from our own struggling and striving¡ªGal. 2:20a; cf. Rom. 7:15-20:

Gal. 2:20a  I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me¡­

Rom. 7:15-20  For what I work out, I do not acknowledge; for what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do. But if what I do not will, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. Now then it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not. For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice. But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me.

1.      If we have not seen that sin is a law and that our will can never overcome this law, we are trapped in Romans 7; we will never arrive at Romans 8.

2.      Paul willed again and again, but the result was only repeated failure; the best that a man can do is to make resolutions¡ª7:18.

Rom. 7:18  For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not.

3.      When sin is dormant within us, it is merely sin, but when it is aroused in us by our willing to do the good, it becomes ¡°the evil¡±¡ªv. 21.

Rom. 7:21  I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me.

4.      Instead of willing, we should set our mind on the spirit and walk according to the spirit¡ª8:6, 4; Phil. 2:13.

Rom. 8:6  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

Rom. 8:4  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.

Phil. 2:13  For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.

B.     We must cooperate with the indwelling, installed, automatic, and inner-operating God by prayer and by having a spirit of dependence, calling upon the Lord to maintain our fellowship with Him¡ªRom. 10:12-13; 1 Thes. 5:17; Eph. 6:17-18.

Rom. 10:12-13  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; for ¡°whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.¡±

1 Thes. 5:17  Unceasingly pray,

Eph. 6:17-18  And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints,

C.     We must care for the sense of life in our spirit in order to remain in the fellowship of life, the flowing of the divine life, for the operation of the law of the Spirit of life¡ªRom. 8:6, 16; 1 John 1:2-3, 6-7:

Rom. 8:6  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

Rom. 8:16  The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

1 John 1:2-3  (And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us); that which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:6-7  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth; but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.

1.      The sense of life, on the negative side, is the feeling of death¡ªweakness, emptiness, uneasiness, restlessness, depression, dryness, darkness, pain, etc.

2.      The sense of life, on the positive side, is the feeling of life and peace¡ªstrength, satisfaction, peace, rest, release, livingness, watering, brightness, comfort, etc.

3.      The sense of life is related to the consciousness of the conscience according to the life of God¡ªEph. 4:18-19.

Eph. 4:18-19  Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness in greediness.

D.    We must take heed to our spirit and guard our heart; the spirit is the organ to contact the life of God, and the heart is the key, the switch, the strategic point, which allows the life of God to be dispensed into us and freely operate in us¡ªPsa. 78:8; Mal. 2:15-16; Prov. 4:23; Ezek. 36:26; Eph. 3:17; cf. Ezek. 14:3.

Psa. 78:8  That they might not be like their fathers, / A stubborn and rebellious generation, / A generation that did not set their heart right, / And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Mal. 2:15-16  But did He not make them one? And the remnant of the Spirit was His. And why the one? He sought the seed of God. Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one be treacherous to the wife of his youth. For I hate divorce, says Jehovah the God of Israel; and he who does it behaves in violence, says Jehovah of hosts. Take heed then to your spirit, and do not be treacherous.

Prov. 4:23  Keep your heart with all vigilance, / For from it are the issues of life.

Ezek. 36:26  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.

Eph. 3:17  That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Ezek. 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I be inquired of at all by them?

E.     We must walk according to the spirit¡ªlive in the spirit¡ªRom. 8:4, 16; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14:

Rom. 8:4  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.

Rom. 8:16  The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

1 Cor. 2:14  But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know them because they are discerned spiritually.

1.      The secret of experiencing Christ is to be in Him, the One who empowers us to do all things, and the secret of being in Him is to be in our spirit¡ªPhil. 4:12-13, 23.

Phil. 4:12-13  I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.

Phil. 4:23  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

2.      In order to live in our spirit, we must take time to behold the Lord, praying to fellowship with Jesus to bathe in His countenance, to be saturated with His beauty, and to radiate His excellence¡ª2 Cor. 3:16, 18; cf. Matt. 14:23.

2 Cor. 3:16  But whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

2 Cor. 3:18  But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.

Matt. 14:23  And after He sent the crowds away, He went up to the mountain privately to pray. And when night fell, He was there alone.

3.      In order to live in our spirit, we must pray without ceasing¡ª1 Thes. 5:17; cf. John 20:22; Lam. 3:55-56; Rom. 10:12-13.

1 Thes. 5:17  Unceasingly pray,

John 20:22  And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.

Lam. 3:55-56  I called upon Your name, O Jehovah, / From the lowest pit. You have heard my voice; do not hide / Your ear at my breathing, at my cry.

Rom. 10:12-13  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; for ¡°whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.¡±

4.      In order to live in our spirit, we must remain in the fellowship of the divine life to walk in the divine light¡ª1 John 1:2-3, 6-7.

1 John 1:2-3  (And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us); that which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:6-7  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth; but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.

F.We must mind the things of the Spirit¡ªset our mind on the spirit¡ªRom. 8:5-6:

Rom. 8:5-6  For those who are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

1.      We must pay attention to the sense of our spirit in order to not grieve the Spirit and not quench the Spirit¡ªMal. 2:15-16; Eph. 4:30; 1 Thes. 5:19.

Mal. 2:15-16  But did He not make them one? And the remnant of the Spirit was His. And why the one? He sought the seed of God. Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one be treacherous to the wife of his youth. For I hate divorce, says Jehovah the God of Israel; and he who does it behaves in violence, says Jehovah of hosts. Take heed then to your spirit, and do not be treacherous.

Eph. 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.

1 Thes. 5:19  Do not quench the Spirit;

2.      We can set our mind on the spirit by setting our mind on God¡¯s words, which are spirit and life¡ªJohn 6:63; Isa. 55:8-11.

John 6:63  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Isa. 55:8-11  For My thoughts are not your thoughts, / And your ways are not My ways, declares Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, / So My ways are higher than your ways, / And My thoughts higher than your thoughts. For just as the rain comes down / And the snow from heaven, / And does not return there, / Until it waters the earth / And makes it bear and sprout forth, / That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; / It will not return to Me vainly, / But it will accomplish what I delight in, / And it will prosper in the matter to which I have sent it.

3.      To mind the things of the Spirit, that is, to set our mind on the spirit, is also to be one with the Lord to care for the church with all the saints in the inward parts of Christ Jesus¡ªPhil. 1:8; cf. 2:21.

Phil. 1:8  For God is my witness how I long after you all in the inward parts of Christ Jesus.

Phil. 2:21  For all seek their own things, not the things of Christ Jesus.

G.    We must put to death by the Spirit the practices of our body¡ªRom. 8:13; Zech. 4:6; Gal. 5:16:

Rom. 8:13  For if you live according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.

Zech. 4:6  And he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of hosts.

Gal. 5:16  But I say, Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.

1.      We must allow the Spirit to inhabit and reside in our inward being¡ªRom. 8:9, 11.

Rom. 8:9  But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.

Rom. 8:11  And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

2.      We must remain in the church life, where the God of peace crushes Satan under our feet¡ª12:1-2, 11; 16:20.

Rom. 12:1-2  I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

Rom. 12:11  Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.

Rom. 16:20  Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

H.    We must be led by the Spirit as the sons of God¡ª8:14:

Rom. 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

1.      To be led by the Spirit is to take care of the inner anointing, the moving and working of the indwelling, compound Spirit¡ª1 John 2:20, 27.

1 John 2:20  And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know.

1 John 2:27  And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.

2.      To be led by the Spirit is to care for the rest in our spirit, that is, to be led as a captive in Christ¡¯s triumphal procession¡ª2 Cor. 2:12-14; 7:5-6.

2 Cor. 2:12-14  Furthermore, when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and a door was open to me in the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, for I did not find Titus my brother; but taking leave of them, I went forth into Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place.

2 Cor. 7:5-6  For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in everything; without were fightings, within were fears. But He who comforts those who are downcast, that is, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus;

I.       We must cry to the Father in the spirit of sonship¡ªRom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6:

Rom. 8:15  For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father!

Gal. 4:6  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father!

1.      When we cry ¡°Abba, Father!¡± (Rom. 8:15), ¡°the Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God¡± (v. 16).

2.      To cry ¡°Abba, Father!¡± expresses the sweetness of our intimate relationship with our God¡ªcf. Matt. 18:3.

Matt. 18:3  And said, Truly I say to you, Unless you turn and become like little children, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

J.      We must groan in the interceding Spirit for our full sonship, which is the redemption of our body¡ªRom. 8:23, 26-27:

Rom. 8:23  And not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body.

Rom. 8:26-27  Moreover, in like manner the Spirit also joins in to help us in our weakness, for we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. But He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to God.

1.      In our groaning the Spirit groans also, interceding for us.

2.      The interceding Spirit prays for us that we may be conformed to the image of Christ as the firstborn Son of God¡ªvv. 28-29.

Rom. 8:28-29  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;

K.    We must love God and be constrained, restricted, and motivated by the love of Christ to more than conquer in all things¡ªvv. 31-39:

Rom. 8:31-39  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God¡¯s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, ¡°For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we have been accounted as sheep for slaughter.¡± But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1.      By loving God, we participate in all the riches contained in God¡ª1 Cor. 2:9-10.

1 Cor. 2:9-10  But as it is written, ¡°Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and which have not come up in man¡¯s heart; things which God has prepared for those who love Him.¡± But to us God has revealed them through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

2.      We must be constrained by the love of Christ to love God and the saints with Christ as our love¡ª2 Cor. 5:14.

2 Cor. 5:14  For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died;

IV.  The processed and consummated Triune God, as the spontaneous and automatic power of the law of the Spirit of life, accomplishes the following things within us:

A.     This power inclines our heart toward God¡ªProv. 21:1; Psa. 119:36.

Prov. 21:1  The king¡¯s heart is like streams of water in the hand of Jehovah; / He turns it wherever He wishes.

Psa. 119:36  Incline my heart to Your testimonies / And not to unjust gain.

B.     This power makes us submissive toward God¡ªPhil. 2:13.

Phil. 2:13  For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.

C.     This power causes us to do the good works which God has ordained for us so that we may live the church life and bear the testimony of Jesus¡ªEph. 2:10.

Eph. 2:10  For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them.

D.    This power causes us to labor for the Lord with all our heart and strength¡ª1 Cor. 15:10; Col. 1:28-29.

1 Cor. 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me did not turn out to be in vain, but, on the contrary, I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God which is with me.

Col. 1:28-29  Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ; for which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power.

E.     This power causes our service to be living and fresh¡ªRom. 6:4; 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6.

Rom. 6:4  We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.

Rom. 7:6  But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter.

2 Cor. 3:6  Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

V.    Ultimately, our enjoyment of the indwelling Spirit as the automatic law of the divine life is in the Body of Christ and for the Body of Christ with the goal of making us the same as God in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead to accomplish the goal of His eternal economy¡ªRom. 8:2, 28-29; 12:1-2; 11:36; 16:27; Phil. 1:19.

Rom. 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:28-29  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;

Rom. 12:1-2  I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

Rom. 11:36  Because out from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Rom. 16:27  To the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Phil. 1:19  For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,