GOD’S WORDS ARE SPIRIT AND LIFE

“…The WORDS that I speak to you are SPIRIT, and they are LIFE” – John 6:63b

GOD’S WORDS ARE SPIRIT and LIFE: “It is the Spirit who gives LIFE; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are SPIRIT, and they are LIFE” (Jh.6:63). This passage shows the drastic impact of Jesus’ teaching on the crowd: most walked away. When confronted with spiritual needs and a hard message, most people will back out. What society wants are marvels, material possessions, and political saviours. The more Jesus insisted on being the means to eternal life, the angrier the crowd became, until the majority simply abandoned Him. Even the twelve disciples, who seemed willing to follow, also struggled to accept His claims.

Jesus had repeatedly and pointedly introduced Himself as the Bread of Life (Jh.6:35b, 48-51, 58). He insisted that only those who eat His flesh and drink His blood can find eternal life, inferring His upcoming sacrificial death on the cross. Christ was not saying that people should eat His material flesh or drink His liquid blood. Rather, He was making a spiritual point: True faith requires a person to take the truth of who Christ is deep inside – “receive it” fully and absolutely, just like bread and wine have to be fully ingested in order to have any effect. Simply seeing, holding, or touching food is not enough. It must be consumed. In the same way, faith in Christ transcends intellectual knowledge. Here are three profound lessons we can draw from Jesus’ assertions:

“It is the Spirit who gives life…” – The Holy Spirit quickens dead sinners, causing them to have eternal life. The Spirit also quickens and revives the believer with life. He communicates the life of Christ, thus making the new birth and Christ-life possible: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jh.3:5). When we believe in Christ, the Spirit commences His work, transforming us into sons of God. We simply believe in Christ by faith; the Spirit will do the rest!

“The flesh profits nothing” – The body, without the spirit is dead; it is a lifeless lump. The human flesh and human nature bring no spiritual profit, and can contribute nothing to bestow eternal life: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (Jh.3:6). To gain life, people often rely on everything except the Spirit of God: wealth, position, possessions, pleasures, and worldly relationships. However, true salvation comes through faith in His Word and the quickening of His Spirit.

“The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” – the words of Jesus are vital to our spiritual life; they communicate to us the life of the world-to-come – eternal life! Christ releases Spirit and Life through His words. Unless we hear and understand His words, we cannot have eternal life: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom.10:14). God’s Words are Spirit and Life!

The Son of God, speaks the words of the Father: “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me” (Jh.7:16). He communicates God’s Life, character, and qualities. He reveals God’s desires, intent, and Will – His Life. Thus, the words of Jesus are Life!

The words of Jesus are Spirit. Jesus Himself is the Word who became flesh (Jh.1:1-3, 14). His words are the incarnation and communication of the Spirit. The Spirit draws us to Christ, exalts Him as the living Lord, empowers His words, and regenerates and transforms us as we believe. The Spirit also indwells and acts through His words; and for this reason they communicate life!

The words of Jesus are life: “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself” (Jh.5:26). When Jesus speaks, He communicates His life to us.

God desires that we encounter His Word as the Sword of the Spirit and the Seed of Life!