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In John 6:63 our Lord Jesus Christ made this remarkable statement concerning life: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
This statement was made in the powerful sermon which Jesus delivered in the wilderness to a large crowd of people who had come after Him hoping to receive bread from Him. Instead of providing them with bread, the bread which is perishable, bread which can only temporarily satisfy their hunger, Jesus taught them on the true Bread of Life. According to the Scripture, the people were disappointed that instead of performing a miracle to provide them with bread to feed them in the wilderness that Jesus instead taught on spiritual life and presented Himself to them as the Bread of Life, and many of them walked away from Him. However, you may recall that some of His disciples were wiser, and when Jesus turned to them and asked them if they too wanted to go away, Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).
Life is crucially important. God offers to mankind a Life which supersedes all natural life. It is eternal Life. According to the Scriptures, without eternal Life, man is dead in his natural existence. All of us began our existence dead in sin. We read in Eph 2:1-3: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Therefore, man in his natural existence is dead in sin. To be dead in sin and trespasses is to be dead spiritually and to be insensitive to the Spirit of God. Natural man cannot produce spirituality. To begin to function spiritually, man needs to be made alive initially with the Life which God offers. This is what salvation brings to mankind by the grace of God. Jesus refers to it as being born again. Jesus said in order for natural man to see or enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God, he must be born again spiritually of the Spirit of God.
Man’s initial birth, the natural birth, is of the flesh, and the second birth, which makes man a child of God, is of the Spirit. So by the new birth, the Spirit of God quickens natural man out of the state of spiritual death and sinfulness and gives man the supernatural life of a child of God. We read in Eph 2:4-6: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The Spirit gives Life.
Moreover, after being initially made alive by the grace of God through salvation or the new birth, one needs to continue in this Life. And the fact is that, even after being made alive initially by the grace of God, one remains absolutely dependent on God to be continually sustained in this Life. According to the Scriptures, we cannot continue in this new Life on our own even after we have been initially made alive by God from the deadness of our sinfulness. Self efforts and human performance are futile in the realm of the Spirit. The flesh or the natural man contributes absolutely nothing to spiritual life.
We may try on our own to discipline ourselves and conform to various religious rules and regulations, but we will find that we are just becoming tangled by religious bondage and death, rather than growing in true spiritual Life. Jesus puts it plainly: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Paul in a similar way declares that truth in 2Co 3:5-6: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
The death fostering letter, the letter which kills, is the Old Mosaic Covenant and its religious rules, regulations, and rituals. In fact, Paul uses no uncertain terms to make it clear to us that he considered the Old Covenant religious regime as death fostering rather than Life-giving. He refers to the Old Mosaic Covenant as “the ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation” as we read in the verses which follow.
In 2Co 3:7-18, we read: “But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
So we thank God for establishing a New Covenant by which all who believe are brought out from under the yoke of the bondage of the Old Mosaic Covenant into the liberty of His Life-giving grace in Christ. Jesus, the mediator of this New Covenant, came to earth to offer to mankind fullness of Life. He points out in John 6:32-35: “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world…. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” He declares in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Jesus declares: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Therefore, the Gospel of the Kingdom is the message of Life. It does not present to mankind another religion of rituals, rules, and regulations, but presents Jesus Christ as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). Jesus did not refer to Himself as a leader of a new religion, but as the Life. John declares in 1Jo 5:11-12: “And the testimony is this: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”
When the early disciples were freed from prison on one occasion, they were not told to go out and recruit members to a religious movement and introduce people to a new form of religion of rituals, rules, and regulations. Instead, they were instructed to “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people the whole message of this Life” (Act 5:20).
Mankind now has the wonderful opportunity to be quickened out of the hopeless state of spiritual death and religious bondage in sin into an abundant Life in Christ. Jesus convincingly proclaimed this message of Life: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 5:24-25).
To have eternal Life is to have the Life of the Son of God with its unlimited possibilities. Frances Ridley Havergal writes: “I am struck with the possibilities of the Christian life! In my own case, what once were far-off possibilities are now actualities; while a new horizon opens before me of possibilities, which also in God's time shall become actualities.”
The Spirit imparts this Life to all who believe in Christ, initially quickening them from death and then continually sustaining and keeping them alive through this Life in Christ. The New Covenant of grace assures us of the availability of this Life, and the Holy Spirit delivers this Life to all who humbly believe and remain dependent absolutely and continually on Christ. It is the Spirit who gives Life.
It is important that every one recognizes that this Life is not about a religion of rituals, rules, and regulations. This Life is necessary for the salvation of all mankind, whatever their religion may be. In Adam all died, and, therefore, dead in sin and iniquity, all men need to be quickened into this divine Life in order to be saved from the corruption and judgement of sin and to walk in true holiness and righteousness before God in this present world and in the world to come.
Furthermore, those of us who have received this Life in Christ and have been initially quickened by the Spirit into this Life must realize that to continue in this Life we must depend absolutely upon the Spirit and that we cannot at any point perfect this Life in us by our own efforts and religious performances. We cannot produce this glorious Life of Christ in us by trying to adhere to religious rules and regulations or humanist social and psychological discipline. It is the Spirit who gives Life. We must continually draw this Life from the Spirit, who indwells every believer in Christ. This Life then produces in us the fruit of the Spirit -- the true character of Christ and genuine Christian behaviour.
Paul admonishes us in Col 2:6-10: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete....”
Then Paul further instructs us in Col 3:1-4: “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Hallelujah! True Christianity is fundamentally the Life of Christ lived in those who believe in Christ. Christianity is not the product of any religion. Neither the Mosaic Laws of the Judaism religion nor any of the venerated ancient nor modern religious regimes of human civilization can produce the genuine Life of Christianity. It is the Spirit of God who gives this Life.
Paul, who once zealously practiced the Mosaic Law under the Judaic religion, when he eventually found salvation in Christ and a life of true righteousness in Christianity, declared: “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I, who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Gal 2:19-21).
It is the Spirit who gives Life.
G. A. N. James
This statement was made in the powerful sermon which Jesus delivered in the wilderness to a large crowd of people who had come after Him hoping to receive bread from Him. Instead of providing them with bread, the bread which is perishable, bread which can only temporarily satisfy their hunger, Jesus taught them on the true Bread of Life. According to the Scripture, the people were disappointed that instead of performing a miracle to provide them with bread to feed them in the wilderness that Jesus instead taught on spiritual life and presented Himself to them as the Bread of Life, and many of them walked away from Him. However, you may recall that some of His disciples were wiser, and when Jesus turned to them and asked them if they too wanted to go away, Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).
Life is crucially important. God offers to mankind a Life which supersedes all natural life. It is eternal Life. According to the Scriptures, without eternal Life, man is dead in his natural existence. All of us began our existence dead in sin. We read in Eph 2:1-3: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Therefore, man in his natural existence is dead in sin. To be dead in sin and trespasses is to be dead spiritually and to be insensitive to the Spirit of God. Natural man cannot produce spirituality. To begin to function spiritually, man needs to be made alive initially with the Life which God offers. This is what salvation brings to mankind by the grace of God. Jesus refers to it as being born again. Jesus said in order for natural man to see or enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God, he must be born again spiritually of the Spirit of God.
Man’s initial birth, the natural birth, is of the flesh, and the second birth, which makes man a child of God, is of the Spirit. So by the new birth, the Spirit of God quickens natural man out of the state of spiritual death and sinfulness and gives man the supernatural life of a child of God. We read in Eph 2:4-6: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The Spirit gives Life.
Moreover, after being initially made alive by the grace of God through salvation or the new birth, one needs to continue in this Life. And the fact is that, even after being made alive initially by the grace of God, one remains absolutely dependent on God to be continually sustained in this Life. According to the Scriptures, we cannot continue in this new Life on our own even after we have been initially made alive by God from the deadness of our sinfulness. Self efforts and human performance are futile in the realm of the Spirit. The flesh or the natural man contributes absolutely nothing to spiritual life.
We may try on our own to discipline ourselves and conform to various religious rules and regulations, but we will find that we are just becoming tangled by religious bondage and death, rather than growing in true spiritual Life. Jesus puts it plainly: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Paul in a similar way declares that truth in 2Co 3:5-6: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
The death fostering letter, the letter which kills, is the Old Mosaic Covenant and its religious rules, regulations, and rituals. In fact, Paul uses no uncertain terms to make it clear to us that he considered the Old Covenant religious regime as death fostering rather than Life-giving. He refers to the Old Mosaic Covenant as “the ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation” as we read in the verses which follow.
In 2Co 3:7-18, we read: “But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
So we thank God for establishing a New Covenant by which all who believe are brought out from under the yoke of the bondage of the Old Mosaic Covenant into the liberty of His Life-giving grace in Christ. Jesus, the mediator of this New Covenant, came to earth to offer to mankind fullness of Life. He points out in John 6:32-35: “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world…. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” He declares in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Jesus declares: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Therefore, the Gospel of the Kingdom is the message of Life. It does not present to mankind another religion of rituals, rules, and regulations, but presents Jesus Christ as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). Jesus did not refer to Himself as a leader of a new religion, but as the Life. John declares in 1Jo 5:11-12: “And the testimony is this: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”
When the early disciples were freed from prison on one occasion, they were not told to go out and recruit members to a religious movement and introduce people to a new form of religion of rituals, rules, and regulations. Instead, they were instructed to “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people the whole message of this Life” (Act 5:20).
Mankind now has the wonderful opportunity to be quickened out of the hopeless state of spiritual death and religious bondage in sin into an abundant Life in Christ. Jesus convincingly proclaimed this message of Life: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 5:24-25).
To have eternal Life is to have the Life of the Son of God with its unlimited possibilities. Frances Ridley Havergal writes: “I am struck with the possibilities of the Christian life! In my own case, what once were far-off possibilities are now actualities; while a new horizon opens before me of possibilities, which also in God's time shall become actualities.”
The Spirit imparts this Life to all who believe in Christ, initially quickening them from death and then continually sustaining and keeping them alive through this Life in Christ. The New Covenant of grace assures us of the availability of this Life, and the Holy Spirit delivers this Life to all who humbly believe and remain dependent absolutely and continually on Christ. It is the Spirit who gives Life.
It is important that every one recognizes that this Life is not about a religion of rituals, rules, and regulations. This Life is necessary for the salvation of all mankind, whatever their religion may be. In Adam all died, and, therefore, dead in sin and iniquity, all men need to be quickened into this divine Life in order to be saved from the corruption and judgement of sin and to walk in true holiness and righteousness before God in this present world and in the world to come.
Furthermore, those of us who have received this Life in Christ and have been initially quickened by the Spirit into this Life must realize that to continue in this Life we must depend absolutely upon the Spirit and that we cannot at any point perfect this Life in us by our own efforts and religious performances. We cannot produce this glorious Life of Christ in us by trying to adhere to religious rules and regulations or humanist social and psychological discipline. It is the Spirit who gives Life. We must continually draw this Life from the Spirit, who indwells every believer in Christ. This Life then produces in us the fruit of the Spirit -- the true character of Christ and genuine Christian behaviour.
Paul admonishes us in Col 2:6-10: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete....”
Then Paul further instructs us in Col 3:1-4: “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Hallelujah! True Christianity is fundamentally the Life of Christ lived in those who believe in Christ. Christianity is not the product of any religion. Neither the Mosaic Laws of the Judaism religion nor any of the venerated ancient nor modern religious regimes of human civilization can produce the genuine Life of Christianity. It is the Spirit of God who gives this Life.
Paul, who once zealously practiced the Mosaic Law under the Judaic religion, when he eventually found salvation in Christ and a life of true righteousness in Christianity, declared: “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I, who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Gal 2:19-21).
It is the Spirit who gives Life.
G. A. N. James