1
Not the law of letters,
But the Christ of life
God desires to give us,
Saving us from strife;
It is not some doctrine,
But ’tis Christ Himself
Who alone releases
From our sinful self.
But the Christ of life
God desires to give us,
Saving us from strife;
It is not some doctrine,
But ’tis Christ Himself
Who alone releases
From our sinful self.
2
Any kind of teaching,
Any kind of form,
Cannot quicken spirits
Or our souls transform;
It is Christ as Spirit
Gives us life divine,
Thus thru us to live the
Life of God’s design.
Any kind of form,
Cannot quicken spirits
Or our souls transform;
It is Christ as Spirit
Gives us life divine,
Thus thru us to live the
Life of God’s design.
3
Not philosophy nor
Any element
Can to Christ conform us
As His complement;
But ’tis Christ Himself who
All our nature takes
And in resurrection
Us His members makes.
Any element
Can to Christ conform us
As His complement;
But ’tis Christ Himself who
All our nature takes
And in resurrection
Us His members makes.
4
Not religion, even
Christianity,
Can fulfill God’s purpose
Or economy;
But ’tis Christ within us
As our all in all
Satisfies God’s wishes,
And His plan withal.
Christianity,
Can fulfill God’s purpose
Or economy;
But ’tis Christ within us
As our all in all
Satisfies God’s wishes,
And His plan withal.
5
All the gifts we’re given
By the Lord in grace,
All the different functions
Cannot Christ replace.
Only Christ Himself must
Be our all in all!
Only Christ Himself in
All things; great or small!
By the Lord in grace,
All the different functions
Cannot Christ replace.
Only Christ Himself must
Be our all in all!
Only Christ Himself in
All things; great or small!
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THE PERFECT LAW
--------------------
In 1:25 James speaks of the perfect law, the law of freedom: “But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues in it, not having become a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in his doing. ” The perfect law, the law of freedom (or liberty), is not the law of letters written on tablets of stone outside of us, but the law of life inscribed on our hearts (Heb. 8:10), the moral standard of which corresponds to that of the kingdom’s constitution decreed by the Lord on the mount (Matt. 5—7). Since the law of letters was unable to give man life (Gal. 3:21), but only able to expose man’s weakness and failure and keep him in slavery (Gal. 5:1), it was a law of bondage. Since the perfect law of life is the function of the divine life which was imparted into our being at regeneration, and supplies us throughout our Christian life with the unsearchable riches of the divine life to free us from the law of sin and death and fulfill all the righteous requirements of the law of letters (Rom. 8:2 , 4), it is the law of freedom. It is the law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:21), even Christ Himself, living within us to regulate us by imparting the divine nature into our being, that we may live a life to express God’s image. James may have considered this law to be the basic rule of the Christian life for practical Christian perfection.
Life-study of James
Message 4 (LSM)
Operating by Growing
-----------------
Because the highest law, the law of the divine life, is operating within us, there is no need for us to strive to overcome negative things. Instead of striving, we should simply allow the law of life to work within us. However, we need to see that this law works only as the divine life grows.
Let us once again use a peach tree as an illustration. If for some reason a peach tree is not allowed to grow, the law of the peach tree will not work. But if the peach tree is watered and fertilized, it will grow, and as it grows, the law within it will work spontaneously. Through the working of the peach-tree law, the tree will automatically produce peaches.
The principle is the same with the working of the highest law, the law of the Spirit of life. The essence of this law is the Holy Spirit and the divine life. It is not the law of letters; it is the law of the Spirit. Likewise, it is not the law of knowledge; it is the law of life. Hence, this law is the law of the Spirit of life. Although this law is now within us, the operation of this law depends upon the growth of the divine life. How marvelous that we have such a law as the first of the divine provisions revealed in Romans 8!
The Divine Dispensing
of the Divine Trinity
Chapter 23 (LSM)
CWWL, 1983, vol. 2
3. Better Promises
--------------
This better covenant has been enacted upon better promises (8:6). The better promises, which are given in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12 and 10:16-17 , are of two things—the forgiveness of sins and the law of life. Under the old covenant there was no forgiveness of sins, only the covering of sins. In the new covenant we do not have just the covering of sins but the forgiveness of sins. In the new covenant today we also have the law of life, not the law of letters.
Life-study of Hebrews
Message 35 (LSM)
Tirane, Albania
Only Christ Himself in
All things; great or small!
El Monte, CA, United States
Life Study of Isaiah Message 42 Roman Numeral lll
I enjoyed one of the previous comments. I realize we may be wandering in our mind trying to apply some teaching but that will never do it. That is just the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Also trying to apply some teaching even if it’s the sermon on the mount is impossible. Only Christ in all things applied can fulfill the law.
San Francisco, California, United States
As God's loving seekers, we don't need to care for keeping the law or the letter-word but we must love the Lord with our whole heart and take in His word and His commandments which are our spiritual foods. Therefore, we spontaneously live acording to His word and His commandments.
Mesquite, Texas, United States
Who can live out the law? Christ! He's the reality of God's word (John 1:1, 1:14). Enjoy Him in Word and He lives Himself out from within us! "The reality of keeping the law is to live God and express God" Crystallization-study outlines, Exodus (2), message 1, p. 3. Oh, we love Him, we love His word!