GOD’S ECONOMY

SERIES THIRTEEN
GOD’S ECONOMY IN ALL THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

God’s Economy as Revealed in the New Testament

Message Seven
God’s Economy as Revealed in Romans

Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:3-4, 8:4-6, 9-11, 14-16, 26-39, 9:21, 23, 10:13, 12:2, 4-5

I. According to the revelation of the entire New Testament, God’s economy is to produce sons by dispensing Himself in His Divine Trinity into His chosen and redeemed people; Christ’s redemption brings us into the sonship of God—Eph. 1:5, 7, 10, 3:9, Rom. 8:11, 14:

A. God’s economy is to make us sons of God, inheriting the blessing of God’s promise, which was given for His eternal purpose to have sons for His corporate expression—Heb. 2:10, Rom. 8:29.

B. The central thought of the book of Romans is that in His salvation God is making sinners His sons with His life and nature so that they may become constituents of the Body of Christ for His corporate expression—3:23, 8:14, 29, 12:4-5.

II. The deep thought in Romans is that God became man so that, in God’s complete salvation, sinners may be redeemed, regenerated, sanctified, renewed, transformed, conformed, and glorified to become the sons of God, who are the same as God in life and nature, to be the members of the Body of Christ—3:24, 5:10, 8:14, 29-30, 12:2, 5: `

A. God sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and condemned sin in the flesh so that sinners—serpentine beings, children of the devil—could be reconciled to God and justified by Him in order to receive eternal life and thus become children of God—8:3, 16.

B. Jesus Christ our Lord, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, was designated the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead—1:3-4.

C. The firstborn Son of God, the first God-man, is the prototype for the production of many God-men who, as members of the Body of Christ, are exactly the same as the firstborn Son—8:14, 29.

D. The purpose of God’s salvation is to have Christ reproduced in millions of believers so that they may become the members of His Body—12:4-5.

E. Through God’s organic salvation, carried out by the divine dispensing of the Triune God as life to the tripartite man, the children of God are growing in life to become sons of God led by the Spirit—5:10, 8:2, 6, 10-11.

F. The sons of God, the many brothers of Christ as the firstborn Son of God, are the members of the Body of Christ—12:4-5.

G. We are one Body in the organic union with Christ—v. 4-5.

III. The divine intention, as conveyed in the deep, divine thought in Romans, is carried out by the divine dispensing of the Triune God as life into the tripartite man—1:14, 2:21:

A. The Triune God created a tripartite man to be a living vessel to contain Him as life so that He may express Himself in humanity—Gen. 1:26, 2:7, Rom. 9:21, 23:

1. Man was created in the image of God to receive God as life and contain God as life for the reproduction, the duplication, of God in life—Gen. 1:26, 2:7, 9, John 12:24.

2. The basic teaching of the Scriptures is that we are vessels created in the image of God to receive and contain God as our unique content—Gen. 2:7, 2 Cor. 4:7, Rom. 9:21, 23.

B. Romans 8 unveils to us how the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—dispenses Himself as life into our tripartite being—spirit, soul, and body—to make us His sons for the constituting of the Body of Christ—v. 10-11:

1. In verse 11 we have the Triune God, the process required for His dispensing, and the dispensing of Himself as life into the believers.

2. Through the dispensing of the Triune God as life, our spirit is life—v. 10.

3. Through the dispensing of the Triune God as life, our soul (represented by the mind) becomes life—v. 6.

4. Through the dispensing of the Triune God as life, the indwelling Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies—v. 11.

IV. In His salvation God is making sinners the sons of God to be constituted the Body of Christ for the expression of Christ—8:14, 12:4-5:

A. Sons are the children of God who are in the stage of the transformation of their souls; they are growing in the divine life and also are living and walking by being led by the Spirit of God—8:14, 16, 12:2.

B. In order to be the members of the Body of Christ, we need to be conformed to the image of Christ as the first-born Son of God—8:29, 12:4-5.

V. The will of God is to obtain a Body for Christ to be His fullness, His expression—Rev. 4:11, Eph. 1:5, 9, Rom. 12:2, 4-5:

A. In Romans 12 the will of God is that we whom God has chosen, redeemed, justified, sanctified, and conformed unto glorification may be members one of another to have the living of the Body of Christ—8:29-30.

B. To live the Body life is to “prove what the will of God is”—12:2, 4-5.

C. If we are proper members of the Body, acting and functioning in the church life, we will be persons in the will of God—1 Cor. 1:1-2, Eph. 1:1, 5:17.

VI. In order for the Body of Christ to be built up, we need to reign in life, that is, be under the ruling of the divine life—Rom. 5:17, 21, 12:1-16:

A. Every aspect of the living of the Body life in Romans 12-16 requires us to be ruled by the divine life.

B. We can live a life of the highest virtues for the Body life only by reigning in life—12:9-12, 15-16, 18.

C. When we are reigning in life, living under the ruling of the divine life, the issue is the real and practical Body life—5:17, 21, 12:4-5.

D. Romans begins with the designation of Jesus Christ to be the Son of God for the mass reproduction of the many sons of God as the members of the Body of Christ, and Romans ends with the practice of the local churches as the expression of the Body of Christ—1:3-4, 8:29, 12:4-5.

VII. We need to cooperate with the inner operating Triune God as the law of the Spirit of life by “switching on” this law in the following ways—8:4-6, 13-15, 23, 31-39:

A. We need to walk according to the spirit, live in the spirit—v. 4, 16, cf. 1 Cor. 2:14:

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—Phil. 4:12-13, 23.

2. The practicality of living in Christ is for us to live in our spirit; in the book of Romans, the apostle Paul stressed that whatever we are, whatever we have, and whatever we do toward God must be in our spirit—2:29; 8:5-6, 9, 10, 16:

a. In order to live in our spirit, we need to 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—2 Cor. 3:15, 18, cf. Mark 1:35, Ma. 14:23.

b. In order to live in our spirit, we need to pray without ceasing—1 Thes. 5:17, cf. John 20:22, Lam. 3:55-56, Rom. 10:12-13.

c. In order to live in our spirit, we need to remain in the fellowship of the divine life to walk in the divine light—1 John 1:2-3, 6-7.

B. We need to mind the things of the Spirit, setting our mind on the spirit—Rom. 8:5-6:

1. We need to take heed to our spirit, paying attention to the sense of our spirit, in order to not grieve the Spirit and not quench the Spirit—Mal. 2:15-16, Eph. 4:30, 1 Thes. 5:19.

2. We can set our mind on the spirit by setting our mind on God’s words which are spirit and life—John 6:63.

3. To set our mind on the spirit, to mind the things of 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—Phil. 2:21, 1:8.

C. We need to put to death by the Spirit the practices of our body—Rom. 8:13, Zech. 4:6, Gal. 5:16:

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

2. We need to remain in the church life where the God of peace crushes Satan under our feet—16:20.

D. We need to be led by the Spirit as the sons of God—Gal. 3:26, Rom. 8:14:

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

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

E. We need to cry to the Father in the spirit of sonship—Gal. 4:6, Rom. 8:15:

1. When we cry, “Abba, Father!”, “the Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God”—v. 15-16.

2. To cry, “Abba, Father!” expresses the sweetness of our intimate relationship with our God—cf. Matt. 18:3.

F. We need to groan in the interceding Spirit for our full sonship, which is the redemption of our body—Rom. 8:23, 26-27:

1. In our groaning the Spirit groans also, interceding for us—v. 26.

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

G. We need to love God and be constrained, restricted, motivated, compelled, impelled, and propelled by the love of Christ to more than conquer in all things—v. 31-39:

1. By loving God we participate in all the riches contained in God—1 Cor. 2:9-10, cf. 2 Tim. 3:2-4.

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

VIII. 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 is in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead—Rom. 8:2, 28-29, 12:1-2, Phil. 1:19-20.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

GOD’S ECONOMY BEING TO PRODUCE SONS

Inheriting the Blessing of God’s Promise

This consummation, the New Jerusalem, is the aggregate of the divine sonship for the corporate expression of the Triune God (Rom. 8:23). The Son is the expression of the Father. No one has ever seen God, but the only begotten Son has declared Him (John 1:18). A father and his sons bear one image. The faces of the sons are like the face of the father. Jesus Christ as the Son of God is the very expression of God the Father. God, however, would like to have more than one son. Christ is referred to as the only Begotten in John 1:18 and in John 3:16, where it says that God gave His only begotten Son. From Romans 8:29 we know that in resurrection this unique Son of God became the Firstborn among many brothers. The Lord Jesus in His resurrection charged one of the sisters to “go to My brothers” (John 20:17), and Hebrews 2:11 says that He is “not ashamed to call them brothers,” because they were all born of the same Father. The only difference is that He is the first Son, and we are the many sons. (CWWL, 1932, vol. 3, “The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures”, ch. 11)

According to the entire revelation of the New Testament, God’s economy is to produce sons. Sonship is the focal point of God’s economy, God’s dispensation. God’s economy is the dispensation of Himself into His chosen people to make them His sons. Christ’s redemption is to bring us into the sonship of God that we may enjoy the divine life. It is not God’s economy to make us keepers of law, obeying the commandments and ordinances of the law, which was given only for a temporary purpose. God’s economy is to make us sons of God, inheriting the blessing of God’s promise, which was given for His eternal purpose. His eternal purpose is to have many sons for His corporate expression (Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29). Hence, He predestinated us unto sonship (Eph. 1:5) and regenerated us to be His sons (John 1:12-13). We should remain in His sonship that we may become His heirs to inherit all He has planned for His eternal expression, and should not be distracted to Judaism by the appreciation of law. (Life-study of Galatians, msg. 22)

Being His Corporate Expression

First, the believers are children of God, and then they gradually grow up to become sons of God. In His salvation God makes sinners into sons. The central thought of the book of Romans is that in His salvation God is making sinners His sons with His life and nature so that they may become constituents of the Body of Christ for His expression. Romans 8, in particular, emphasizes sonship. Verse 14 says, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” This indicates that we may know that we are sons of God by the fact that we are led by the Spirit. The leading of the Spirit marks us out as being the sons of God in the growth of life. Verse 19 continues, “The anxious watching of the creation eagerly expects the revelation of the sons of God.” This verse speaks of the manifestation or the appearing of the sons of God.

Galatians 3:26 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Faith in Christ brings us into Christ and makes us one with Christ in whom is the sonship. We must be identified with Christ through faith so that in Him we may become sons of God.

When we believed in Christ, the processed Triune God entered into our being to be our life. This life is divine, spiritual, heavenly, and holy. Entering into us, it caused a spiritual birth to take place, and this birth brought about an organic union between us and the Triune God. Because God has been born into our being, we have become sons of God.

It is a matter of tremendous significance for the divine life to be imparted into us. This impartation of the divine life causes an organic union that makes us the sons of God. This organic union takes place exclusively in Christ. In Christ we enjoy the wonderful organic union with the Triune God. In this union we are the sons of God. Christ is the unique sphere in which this takes place. When we enter into this sphere, we become sons of God. Our true status is that in Christ and by the organic union we are sons of God. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 100)

GOD BECOMING MAN THAT MAN MAY BECOME GOD
BEING THE ESSENCE OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE

The words God becoming man and man becoming God sound very simple, but to be able to see how God could become man requires us to spend much time to study. He came to become man that man may become Him, but how can man become God? We also need to look into this point carefully. Strictly speaking, these words are the essence of the entire Bible. The entire Bible is an explanation of the eternal economy of God. Up to the present time it has been thirty-five hundred years since the Jews began to read the Old Testament; Christians have been reading the Old and New Testaments for nearly two thousand years. Millions of people have read the Bible. However, regrettably, not many have truly seen the proper significance and real meaning in the Bible. This does not mean that throughout the generations no one has seen the visions in the Bible, but what people saw is fragmented. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The High Peak of the Vision and the Reality of the Body of Christ”, ch. 2)

God Becoming Man—Incarnation, Human Living, Crucifixion,
Resurrection, Ascension

In the resurrection of Christ, first, Jesus with His humanity was begotten to be the firstborn Son of God; second, we, the God-chosen and Christ-redeemed people, were begotten to be the many sons of God; and third, the last Adam in His humanity, who is the incarnated Jesus, became the life-giving Spirit. It was the last Adam, the incarnated Jesus, who became the life-giving Spirit; hence, the life-giving Spirit is the very Jesus Christ. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The High Peak of the Vision and the Reality of the Body of Christ”, ch. 3)

Man Becoming God—Going Through Regeneration,
Sanctification, Renewing, Transformation,
Conformation, And Glorification

God became man through incarnation; man becomes God through transformation…Our transformation into God, however, is not something that happens unexpectedly. Rather, it is a lifetime transformation until we are conformed to His image. Eventually, we will enter with Him into glory; that is, we will be redeemed in our body. That will be the final step of the redemption of our whole being that brings us into glory. Therefore, it is through regeneration, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, and glorification that we may become God.

The issue of this process is an organism. This organism is God joining and mingling Himself with man to make God man and also to make man God. Among the Divine Trinity, as far as the Father is concerned, this organism is the house of the Father, the house of God; as far as the Son is concerned, it is the Body of Christ. The house is for God to have a dwelling place, whereas the Body is for God to have an expression. The ultimate issue is the New Jerusalem. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The High Peak of the Vision and the Reality of the Body of Christ”, ch. 2)

THE LIFE OF THE TRIUNE GOD BEING DISPENSED INTO OUR WHOLE BEING

Now we come to the very precious matter of the life of the Triune God dispensed into the tripartite man. How marvelous that God is triune and that we are tripartite!

Romans 8:2 speaks of the life of the Triune God. Verse 10 reveals that this life has been dispensed into our spirit and has caused our spirit to become life. Furthermore, according to verse 6, this life can be dispensed into our mind and can cause our mind to be life also. Ultimately, as verse 11 discloses, the divine life can even be imparted into our mortal bodies. In these verses we see the three parts of man: the spirit, the soul (represented by the mind), and the body. The spirit is the center, the body is the circumference, and the mind is in between. From the center through the middle to the circumference, the life of the Triune God is being dispensed into our entire being.

The Life That Is Dispensed into Us

The life that is to be dispensed into the three parts of man is the life of the Triune God. In 8:2 Paul speaks of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. In this phrase the Triune God is implied. The Spirit and Christ, the Son, are mentioned explicitly, whereas God the Father is implied by the fact that the Spirit is the Spirit of God. Hence, here we have God, Christ, and the Spirit. However, the main point is not the Triune God, but life. To speak of the Spirit of life is actually to say that the Spirit is life. The life here is the very life of the Triune God.

When we were regenerated, we received another life, a life in addition to our natural life. There are various kinds of life: plant life, animal life, human life, and divine life. As humans, we all have a physical life and a psychological life. The physical life and the psychological life are indicated by the Greek words bios and psuche respectively. When Paul speaks of life in Romans 8, however, he uses still another Greek word, the word zoe. In the Bible zoe denotes God’s life, the divine, infinite, uncreated, eternal life. This is the life we receive by believing in the Lord Jesus. As John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life.” In verses 2, 6, 10, and 11 of Romans 8, Paul uses this Greek word for life to indicate that the dispensation of God is to dispense zoe into our being. In other words, God desires to dispense Himself as zoe into all three parts of man’s being.

The dispensation of the divine zoe into us began when we were regenerated. According to 8:2, this life is the Spirit and it is in Christ Jesus. But now, through God’s dispensation, it also has something to do with us. Without this life, we are doomed to perish. Praise the Lord that when we were regenerated, zoe was dispensed into our spirit!

Our Spirit Being Life

Romans 8:10 says, “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness.” That the spirit in this verse is not the Holy Spirit is proved by the fact that here Paul contrasts the body with the spirit. Paul says that the body is dead but that the spirit is life. We would expect him to say that the spirit is living. Instead, he says that the spirit is life, or zoe. When we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, this zoe gets into our spirit and causes our spirit to become zoe. Now not only the Triune God is life, but our spirit is also life.

If we see this, we shall have the boldness to declare to the whole universe and especially to Satan that our spirit is life. We shall proclaim that at least one part of our being, our spirit, is zoe. Oh, how we all need this revelation! May we see not only that we are saved and regenerated, but also that the innermost part of our being has become life.

Knowing that our spirit is zoe will be a great help to us in our daily living. When you are tempted to lose your temper, do not suppress your anger. Instead, simply declare, “My spirit is zoe!” Likewise, if your wife or husband gives you a difficult time, do not argue, but tell the one troubling you that your spirit is zoe. Saying this enables us to resist Satan’s temptations. Praise the Lord, our spirit is zoe!

The reason that I am so lively and energetic is that my spirit is zoe. However, I spent years in organized Christianity and no one told me that my spirit is zoe. I was instructed in various religious practices, but I was not told that my spirit is life. But now I know that the divine zoe has been dispensed into my spirit, into the center of my being. Now I know that my spirit has become zoe!

Our Mind Becoming Life

We have emphasized the fact that our spirit has become life because Christ dwells within us. But what about our soul and body? Consider verse 6: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” Here we see that our mind can also be zoe. When we set our mind on the spirit, our mind, which represents our soul, becomes zoe. We do not need to follow the way of Confucius to cultivate the bright virtue. Instead, we simply set our mind on the spirit and our mind becomes zoe. This is the dispensation of the divine life into our soul.

In our daily living, we need to practice turning our mind to the spirit. Are you about to gossip? Turn your mind to the spirit. Are you tempted to lose your temper? Turn your mind to the spirit. Drop the ethical and religious teachings and come back to God’s living Word, which reveals that the life of the Triune God is dispensed into our spirit to make our spirit life and also reveals that the mind set on the spirit is life. We have something higher than bright virtue, ethics, and morality—we have the Triune God dispensed into us. What can compare with this? This is not philosophy or religious teaching. It is the zoe life dispensed into our spirit and into our mind.

Life Being Imparted into Our Mortal Bodies

Verse 11 reveals even more of God’s dispensation. Here Paul says, “But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from among the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who indwells you.” I marvel at the indirectness of this verse. This verse reveals that zoe can be imparted through the Spirit into our mortal bodies. Therefore, not only are both our spirit and our mind zoe, but even our body can be full of zoe.

We all need to see the vision of the dispensing of the life of the Triune God into the three parts of our being. If we see this divine vision, our natural concept of ethics and morality will be shattered. We need to say to the Lord, “Lord, I thank You. Since You came into me, my spirit has become life. Now if I set my mind on my spirit, my mind also will be life. O Lord, how I praise You! Through Your indwelling Spirit, Your zoe life can be dispensed even into my mortal body. Lord, I worship You for this, I enjoy this, and I am one with You in this dispensation.” This is the dispensation of the life of the Triune God into the tripartite man. Through such a dispensing the Triune God becomes one with the tripartite man, and the tripartite man becomes one with the Triune God. It is through this dispensation of the divine life that we become sons of God. Furthermore, it is by this dispensation that we are transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. This is the Christian life and the church life. (Life-study of Romans, msg. 62)

MAKING SINNERS SONS OF GOD, TO BE HIS CORPORATE EXPRESSION

The full salvation of God as revealed in the whole book of Romans has a particular purpose, that is, to make us sinners His sons so that we may be His corporate expression. He is the mysterious God and He is invisible, but He has a desire, as His good pleasure, to have Himself expressed through man. First, He was expressed in His incarnated Son, Jesus Christ. Then He desires to enlarge this individual expression into a corporate one by making us, His chosen and called people, His many sons so that His only begotten Son could be His firstborn Son among many brothers to express Him in a corporate way. Hence, we, the many brothers of Christ, need to be conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “To Be Saved in the Life of Christ as Revealed in Romans”, ch. 5)

GOD DESIRING TO GAIN A BODY FOR CHRIST

The entire Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, unveils that God’s heart’s desire is to build up a Body for Christ. God desires to gain a Body for Christ. Christ is the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9), and He needs a Body for His expression that God may also be expressed in Christ. The thought of rescuing sinners from hell that they may go to heaven is natural and traditional. We are burdened to save sinners for the building up of the Body of Christ. To save sinners is to regenerate fallen people that they may become members of the organic Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Practical and Organic Building Up of the Church”, ch. 6)

God’s Will Being to Have the Body Life

Romans 12:1-2 tells us to present our bodies a living sacrifice and be transformed by the renewing of the mind “that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.” This verse speaks of “the” will of God; the King James Version renders it as “that” will of God. God does not have many wills but only one will. What is the one will? In speaking of the will of God, many Christians wrongly apply this verse. Strictly speaking, this verse indicates that the will of God is to have the church life. If we mean business with the Lord, present ourselves bodily to Him, and are willing to be transformed in our soul—our mind, emotion, and will—we will realize what God’s will is in this universe and on the earth. God’s will is nothing less than to have the church, that is, to have a Body for His Son. When we see this, we will sacrifice everything for it, because we will realize that this is the unique will.

The more we read these verses, the more we can realize that this is what they mean. By reading the entire context of Romans 12 we can realize what “the” will, or “that” will, of God is. It is to have the Body life, the church. This is the will of God. Of course, the will of God includes other things, but all the other matters are secondary. The primary item of God’s will is the church. No matter how good we are or how many things we do, if we are not in the church, if we do not practice the church life and live for the church, we are not in the will of God. I say this with certainty; we will be outside of the will of God, even though we are doing something for God.

Although the things mentioned in chapters 12 through 16 may be considered the “wills” of God, the Body life is the foremost item. Chapters 14 and 15 tell us how to receive others, how to care for others, and how to avoid stumbling others, but all these matters are secondary. They depend on our practice of the church life. The first item that is revealed in chapters 12 through 16 is the church, the Body, and all of the following items are supplementary to this will. Therefore, to prove what the will of God is, is to practice the church life. If we are proper members of the Body, acting and functioning in the church life, then we will have everything else. We will be persons in the will of God. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church”, ch. 11)

Living a Life of the Highest Virtues

To reign in life is to be under the ruling of the divine life. If we look at the life of the Lord Jesus as the God-man in His humanity on the earth, He was absolutely under the ruling of the divine life of the Father. Everything He did was under the Father’s ruling. As a man, He rejected His natural humanity and lived a human life under the restriction of the divine life of His heavenly Father. By practically being under the ruling of the divine life of the Father, He was reigning in life. This is the pattern that we should follow.

By living under the rule of the divine life, by reigning in life, we can live the church life. There is no possibility for us to live the church life if we are not under the ruling and control of the divine life. We must reign in life to live the church life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans”, ch. 6)

Romans 12:9-21 is a section on living a life of the highest virtues for the Body life. We must realize that in ourselves we could never practice these virtues. We can have such a living for the Body life only by reigning in life. If we check our church life, we will find that we are short in nearly every point. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” When others are rejoicing, we may be jealous, and when others are weeping, we may despise them. To rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep are impossible except when we are under the ruling of the divine life. Our natural life cannot make it; but by living a life under the ruling of the divine life, we are able to live the Body life with these virtues. To see the Body life built up as a practical reality, we must reign in life, and to reign in life in practice is to be under the ruling of the divine life.

God’s complete salvation is for us to reign in life by the abundance of grace (God Himself as our all-sufficient supply for our organic salvation) and of the gift of righteousness (God’s judicial redemption applied to us in a practical way). When we are all reigning in life, living under the ruling of the divine life, the issue is the real and practical Body life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans”, ch. 5)

COOPERATING WITH THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE

Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death.” In our experience, we may find that the law of the Spirit of life does not always work as effectively as Paul indicates in this verse. The reason for this is that we want the law of life to overcome certain things such as our temper, but we may not give the law of life opportunity to do whatever it chooses in us. (Life-study of Romans, msg. 48)

The requirements that we must fulfill in order that the law of he Spirit of life (which has already been installed in us) may work are (1) to walk according to the spirit (v. 4); (2) o mind the things of the Spirit—to set the mind on the spirit (vv. 5-6); (3) to put to death by the Spirit the practices of the body (v. 13); (4) to be led by the Spirit as sons of God (v. 14); (5) to cry to the Father in the spirit of sonship (v. 15); (6) to witness that we are the children of God (v. 16); and (7) to groan for the full sonship, the redemption of our body (v. 23). (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Rom. 8:4, footnote 2)

The Mind Being Set on the Spirit

Romans 8:6 says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” We have seen from verse 10 that our regenerated spirit is life. Now according to this verse, we see that the mind set on the spirit is life. We all know that our mind is troublesome. For example, doubts arise from the mind. All day long we are bothered by our mind. But according to verse 6, even our troublesome mind can be life. In this verse Paul clearly says that the mind set on the spirit is life and also peace. Therefore, our spirit is life, and it is possible for our mind to be life as well.

In 8:6 we see the condition that must be fulfilled if our mind is to be life. This condition, this requirement, is that the mind be set on the spirit. If our mind is set on the flesh, the mind will be death. But if we turn our mind to the spirit and set it on the spirit, our mind will be life and peace. Many of us can testify of this from our experience. For example, suppose we are tempted to be angry with a certain person. If we set our mind on the flesh, surely we will be angry. But if we set our mind on the spirit, our mind will be life. First, our spirit becomes life through regeneration. Then by being set on the spirit, our mind can also become life. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity”, ch. 21)

The Secret of Setting Our Mind on the Spirit

Satan dwells in the members of our body, but God is in our spirit. This brings us to Romans 8:6. This verse contains a real secret. In this verse there are three things: the mind, the flesh, and the spirit. It says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” I have studied many translations of this verse, and this is the one that is the most correct according to the meaning of the original Greek. The translations in the New American Standard Bible and the Revised Standard Version are also good and convey the same meaning.

In this verse we again see the three parties. We human beings are represented by the mind, and Satan, the evil one, is in the flesh. The spirit here is the mingling of two spirits—the divine Spirit and the human spirit. It is rather difficult to tell whether spirit in Romans 8 is the Holy Spirit or the human spirit. In verse 6 it refers to the two spirits mingled as one. This can be proved by verse 16, which says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit.” Therefore, in the spirit there is God, the divine One, in the mind there is man, and in the flesh there is Satan.

Now our experience depends on whom or what we would set ourselves, that is, our mind. If we set our mind on the flesh, that is, on Satan, the issue is death. Adam did this when he partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, with the same result of death. However, if we set our mind on God as life, the result is life and peace. As Christians, there is no need for us to try to overcome the flesh, and there is no need to try to defeat the law of sin; we cannot do that. What we need to do is simply stand with the Spirit and rely upon Him. What we need is the deliverance in the spirit. We must stand with the spirit, set our mind on the spirit, and rely upon the Lord. Then we will be delivered.

Learning to Trust in God and Depend on the Lord

The secret is not found even in Romans 6:6 or 6:11; the secret is found in Romans 8:6. We must learn how to set our mind on the spirit. In other words, we must learn to trust in God and depend on the Lord. If we know how to rely on the Lord and trust in Him, and if we do it, everything will be all right. This can be illustrated by the use of electric appliances. All we have to know is how to plug them in. There is no trouble unless we do not plug them in; in that case, no one can help us. If we desire and know how to handle the appliances, then we can plug them in whenever we need them. This is simple, yet it is a secret that we all must learn.

I stress these matters because I do not have the burden to give you mere doctrine. If there is a need for us to learn doctrine, it is solely for the purpose to “drive the car.” Our knowledge and understanding of the construction of a car and the arrangement of its parts are for one purpose—to drive it. To be familiar with the parts of the car and the operation of the engine helps, but that is not the secret. The secret is the driving. Similarly, although we must study the Bible with its narratives and instructions, the real secret is in Romans 8:6. We may be very knowledgeable of the Scriptures, but if we do not apply Romans 8:6, whatever we know and do will accomplish little.

Day and night for many years I have been studying the Bible. I have not found another verse as important as Romans 8:6 as far as our spiritual experience is concerned. The way to “drive” in our spiritual experience is in this verse. Now that I have presented many things to you from Romans, beginning from chapter 1 up to chapter 8, we come to 8:6. This is the very place and the secret for us to know how to “drive the car.”

Within us there are three wills, three lives, and three laws. We ourselves are here, Satan is in us, and God is in us. Now we must pray, “Lord, help me to choose You. Help me to rely on You, depend on You, and drop my effort and striving. Help me to never do anything by myself to overcome evil or temptation. Rather, help me always to rely on You, stand with You, and trust in You. Lord, I would never do anything to try to correct myself or deliver myself. Lord, help me always to thrust myself upon You, trust in You, and depend on You.”

Such an experience of depending on the Lord is sweet and very available. Its availability may be compared to the electricity in homes. In our homes electricity is so available. Likewise, we should “plug” into the Lord right away, because He is so available. Just as electricity is installed in a house, even in the innermost and hidden chambers of the house, the Lord has been installed in our innermost part. Although this divine electricity is so available, there is one thing that is needed: We need to learn the secret and pray that the Lord would give us the willingness to apply it. We must always be willing to apply it and “plug ourselves in.” Although we may listen to hundreds of messages, they may all miss what the real secret of our Christian life is. We have to practice to set our mind on the spirit and to live in this reality all the time. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church”, ch. 11)

Giving Life to Our Mortal Bodies

As we go on to verse 11, we see that it is also possible for life, the divine, eternal life, to be given to our mortal body. In this verse Paul says that if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies, and this will take place through the indwelling Spirit. When we put together verses 10, 6, and 11, we see that not only is our spirit life, and our mind life if it is set on the spirit, but life may also be given to our mortal bodies through the Spirit.

The Bible reveals that, as human beings, we are tripartite. This means that we have a spirit, a soul, and a body. In Romans 8 we see that first our spirit becomes life through regeneration. Then if we are faithful to set our mind on our spirit, our mind will also become life. This will open the door and prepare the way for the Spirit to give life to our mortal bodies. As a result, our bodies will receive the divine life.

In Romans 8 we see the trinity of the Godhead, we see the process through which the Triune God has passed, and we see a clear view of our spiritual experience. The experience of life is threefold; it involves our spirit, our mind, and our body. This indicates that our entire being can become life or receive the supply of life.

Law, Leading, and Sonship

Chapter 8 of Romans also speaks of the law of the Spirit and the leading of the Spirit. In verse 14 Paul says, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Hence, in this chapter we have the law, the leading, and the sonship.

The central thought of the book of Romans is that God’s salvation makes sinners His sons with His life and nature to express Him so that they may become constituents of the Body of Christ for His expression. Hence, sonship is emphasized very much in this chapter. God’s salvation is focused on sonship. In His salvation God makes sinners into sons. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity”, ch. 21)

Being Led by the Spirit

Romans 8 uses another term—led by the Spirit. Verse 14 says, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Even though led is a small word of three letters, it is very important. When we set our mind on the spirit and walk according to the spirit, we are constantly led by the Spirit. In this way we live the life of the genuine sons of God. We are sons of God not only in life and nature but also in daily walk. In daily walk and in everything we are led by the Holy Spirit, and we cooperate with Him in every way. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church”, ch. 11)

Conformation and Glorification

In this chapter Paul goes on to speak of conformation and glorification: “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; and those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified” (vv. 29-30). God has predestinated and justified us, and now He is conforming us, molding us, to the image of His firstborn Son. Eventually, we will have full glorification.

THE DIVINE DISPENSING OF THE DIVINE TRINITY
INTO OUR TRIPARTITE BEING

May we all be deeply impressed with what is revealed in Romans 8. Here we have the Trinity, the process, and our subjective experience, which involves our spirit, our mind, and our body. In this chapter we also have some marvelous provisions: the law of the Spirit of life, the leading of the Spirit, the sonship, conformation, and glorification. When we put all these matters together, we see the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity into our tripartite being. The Father sent the Son, and the Son came to accomplish redemption, which consummates in the life-giving Spirit. Praise the Lord for the Trinity and for this wonderful process! This process includes incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Because the Triune God has passed through such a process, we can experience Him. We can have life in our spirit, in our mind, and even in our body. Furthermore, we have the rich provisions of the divine law, the divine leading, the divine sonship, and the divine conformation to mold us into the same image, the image of the firstborn Son of God. Eventually, we will experience the divine glorification. The aggregate, the totality, of all this is the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity into the three parts of our being. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity”, ch. 21)

RECEIVING THE LIFE SUPPLY OF THE ALL-INCLUSIVE,
INDWELLING, LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT

As we receive the life supply from the indwelling Spirit, every day we are approaching the goal of this life by being more conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God. The genuine Christian life is not a matter of performance or human effort but of receiving of the life supply of the all-inclusive, indwelling, life-giving Spirit, which issues in peace, joy, rest, satisfaction, and refreshment and carries us on toward the goal. Although we do not have any realization that we are being transformed and conformed, every day we are closer to the goal of being fully conformed to Christ’s image. This is the genuine Christian life for the church life, and this is what God is after, as revealed in Romans 8. If we see this, it will help us to drop all other concepts. To endeavor to improve ourselves is according to religious teaching. Romans 8 tells us that the Triune God through all His processes has accomplished everything that is necessary. Therefore, we do not need to do anything but receive Him as the life-giving Spirit and allow Him to work in us to supply our spirit, mind, and body with life. If we are simply a willing receiver of the life supply, life will work out everything and will conform us to the image of Christ. (CWWL, 1982, vol. 1, “The All-inclusive Indwelling Spirit”, ch. 2)