Life Expressed Through the Highest Law
As a fountain overflows from its hidden source, so the life of Jesus within expresses the highest law of love through us.
Devotional Credit: eManna by Witness Lee
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Today’s devotional brings us to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus describes the kingdom of the heavens as having the highest law. In Matthew 5:19, He warns that disregarding even the least commandment lowers our standing, while keeping and teaching them raises us to greatness in His kingdom. Witness Lee reminds us that morality alone is not enough, because morality can stop short at avoiding outward wrongs like murder or adultery. The kingdom standard goes beyond behavior to the very heart, where love, forgiveness, and humility are expressed as the outflow of God’s life within.
Lee reminds us that life must always express itself. If we have the highest life, then it follows we should also have the highest morality as its expression. In other words, true righteousness is not found in striving to uphold a moral code but in allowing the divine life of Jesus within us to express itself outwardly. This standard of the kingdom far surpasses the old law. Where morality says “do not murder,” the kingdom life says “do not hate.” Where morality says “do not commit adultery,” the kingdom life calls us to purity of heart. Where morality says “resist evil,” the kingdom life calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
This can sound impossible if we view it as something we must achieve. But the point is not what we can do for God, but what His life in us does through us. Jesus reveals that kingdom living is simply the overflow of His indwelling life. We do not summon up love for our enemies by sheer effort. Instead, as we yield to Him, His Spirit manifests love through us, love that is higher than anything we could produce in our own strength.
The beauty of this devotional lies in the reminder that the law of the kingdom is inseparable from the life of the King. We are not called to imitate Jesus from the outside, but to allow His life within to fulfill the highest standard. In this way, what appears impossibly high becomes divinely possible, because it is Christ in us who is the fulfillment of God’s law of love.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My beloved, I have given you the highest life, and with it comes the highest expression. The kingdom of the heavens is not about outward rule-keeping but about the life of Jesus within you being expressed through love, mercy, and truth. You are no longer bound to strive in your own effort, for I have placed My Spirit within you to fulfill what the law could never produce.
When you are tempted to hate, My life in you chooses forgiveness. When you are wronged, My life in you expresses patience and mercy. When the world calls for retaliation, My life in you brings peace. Do not measure yourself by human morality, for you have been joined to a higher standard, the very righteousness of God.
The commands of the kingdom are not burdens placed upon you. They are the natural expression of the life you now share in union with My Son. Yield to Him, and you will find that loving your enemies, praying for your persecutors, and walking in purity are no longer impossible tasks, but the living reality of Jesus in you.
Scripture References: Matthew 5:19, Matthew 5:39-44, Romans 8:3-4, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6-11, Philippians 2:13, Colossians 1:27, John 15:5, 1 John 4:7-12.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a fountain fed by a hidden spring underground. The water that bubbles up is not manufactured at the surface; it comes naturally because of the source beneath. In the same way, the highest law of the kingdom is not achieved by human striving, but by the hidden life of Jesus flowing outward through us.
Today, when I am pressed with an opportunity to react in anger or self-defense, I can quietly rest and say, “Lord, I trust You to express Your life through me in this moment.” As I yield, His love, patience, and purity rise up like that fountain, expressing the highest standard without me manufacturing it in my own strength.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that in union with Jesus I already share the highest life. I rejoice that this life fulfills the highest law, not through my striving, but through Your indwelling Spirit. Thank You that even when the standard seems unreachable, You live it out in me. I rest in the truth that Your life is my righteousness, Your love is my expression, and Your power is my sufficiency.