The Inner Law of Life

The scriptures provide us with perfect and infallible information concerning the Holy Spirit’s operations and works in the believer. They also give us directions on how we are to seek, wait and trust in His divine power over us. However, the scriptures can go no further than being an infallible and true history about the Holy Spirit. They cannot give the reader of them the possession, the fullness or the experience of the inner witness through what they relate concerning His operations. Jesus plainly said: “Except a man be born again of the Spirit he cannot see or enter into the kingdom of God.”

William Law wrote: “Therefore, the new birth from above or of the Spirit is that alone which gives true knowledge and perception of that which is the kingdom of God. History may relate truths enough about it, but the kingdom of God being nothing else but the power and presence of God dwelling and ruling in our souls, can only manifest itself and can manifest itself in man in nothing but to the new birth. Everything else in man is deaf, dumb and blind to the kingdom of God. But when that which died in Adam is made alive again by the quickening Spirit from above, this being the birth which came at first from God and a partaker of the divine nature, this knows and enjoys the kingdom of God.”

Jesus further said: “I am the way the truth and the life.” The new birth from above is the only entrance into the Kingdom. Everything else knocks on the door in vain. To everything but the new birth Jesus says: “I know you not.” Everyone who has entered through Him He acknowledges as a friend and brother and is hence known by Him. The new birth is effected by a divine overshadowing of the Holy Spirit when a person gives his life to Christ and receives Him as his savior by faith recognition.

Jesus expressly said: “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10) Borne by the Spirit in the same manner as us and hence an example of us Jesus in plain words made known the source of His works in this temporal realm. Therefore, as the Christian walk began with a divine act of regeneration it continues in the same manner by divine motivation and power. Our Father is the One who through the Spirit works in, through and as us. His works are in accordance with His divine nature and hence brings forth fruit in the believer.

It should thus be evident that we cannot separate the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit. They are one and the same thing. It is vanity to imagine that man alone by his works in the flesh can bring forth any fruit (Gal 3:3). It is solely the Promised Land, that is, Christ, which exhibits fruit. We receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Gal 3:14) and it is by the exact same faith faculty that we continue to trust the Spirit for everything which pertains to the new life. The purpose of every temptation, affliction or tribulation is to fix us in His continual guidance, quickening and power in us. Paul encouraged the new converts in Galatia by saying: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal 5:25) By this he meant that we are not to let any law which is perceived as outside ourselves govern our life (Gal 3:5).

The sole and only law which we are to permit governing our lives is the inner law of life, that is, the Holy Spirit. The inner law of life effectively conveys God’s opinion of us as exemplified by His words to His firstborn of many sons: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Zephaniah further elaborates on this tremendous fact when he says: “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” (3:17)