Chapter 8: Inner Management

Scripture Reading:

Revelation 3:14-22,

Colossians 3:15,

Romans 8:1-2

Thank God! As soon as we were saved by grace, God set us on the path of life. Admittedly, when we look at the ecumenical Christian community today, we can see that all the saints are at peace and love one another. But more importantly, we must go back to the Bible to see what is pleasing to God and what is the path that the church should take. Undeniably, God has entrusted people with different tasks, some of which are to evangelize and save souls; some are to perform miracles, heal the sick and cast out demons; some are to open hospitals, schools, or various charitable organizations; some are to establish churches and expand on a large scale outside, and some are to focus on preaching the truths of Scripture, and so on. All of these organizations, which receive different trusts from God, are part of the Kingdom of God. But what is the main and central path that runs through the entire Bible? Abraham is the ancestor of the Israelites and the main Old Testament character. At the beginning of the New Testament, Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham. This shows that the Lord Jesus Christ was born from this line. Abraham lived in the land of Canaan all his life, and he looked to the city of foundations, which was built by God's handiwork (Heb. 11:10). It is also the New Jerusalem, the holy city that came down from heaven as recorded in the last book of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation. Therefore, from the conclusion of the whole work of God, it is clear that God's focus and attention is within the holy city of the New Jerusalem, and what is this holy city like?

The Bible describes it! The city is glorious and resplendent: "having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal..... the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light." (Rev. 21:11, 22-23). Then chapter 22:1 says, "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of it's street..." This road with rivers of life-giving water in it is the way of life. This shows that the way the saints (the church) should walk is the way of life. However, few people have seen this path, and even fewer have entered into it. We hope that the Lord will use this message to open the eyes of our spirit to see that the Lord has placed you and me on the path of life in the spirit, not the outside path, but the inside path.

Management from the inside

We have looked at nine experiences of how to enter into the way of the inner life, and in the morning we will look at the tenth experience, "The Inner Management". When a Christian goes deeper into the path of the inner life, there is a kind of light that allows Christ to manage this person, the so-called spiritual man, on the inside.

I. Christ Reigns in the Heart to Govern

A spiritual person is not just a person who loves the Lord passionately, serves the Lord faithfully, or has an elegant demeanor that is admired. In fact, the so-called spiritual man is to let Christ live in our hearts and manage our minds, emotions, and wills; and in our lives, work, and ministry, we are governed from the inside in our dealings, judgments, and rules. In other words, Christ is on the throne in our hearts. This is also the picture of a person who is at the peak of spiritual maturity. 

A. In the Laodicean Church, the Lord has Lost His Position

It is written in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 that the Lord wrote through the Apostle John to the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (representing the churches of the people). As each letter ends with the same sentence, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.", it is clear that these letters were written to the churches of the people. It is clear that these letters are addressed to all the churches, and to all the churches of the earth throughout the ages. At the same time, the different characteristics of these seven churches illustrate the seven processes of church history. They represent the churches from the time of the apostles to the present day, which is nearly 2,000 years ago. One of the last churches is called Laodicea, which refers to the near return of the Lord Jesus and the end of the church. We are now in the age of the church of Laodicea. What was the church of Laodicea like?

Where is Christ in the last days of the church? Revelation 3:20 says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Oh! The head of the church is rejected at the door, which means that the Lord has lost his place in the church. In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer in charge of the Church. From the personal experience of the saints, Jesus is no longer in charge of the people.

The Church is a gathering of saints. Do you, me, him, all of us, let Christ rule? If so, it is the Church of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was a pre-Laodicean church, that is, there was a great revival in about the 17th century when a group of Christians were raised up by the Lord, and not only did they realize that they loved one another, but they stayed in the Word of the Lord, and they allowed Christ to have the first rule in all things. Unfortunately, it has continued to the present day, and the church has deteriorated into Laodicea because of its deviation, and we would like to be reminded of this by the Lord.

With regard to the Revelation's reference to the Laodicean church and the loss of Christ's position, we would like to briefly point out three scenarios:

1. The heart has not fully surrendered to the Lord - Neither cold nor hot

Look at verse 15 of chapter 3: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot". "Neither cold nor hot" means half and half, i.e. lukewarm water. Spiritually, it means half love for the Lord and half love for the world. Do you say you don't love the Lord? Whenever there is a church meeting, you always attend it, and you even give a little bit of money, but do you really love the Lord? When things come to a head, you are surrounded by worldly matters and become timid to serve the Lord.

Anyone who is not absolutely devoted to the Lord is lukewarm. Why is he lukewarm? Because the heart is not fully turned to the Lord. Admittedly, life on earth requires that one must work for a living, except for a few who are called by the Lord to serve Him full-time in prayer and preaching. This does not mean that to serve the Lord full-time is to serve Him, or that to serve Him professionally is to love the world. In fact, every saint should live for the Lord full time, just in different positions. For example, when sisters take care of their children for the Lord, or when brothers do business for the Lord, as long as their hearts are directed to the Lord, it is right. However, it is a pity that the hearts of many saints do not fully turn to the Lord, but are occupied by the world. 1 John 2:15 tells us, "If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him”. Before the Lord Jesus left this world, he said to his disciples, "For you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." (John 15:19) Then He turned to God the Father and prayed, "I have given them your word. And the world hated them, because they were not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (Jn 17:14). It is clear that Christians are despised by the world because we are not of the world, and therein lies the key to the strength of the witness of some Christians and the weakness of the witness of others. Let's say a young man and woman are in love, and they must talk about everything. If the man loves the woman passionately, and the woman loves several other men in addition to her boyfriend, can she love him exclusively? Naturally, this is impossible, because her heart is divided among her other boyfriends, and this man is only a fraction of her heart. Similarly, many Christians also have other loves outside of the Lord Jesus, especially young brothers and sisters, who love to swim in the mountains, play in the water, play ball games, watch TV, and read novels. As their hearts are not fully devoted to the Lord, it is no wonder that their response to the Lord's love is like that of the Laodicean Church, neither cold nor hot, and their hearts are not devoted to the Lord. Please ask yourself, is your heart cold or hot?

A Christian who is on fire in his spirit is used by the Lord in his ministry because in the depths of his spirit there is always a fire burning. As the prophet Jeremiah said, "Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name. But His word was in my heart like a burning fires shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not." (Jeremiah 20:9) May the Lord be gracious and give light!

2. Spiritual things replace Christ

The attitude of the Laodicean church toward the Lord was lukewarm and self-assured, saying, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.". (Rev. 3:18)

1. The Church's Work Blessing Replaces Christ - I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no lack of anything.

   Since the Laodicean Church had been blessed by the Lord, it had many works of great magnitude and performance. Therefore, she was proud to say, "I am rich, I become wealthy, and I have need of nothing." Unknown to them, they are replacing Christ with the blessing of the church's work. In this regard, I always remind myself and my co-workers that when we are blessed by the Lord in our ministry, we must not let the work of the church replace Christ. For example, there is a brother who has a desire to love the Lord, so he participates in the ministry of building clubhouses. Since he has taken on this responsibility, he tries his best to plan on how to decorate the clubhouse so that it will be magnificent, instead of paying attention to how to make the people who come to the meetings feel that they have the Lord's presence, or pay attention to God's glory; in other words, his attention is not on the Lord, but on things other than the Lord.

   A famous and authoritative theology professor once visited the world-famous St. Peter's Catholic Church in the Vatican in Rome. On that day the Pope himself took him around the whole Catholic Church. During the conversation, the Pope said to the professor of theology in a boastful tone: "What we didn't have in the apostolic age, we have now. Today, it is no longer like the apostolic age when the Church still lacked ...... Look at the amount of money spent on this chapel, the materials, the equipment, the furnishings. The professor of theology, upon hearing this, immediately replied to the Pope, "Yes, we now have all the wealth that we did not have in the time of the Apostles, but what the Apostles had, we do not have today”. The apostles said at that time, "I have not silver or gold, but what I have, I give to you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to raise up the lame and to walk,  a power which we have lost."

   Oh! Brothers and sisters, from this we can see that if the eyes of our heart are not opened by the Lord, we will also focus on the outside of the church, the things that can be seen as vanity, rather than the reality of the spiritual life that cannot be seen on the inside.

2. Spiritual Gifts Instead of Christ - Buy gold refined in fire and be rich!

   Thus the Lord said to the church in Laodicea, "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in fire, that you may be rich." (Rev. 3:18). "Gold refined by fire" is pure gold that has been forged in a fiery furnace, denoting high value and purity; spiritually, it means faith (1 Pet. 1:7) on the one hand, and abundant life on the other. Because the way to the inner life is through the valley of tears, everyone who passes through the valley of tears will shed tears, but the result of all the pain and suffering will be an abundant spiritual life.

   Today's churches need those who walk the path of the inner life to have deep spiritual experiences and abundant supply of life, so that the churches can be enriched. But if we are not careful, we can replace Christ with spiritual gifts. As in the case of the Corinthian church, God gave them the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-7) for the purpose of furthering their lives. Unfortunately, they emphasized the use of the gifts more than the growth of life (Christ). As a result, the Corinthian church, though full of eloquence and knowledge, was not inferior in any of the gifts (1 Cor. 1:5, 7), but Paul said they were babies in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1), which means that they took the place of Christ with their gifts. Therefore, they do not grow in life and become spiritual babies.

3. Replacing Christ with spiritual knowledge - Buying eye salve so that you can see

   The Laodicean church is not only replacing Christ with gifts, but further replacing Christ with spiritual knowledge. Knowledge is arrogance; pride is blindness, because knowledge (reason) instead of Christ means there is no sight of Christ, i.e. no revelation. No wonder the Lord said to the church in Laodicea, "and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see." (Rev. 3:18)

   A brother repeatedly said to me, "Brother Jeng, it is rare that you come to Taiwan preach more when you have the opportunity, because the brothers and sisters there are very eager." I answered him, "I know, but some sermons need a period of time to be digested, because if they are not digested into experiences, we may fall into the trap of replacing the foundation with spiritual knowledge." Don't think that the sermon becomes ours after hearing it. No, it takes time to experience it personally, for if knowledge only increases, but not actual experience, it will remain at the beginning of Christ's doctrine (Heb. 6:1) and will not grow, just as the church in Laodicea did.

3. Christ Loses His Place in the Church - I knock at the door.

The Laodicean church is neither hot nor cold, and replaces Christ with the blessings of works, spiritual gifts, and spiritual knowledge. Naturally, Christ has lost His place in the church altogether. What we see in the church is man's "self" on the throne, man taking the lead, and the impression is that man's opinions, claims, and voices fill the church, while the voice of the Lord is not heard, and there is no supply of life. No wonder the Lord said, "Behold, I knock at the door! I am knocking at the door", indicating that Christ is already outside the church, outside the believer's heart, and that it is man's "self" that is on the throne in the church, not Christ.

B. Christ Reigns in the Heart

Regarding the point that Christ reigns in the heart, we are quoting the Lord's warning to the Laodicean church as a lesson to us so that we will not repeat the same mistake.

1. Spiritual Humility - If anyone hears my voice abd opens the door

"If anyone hears my voice and opens the door" signifies that it is not easy to hear the voice of the Lord. In the morning we preach the message here, and all the saints are also listening to the sermon, but some of them hear the voice of the Holy Spirit (the word of the Lord), and some of them even get nothing from the meeting from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. On the path of spiritual life, "hearing the voice of the Lord" is absolutely indispensable. When we come to a meeting, we must be touched, grabbed, or touched by at least one word of the Lord in the message, or a certain passage of the word, so that you can be helped or supplied. That's why we often hear brothers and sisters praying to the Lord, "Lord! Use the words of your servants to pierce the hearts of men. We can see that hearing the voice of the Lord has the effect of piercing your heart. I wish that every time we come to the Lord, we would have the grace to recognize with an open heart that we have nothing and that we need the word of the Lord to illuminate me, correct me, remind me, and heal me.

Isaiah 57:15 says, "For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'” This means that whoever has a contrite heart and a humble spirit, the Lord dwells in it. May we all pray to the Lord to empty our hearts so that we may hear His voice. For the Lord has promised that whoever is humble, He will enter into him and dwell with him. In this way we can maintain the presence of the Lord between us and Him. There is a world-famous picture of the twelve disciples observing the Lord's Supper with the Lord. It is said that this picture was made centuries ago by a famous artist, who spent his heart, soul, strength, and years to paint every figure and every object in the picture in a meticulous and precise manner. The cup for dinner alone took several weeks of work, and it took him at least a few years to complete this masterpiece. When he had finished the painting, he invited a number of people to view it, and they all praised it for its beauty! They all praised the painting for its beauty, especially the dinner cup. However, the artist was disappointed and saddened because the centerpiece of his painting was Jesus, but the audience's attention was diverted from Jesus to the cup. So he erased the cup and painted an ordinary cup with an ordinary hand. As a result, no one would pay special attention to the cup, but rather to the central figure, Jesus. 

2. Let Christ Come in - I will come in to him

"I will come in to him" indicates that the Lord is going to come in to us. Spiritually, it means to let Christ come in and live in us.

If you and I have truly received the Lord Jesus into our hearts, we should not substitute anything else for Christ. Let me give you a simple example: If there is a brother or sister among us who has bought a diamond ring worth 10 million dollars and put it in his pocket, he will be very fidgety when he comes to the meeting, he will feel it to see if it is still in his pocket, and then he will feel it again, and he will be unable to listen to the sermon, or even listen to the Lord's word because the 10 million dollar diamond ring is in his pocket. It's a pity that you can't listen to the Lord's word because of the 10 million dollar diamond ring in your pocket! The psalm says, O Jesus, Lord, with me abide; I rest in Thee, whate’er betide. There is another hmn that tells us the same thing:

Dear Lord Jesus, precious Jesus,

Thou hast won each love from me;

Who like Thee—so fair and comely?

Who like Thee—so sweet and lovely?

Matchless One, unrivaled beauty,

None can e’er compete with Thee!

3. Christ makes His home and is enthroned in the heart - Dine with him and he with Me.

Further the Lord promises, "I will dine with him," meaning that Christ has come unto us in order to dwell in us, to make us His dwelling-place, His home, to show that He will make His home in you and in me. And He says, "I will dine with him," and He will ascend the throne in you and in me.

Oh! May the Lord be gracious and merciful to us, and open the eyes of our hearts so that we may truly see that Jesus Christ in you and in me is better than silver and gold; better than riches and wealth; better than a vast expanse of land; better than kings ruling over the nations; better than the world's glory and fame; better than the world's wealth and riches; better than the world's glory. Best of beauty, best of sweet, best of all . ...and the heart is drawn not only to love Him, but to cherish Him, as the psalmist prays to the Lord, "Lord, I love You dearly! I love Thee dearly, and would that I were Thine forever, and that Thou wouldst dwell in my soul, and never be parted. Who have I in heaven? I have no one to love on earth, but I wish to pour out my heart to the Lord!".

I believe that in this invisible way, I enter into a seat where the Lord sits with me and I with Him, where the Lord is on the throne of my heart, ruling me and ordering me, and from now on it is not I but the Lord, but the Lord is the Lord.

Ephesians 3:17 reads, "That Christ may dwell (make home) in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love." We are told that Christ not only sits on a throne in heaven, but also makes his home in our hearts through our faith. He will make our hearts His home, and He will reign freely in our hearts. There was a young man who testified that he not only participated in the ministry training, but also served in the meetings. As we talked about "according to Christ" during the summer, the title "Mount Zion" was mentioned in the message, which refers to Christ's ascension to the throne. Therefore, in order to experience the ascension of Christ to the throne, one must get off the throne. This brother was very helpful. I didn't realize that the Lord was really gracious to him. After the special meeting, he went down to the mountains and loved and served the Lord with a greater fervor in his spirit than before. Soon after, one night at home, he remembered that a young brother had not come to the meeting for a long time, so he called him, and found out that he had a problem and was in a sympathetic situation. So they got into a conversation on the phone, and because of the pain in his heart, the other party complained to him, but his father came over and urged him not to use the phone for too long, but the other party was in the middle of his speech, and his father impatiently shouted at him to hang up the phone right away, but the other party was still talking, and his father got angry, and he had no choice but to hang up the line, and his father, because of his unceasing fury, kept on scolding him, and he couldn't help but to reply back said, I'm not a man and a woman to talk about love, I did not think that his father was so angry that he slapped him in the face, he was already a university student, and at that time there were other younger brothers and relatives on the scene, he was humiliated and furious, although he did not dare to return the favor, but inwardly angry from here on out on his father's grudge, and so a week after a week, a month passed, he and his father do not talk to each other, and it seems to be a deeper and deeper separation, because he thought his father was too much, too unsympathetic. He thought his father was too much and too unreasonable. I have a clear conscience towards people, but by a marvelous work of the Holy Spirit, he happened to be assigned to speak at a youth meeting about the meaning of Mount Zion, which is to put Christ on the throne. He struggled for a long time because he knew that in order for Christ to be on the throne, a man had to get off the throne, and because he did not want to be a man who only preached but did not experience. He wanted to push back and not fellowship with his leaders, but the words he heard at the special meeting hit him hard, one by one, that a bowed down man allows everything to be led by the Lord, submits to what He has ordained, and that every circumstance has been permitted by the throne of Christ. He struggled, but thanked the Lord! Eventually he submitted and the Lord's grace won him over, and the Lord's grace was enough to give him the courage to go to his father and confess his sins to him, saying, "Father, you beat me that day, and I was very sorry in my heart, and I hated you, but the Lord wanted me to confess my sins to you, and miraculously, not only was his heart released after he confessed his sin, but they were reconciled as father and son, and they became friends. I was very touched by this testimony. May the Lord be gracious to us, so that we can study seriously and experience the throne of Christ, so that the Lord can rule over you and me. All who strive for the body are men on the throne; may the Lord give us light through this.

II. The Peace of Christ Rules

When Christ rules over you and me, there is one proof, namely, peace. For Colossians 3:15 tells us, "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts." This means that we, as human beings, are governed by the peace of Christ.

A. The Peace of Christ Reigns in Your Hearts

On the night of the resurrection after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, because the Jews were going to further persecute the disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples were afraid and shut their doors tight. While the disciples were in fear and trembling and losing peace of mind, Jesus came to them and appeared to them, saying, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19). Not only that, but when Jesus appeared to them again eight days later, He said, "Peace be with you" (John 20:26).  It is clear that when Jesus came in, peace came in with him. Therefore, a person who really lets Christ rule is one who lets peace reign in our hearts.

"Letting peace rule" means letting peace rule our life, work and ministry. Therefore, when a saint realizes that he has lost peace, he must quickly return to the Lord to receive illumination, because we are no longer under the Lord's control.

When the Lord Jesus was on earth, after feeding 5,000 people with bread, He urged His disciples to get into the boat first; and when He had told them to disperse, He went up on the mountain alone to pray. The boat was in the middle of the sea, and the wind was rough, and the waves were shaking it. During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus was walking on the sea, going to the disciples. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried out in fear because they thought He was a ghost. Jesus said to them quickly, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” As soon as He got into the boat, the wind ceased and the waves were calmed (Matthew 14:22-33). This history shows again and again that when Jesus comes, he brings peace.

Experientially speaking, when saints have been in a state of internal dissension, or when they have been in a state of anger, or when they have been in a state of advocacy, or when they have been struggling with "I" and "I", it is a sign that either peace is reigning, or that Jesus has lost his position, because as soon as he came, the wind and the waves were calmed.

B. Christ's name is called the Prince of Peace, He brings peace

Isaiah 9:6 reads of our Lord, "His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This means that Jesus' name is the "Prince of Peace", and when He reigns, there is peace. Therefore, if the Lord is the Lord, it is certain that there will be peace like a river in our hearts. We can draw a foreshadowing from the Old Testament that during the reign of Solomon, there would be peace in the land, and the Israelites would live and work in peace and contentment. The word "Solomon" means "King of Peace" in reference to Christ. When Christ reigns, peace reigns, and as a result, our whole person, family, and church enjoys spiritual peace and rest.

C. Stop the activities of the flesh and Let Christ reign to have peace

The reason why a Christian cannot enjoy the peace of Christ and experience Christ's reign in his heart is that he is too active in the flesh, and he acts according to the dictates of his own mind and emotions, and lives according to his own preferences. Once he loses peace in his heart, he is prone to live in the activities of the flesh, and to live a life of struggling and suffering.

Therefore, Psalm 46:10 tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God." This means that God is the Almighty God, and the power of His throne rules over all things, so we must stop all the activities of the flesh, stop struggling, and surrender completely to God. If we allow our own life to rule, we will end up being filled with fleshly activities and lose our peace. If we do not let ourselves be the master, then we can stop the activities of the flesh and let Christ be the master, so that the peace of Christ can be the master over us.

 D. Not to Struggle by Effort, But to Enjoy Peace by Total Surrender

Sooner or later, in the pursuit of the inner life, young people will find that there are more failures than victories in their experiences, and that is not the case, for many times they are passionate, talk too much, and are arrogant. It seems that there are a lot of spiritual difficulties, and so they want to practice self-mortification, learn to be more gentle, to talk less, and to be humble, that is, when they aspire to pursue victory, they will enter into the stage of struggling. When you set your mind on the pursuit of victory, you enter the stage of hard struggle. Some people stop at this stage for a long time, until one day the Lord's mercy comes and they see that He is God, and they must stop everything and let Christ be their life, so that they can live as Christ and no longer be me, and they do not have to work hard or aspire to anything, and naturally stop themselves. This is what Isaiah 30:15 tells us: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." In the New Testament, Hebrews 4:10 says, "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

III. The Law of the Spirit of Life

When Christ rules over you and me, as Romans 8:1-2 says, "Now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." This is a statement that God, by the law of the Spirit of life, saves man from the law of sin and death, and gives him victory.

A. The Power of Sin is the Law of Man

We know that one of the reasons for the failure of a Christian is the fallen life in man, the power of sin and the power of death, which is a "law" that calls man to sin (Rom. 7:23). In other words, the reason why man sins is because sin has a power to make him sin, and the reason why man dies is because death has a power to make him die.

It is said through experience that there is a law of sin and a law of death in man. This law is a natural power that operates in man. In the case of the law of sin, man is called to do what he dislikes; in the case of the law of death, man is called to weakness. For example, if someone wants to serve the Lord in his heart, but has no power to do so, the law of death will always lead the saint into weakness and death. Therefore, we must not allow this weakness (the predecessor of death) to overcome us, i.e., when we want to serve, we must not say, "I am weak and have no power to serve", or else we are giving the devil room. For the power of death is a law unto weakness and death (Rom. 7:13). This law of death causes us to lose our spiritual functions, so that we cannot pray, read the Bible, or serve, and even our spirit remains weak and sinks.

B. The Law of the Spirit of Life Frees Me from the Law of Sin and Death

It is true that everyone is under the law of sin and death, but when Jesus Christ is in us, we are released from the law of sin and death.

How are we released? The Holy Spirit puts the life of God in you and me the day we believe in Jesus and are born again. In other words, our born-again spirit means that the Holy Spirit puts God's life in us, and this Holy Spirit carries life. The Bible calls this the "Spirit of life".

Since it is the Spirit of life, it means that there is life in it, and all life has a law. It's true that a flower, if you leave it there and don't care about it, it will naturally grow. It is also like a grain of wheat that falls into the ground, and after a certain period of time, marvelously germinates, grows, and grows ears. Because this is the law of life, it is true in Taiwan, and it is also true in the United States, and it is true in Japan, and it is true no matter where you are, because there is a law of growth in life.

The life of God also has its law, and this law is holy, strong, and victorious. God's law of salvation is law over law, that is, the law of the Spirit of life over the law of sin and death, so that the saint does not have to strive or struggle. Just believe and accept Jesus as Savior, and this law of the Spirit of life overcomes the law of sin and death. This means that the law of the Spirit of life governs us internally.

For example, no matter how I put this handkerchief in my hand, if I let go of it, it will surely fall to the ground, and I don't have to help it to fall, because the center of the earth has gravity, and this law governs it. So how do you stop the handkerchief from falling to the ground? As long as there is an upward law (power) to hold it, it will not fall.

I went to San Diego USA for three weeks. One day I saw dozens of colorful balloons flying high in the sky, and a brother told me that it was not far from where I lived, and that for only fifty dollars you could take a ride in a balloon for an hour and see the whole city of San Diego. The balloon goes up into the air and you go up with it.

In the same way, we are called to sin by the law of sin, and the law of death is like gravity pulling you and me into death, but the balloon is like the law of life lifting us up into the air. Therefore, the Christian does not have to struggle to win, but the victorious life of Christ is in us, and this victorious life, the law of the Spirit of life, gives us victory over the law of sin and death. We can see that there is an inner management, which is administered by the law of the Spirit of life.

In terms of experience, how to let Christ rule over us from morning to night, there is nothing else, that is, to be close to the Lord, to live in intimate fellowship with the Lord, and will naturally overcome, and Christ is invisible in you and me, to be a life of victory for us, so that we can enter into a life of deliverance and transcendence. But when you and I do not live in the Holy Spirit, we are disconnected from the law of life, and immediately overcome by the law of sin and death. So when do saints allow Christ to rule, that is, the law of life to rule over this person? The Psalmist says,

Abiding, we are strengthened with each breath;

In fellowship, His life will swallow death.

Abiding, we sin's power need not fear;

In fellowship, the self will disappear.

Pray that the Lord will be gracious to us, so that not only will our hearts yearn to enter into the path of life within, but that the Lord will lead us into the experience of letting the Lord rule over the whole person!

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