I See Another Law in My Members

I See Another Law in My Members

Have you seen another law in your members? Or are you among those who believe they are already like angels here on earth? Paul served the law of God with his mind, but he saw another law in his members. Rom. 7:23. We are born with this other law in our members, which opposes the law in our mind. It is part of our human nature, and we can never be rid of it as long as we are in this body. There is no condemnation for a person just because he has this law in his members, as long as he does not give in to it. But if he lives according to it, he will experience condemnation.

Our old man was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin could be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Rom. 6:6. The body of sin is to be destroyed. By obedience to Christ, the law in our members is done away with little by little. The flesh will never be subject to the law of God—indeed it cannot. We must put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Rom. 8:13), and then we will live. It is unavoidable that these deeds of the body come forth from us. The other law in our members takes the law of our mind captive, and then we cannot help but commit deeds of the body. So what should you do then? You can put them to death. The flesh cannot be subject to the law of God, and it is evident that even after having received God’s Spirit, people are taken captive by many things that are not well-pleasing to the Holy Spirit.

Some people would consider it bondage to put to death the deeds of the body. However, if I do not put to death the deeds of the body, I will soon become a slave of sin. If I put to death the deeds of the body, I will live and become free. In the first exhilaration that comes when you have experienced God’s grace, it is easy to imagine that you no longer have this other law in your members. Grace feels so wonderful and is so overwhelming that a person finds nothing in himself to judge. This is not because he is so perfect; it is only the grace of God. The day God withdraws His grace, that person experiences a dry time. At that point, people usually fall away. This clearly demonstrates that grace was not his personal possession. God pours grace out because of the sacrifice Christ made, but He draws it back whenever He wills, especially when He realizes that a person is merely indulging himself in grace and using it only for his own pleasure. Paul also had grace, but God’s grace was not in vain for him. In our days, on the other hand, the grace of God appears to be in vain for many people. In times of revival entire assemblies rejoice in grace, but as soon as God requires a response of obedience from them, they draw back. As long as God is giving, people are happy, but when He requires something of them, their joy ceases. Usually that is when the other law that is in their members begins to stir—that law they thought was gone forever when they were experiencing the abundant joys of grace. Their doctrine that taught them that they were finished with the other law in their members is shown to be false. Because of the hypocrisy of false teachers, people continue in their folly long after they begin to serve both the law of sin and the law of death.

We have another law in our members. Let us face it head-on and take up a diligent, vigorous battle against it. For too long, people have deceived themselves into thinking that it has been removed, and yet they continue to fall in all kinds of sin. So with Paul, we will dare to affirm that there is another law that is active. What can we do about it? We can put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit.

The next question must be: What are deeds of the body? Since they must be put to death by the Spirit, they cannot be good works. They have their root in the flesh, yet they must not be confused with “works of the flesh.” What is written about works of the flesh? They are manifest, such as immorality, impurity, shamelessness, idolatry and witchcraft. Gal. 5:19. Do you believe that these works can be put to death by the Spirit? No, people who do such things have not received the Spirit of God, so obviously they cannot put them to death by the Spirit. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (verse 21), but those who put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit have already inherited the kingdom of God; they have the Spirit and they will live.

When a person does not obey the sinful desires and puts to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, the body of sin is gradually destroyed. Sin in the flesh receives its judgment. The law was not able to deal with sin in the flesh, but now God has condemned sin in Christ’s flesh. Rom. 8:3. Now, because of the blood of Christ, He is in the process of condemning sin in our flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness: God is manifested in flesh. He has made a way through the flesh by uprooting the law of sin in our members. In its place He plants the whole fullness of God in the body. This fullness is now in the process of filling us, and from it we have all received grace upon grace.