The glaring lack of understanding of this matter, and people’s aversion to everything that is called law, show in the strongest possible terms how far people actually are from understanding God and from living in fellowship with Him in truth. According to Acts 1:2, it appears that Jesus’ real purpose in this world was to give His commandments (laws) to His apostles. We can understand the significance of this when we reflect on the fact that these commandments are laws of life, laws of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, as Paul states in Romans 8. As it is written in the epistle to the Hebrews, God Himself writes these laws in our hearts and minds. When people speak about whether they have to keep them, this shows that their minds are darkened so that this matter is completely upside down for them. Rightly understood, we can say that we receive grace to keep them, and that we receive permission to keep them. In other words, is it a favor? An advantage? Is it a benefit? Is it glory? Precisely! That is exactly what it is!!! When people think about laws and commandments, they think about them on the basis of personal experience; namely, that they have been disobedient to them and have therefore broken them—which was not good. It had only bad consequences. It does not even occur to them that they can be kept. They actually confuse breaking them with keeping them. Keeping them is life and glory! It even amounts to health and well-being, which is followed by everything else that is good! It is only an advantage! It is no wonder Paul says it like this: he was “under law toward Christ.” 1 Cor. 9:21. Both the evil and the good go according to laws, as well as health and sickness, seeding and growth and harvest, war and peace, earthly and spiritual things, plus everything that has to do with salvation—everything goes according to laws, according to measure and amount and weight. God counts our works and weighs our works; He investigates all our motives—our main motives and whatever other motives might be attached to them. Our entire conduct affects our fellow men according to laws, both now and later. If people had a true and active understanding of the lawfulness of all things, they would emphasize two things: 1) Learn to know the laws of the Spirit of life, and 2) Keep them with all of their heart. God gladly gives abundant grace to this end.Elias Aslaksen

It is vital that we receive as much as possible of the Holy Spirit during the brief time we are here in this world. He draws us toward heaven and works an interest for God’s kingdom in our hearts. He gives us power to walk in the newness of life. On the other hand, eve­rything that is in our human spirit, soul, and body only pulls us down to the earth and causes us to be superficial and love the world. There­fore we must always take care to be filled with the Spirit of Christ. This is what the fight of faith is all about from morning till evening, from the day we are converted till our last day on earth. We will never fall asleep if this battle is fought with all our heart and with uprightness. The sword is put to rest if even a small sin is tolerated. This results in heaviness and drowsiness, and soon one has fallen fast asleep. Such a person needs the exhortation in Ephesians 5:14, “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light!” If he follows this exhortation, it is the same as if he started from the be­ginning again; yet the path that is like the shining light has come to a dismal end. Instead of going from light to light, he needs to receive light again from Christ over things in his life with which he should have been finished a long time ago. “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), is a commanding ex­hortation. It needs to be obeyed. Then it will enable us always to be warm, zealous, and awake; but if it is not followed we will most cer­tainly fall asleep. Here it is either/or. There is no middle way. Let us choose the right way, the way that Jesus consecrated with His life and on which the apostles and the saints have walked since then. This is the way about which Paul said toward the end of his life, “I have fin­ished the race.” Paul was not satisfied with simply “going” on the way. He ran. The Spirit compelled him to race forward, and toward the end he completed the race with a great sprint. The love of God was poured out in his heart by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5. If we want to follow this life and example, we need to strive always to be filled with the Spirit in our inner man, so that we no longer experience any “ups and downs,” but have a steadfast spirit that always hopes and believes. There were many blessed men of the Spirit in the old covenant, but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than they. The light of Christ is an extremely strong light which reveals His life and works to us. When we have been called to be His followers and believe that it is really possible to follow Him, this light creates such a need in our hearts over our own folly that it produces a sincere desire and a prayer always to be filled with the Holy Spirit When God’s Spirit becomes like a flowing river in our life, we are always ready to pray, to exhort, to think of the others’ best, and to rest in God in all circumstances. It is possible to live such a life. We cannot imag­ine that even once was Jesus not ready to do the good. We are called to follow in His steps. After Jesus has enlightened us and filled us with His Spirit, no­body must ever, and should never, find us unprepared to do God’s work. On the contrary, we must be warm and fervent in our spirit, pray without ceasing, and thank God for all things in Jesus’ name. Now is the time of reformation. May it succeed for all of us.Trygve Sandvik