His words are spirit and life
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63, KJV)
Jesus spoke the precious words above to a group of Jews who did not know what to do with Him as they struggled to understand what He was saying. Jesus said the words He spoke to them were spirit and life. What does this mean?
If you look up multiple translations, you will find that some use “spirit” with a lowercase “s” while others have “Spirit” with an uppercase “S”. It already gives you the nuances that are ingrained in this perplexing verse. I have taught about “Spirit” and “spirit” before during a prior Glory & Grace Live Bible study and you can find this on our website under “Deshen TV”.
First, note that Jesus did not say the Word of God is spirit. He said the words He was speaking to them were spirit. There was nothing mysterious here. He meant the natural, human, physical words these Jews were hearing Him speak were spirit! That takes me to the next important thing to understand here: Jesus did not also say the words were a spirit. “A spirit” will imply the words were a spirit entity or being, like the Word pre-incarnate which of course is spirit. If this were the case, then Jesus was saying that the words they were hearing were a spirit, meaning immaterial like spirit beings such as angel. That is clearly not the case. He says the physical words He was speaking, natural as every other human words were not a spirit but spirit!
If you grasp the two truths I just mentioned above, then you are ready for the astonishing and perplexing revelation the Master is giving us here. By “spirit” here, He means something natural which carries the nature of God’s spirit( that is Spirit), and exhibits the characteristics of the Spirit! It means the natural words Jesus spoke were fully natural human words but they were different. They were fully immersed with the Spirit of God and would produce results of the Spirit. He gives us an immediate example. It is the Holy Spirit that truly gives life. The words that Jesus was speaking to them were able to give life, just as the Spirit does because they are filled with God’s Spirit and exhibit the characteristics of the Spirit!
Jesus is telling us that a man or woman full of the Spirit can speak by the Spirit words that are spirit and those words will act like the Spirit and perform the wonders of the Spirit! You have a Bible, right? The words in the Bible you carry every day are spirit and life. They are capable of operating as the Spirit, giving life, breaking chains, bringing healing, casting out demons, etc. His words are spirit and life!
MEDITATE
I always struggle to put revelations like this in a short devotional. Please take a moment to reread it and ensure you fully grasp what I am sharing. Meditate on John 6:63 above. Ponder upon it, say it out loud again and again.
APPLY THE WORD
You should see the words of God in the scripture for what they are: spirit and life! If you have a problem and you are using the Word, you are applying “spirit” to the problem! And expect the results that come when the Spirit is at work! I will be teaching on this most astonishing truth during our Glory & Grace Live Bible study this week. Please ensure you imbibe this sermon. You can always watch the recording if you cannot watch us Live Facebook.
PRAY
Ask the Father to help you receive the Word as spirit and life. And dare to pray this now: ask Him to help you speak words that are spirit and life because you have His Spirit!
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