“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
It is astonishing and troubling to think that in our generation is no different from the time when the LORD Jesus was teaching and even after He rose from the dead that many people were not fully aware of the Holy Spirit. The LORD Jesus spoke of Him and said, “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him…” (John 14:17). The people of Israel were entrusted with the scriptures, yet they were not aware of the Holy Spirit and His power when He was given to people. And later, when Paul came to Ephesus, he found disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered that they had not even heard that the Holy Spirit had been given. (Acts 19:2). These were believers, yet they were unaware of the gift that had been poured out to all of us who receive Jesus Christ and believe on Him.
And even today, many Christians have not received and experienced the Holy Spirit. They do not understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor the indwelling of the Spirit within them. Some have indeed received Him, yet they do not have a intimate fellowship with Him, nor do they live unaware of the greatness of the One who dwells in them. As it is written, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (I John 4:4)
This is a sobering thing to consider. For they are not aware of the power given from above, the very power by which a man enters the kingdom of God. For it is only through the Holy Spirit that we are born from above. This is the great requirement for all of us who desire to enter the Kingdom of God. A man must be born of the Spirit (John 3:5). Without Him, there is no entrance into the Kingdom of God. And because they do not know the Holy Spirit and His power, many Christians live a defeated life. They strive with their own strength. They struggle in the flesh. They try to overcome it by willpower, not knowing that help has already been given freely.
As the LORD Jesus said, It is the Spirit who gives life. So why walk as though you are dead when life has been promised? If a man has not been born from above, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. If he has not received the Holy Spirit, he cannot walk in the newness of life. Consider this: From the very beginning, When the earth was without form and filled with darkness, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). As the Holy Spirit hovered over darkness, the creation of God began, and the first creation it brought was light. The Spirit moved over what was empty and void, and creation began. In the same way, He can move over the dark and empty places of your heart. Where there is confusion, He brings order. Where there is darkness, He brings light. The Scripture also says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11). The very Spirit who raised Christ from the grave has also raised you. The Spirit that is dwelling in the LORD Jesus and the Spirit given to us are not different Spirit. This is the same Spirit of resurrection power.
And consider the vision granted to the prophet Ezekiel. The valley was full of dry bones, lifeless and scattered. But when the breath of God came, the bones lived. “Come from the four winds, O breath (Holy Spirit), and breathe on these slain, that they may live” (Ezekiel 37:9). And when the breath (Holy Spirit) entered them, “they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10). Here you see these were dry bones, long without life, without strength, and without hope. Yet when the Holy Spirit came, what was dry was filled. What had no life was quickened. They did not merely live again. They became more than a breathing bodies. They become not a weak army but an exceedingly great army. They stood upon their feet. Strength came into what was once dry. Order came into what was once broken. Purpose came into what was once lifeless.
So it is when the Holy Spirit moves upon us. He gives us not just life; He gives us abundant life. As our LORD has said, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). What was empty within us, He fills. What was weakness, He strengthens. What was fear, he replaced with courage. For “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). What was scattered, like sheep without direction, He gathers. What was lost, He restores. As the LORD Jesus has said,
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth… (John 16:13). And “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). He does not merely cause us to survive day by day. He reminds us of all the promises of God over our lives. He equips us. He raises us up. He causes us to stand.
And greatest of all, the Holy Spirit is the seal of our redemption. (Ephesians 1:13). A seal marks ownership. A seal secures what belongs to the King. So the Spirit Himself is the guarantee that we belong to God. As it is written, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). He also bears witness within us that we are His. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). When He dwells within us, we are no longer strangers or orphans. We become sons and daughters of the living and mighty God. And not only this, but He helps us in our weakness. As it is written, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26, NKJV). When we do not know how to pray, He intercedes. When we are burdened beyond words, He speaks before the Father on our behalf.
What more do we need, when the very presence of God who creates the heavens and Earth dwells within us? What greater treasure could there be than this?
My brother and sister, The moment you believed and received the LORD Jesus Christ over your life, He did not leave you an orphan. He gave you His Spirit freely. Not sparingly. Not reluctantly. But generously, that life might come into what was once your dead life. For it is written, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). The Spirit of God was given to breathe life into your mortal body so that you would no longer be weak and trembling before evil spirits but be endued with power from on high.
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you receive not only life but also abundant life. You receive power to overcome the hold of sin and the rule of the flesh. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14). You are under grace because of what Jesus did for you on Calvary, and the power of the Holy Spirit dwells within you! You are not defeated! Perhaps you were unaware. Perhaps you were ignorant of the gift within you. But ignorance does not mean absence. The Holy Spirit has been given.
As the Scripture declares,
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:4-6)
Do you see it? He poured Him out abundantly. Not a drop. Not a measure. But abundantly. Therefore, walk with Him. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Do not live as though you are powerless. Do not bow as though you are alone. The Spirit of the living God dwells in you. Stand! Not as a weak and trembling Christian, but as one made alive, renewed, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit of God.
Then the LORD Jesus continues and says, “the flesh profits nothing.” I think this will be easier for all of us to comprehend or grasp when we reflect on what our flesh can do for us. The flesh cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. The Scripture plainly says, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:50). Our greatest goal is to be with our God in His kingdom; therefore, we realize that our flesh, by itself, profits nothing toward that end.
Our confidence in the flesh works only here on earth. Education, achievements, titles, and reputation may have value in this present world, but they do not open the gates of heaven. Paul himself, who was highly educated and zealous, said, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ… and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7–8).
What about wealth? Men labor day and night to gather treasure. Yet heaven’s glory cannot be compared to earthly riches. The city of God has “the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Revelation 21:21). The foundations of its wall are adorned with precious stones (Revelation 21:19–20). What we call most precious things on earth is common in heaven. How then can earthly wealth profit us there?
What about our own righteousness? The Word declares, “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). God’s standard is holy and perfect. What we call good, what we present before men as virtue, cannot stand before the holiness of God. His standard is not partial obedience. It is perfection. Even the first commandment says, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3) And our LORD Jesus revealed the fullness of that command when He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Who among us has loved God perfectly at all times? With all the heart, without distraction? With all the soul, without wandering? With all the mind, without doubt? If we are being honest right now before God, we know and aware that we have fallen short. Therefore, to justify ourselves is pride. And pride itself is a transgression, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Pride exalts self not God. This is why we cannot trust in our own righteousness. We need a righteousness that comes from above. As Paul said, that he might “be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:9). Our righteousness fails but God righteousness saves us!
Lastly, consider our flesh. It is weak. It is prone to sickness and disease. It grows weary. It ages. It decays. And in the end, it returns to the dust, just as it is written, “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).
This body must be sustained daily with food and water just to survive. One day without water weakens it. A little sickness troubles it. Time itself works against it. How then can something so frail inherit eternal life? But thanks be to God, this is not the end of the matter. For there is a body prepared for eternity for all of us who believed and receive the LORD Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:53).
Truly, our flesh profits nothing! It cannot save us. It cannot sustain us. It will return to dust not to God.
When the LORD Jesus said, The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. He was declaring that the very words that proceed from His mouth carry life within them. Why His words are not empty words. As it is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. …And the Word became flesh…” (John 1:1-2, 14). Jesus is God manifested in the flesh. He is a walking bible who came down from Heaven. Because He is God, all of His words are Spirit who gives life. They bring life to what was once dead. They bring something that doesnt exist. As it is written, “ …God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;” (Romans 4:17) As Jesus says, Most assuredly, I say to you, the 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 5:25).
Before He said this, many of His disciples were offended and turned away from Him. For He had said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Those who had followed Him stumbled at these words because they listened with earthly understanding rather than heavenly discernment. Yet Jesus was speaking of a spiritual reality.
The reason we all struggle to hear and understand the Word of God and why we often take everything only in a literal sense, is because of our true condition apart from God. We were all dead spiritually because of our sins that we all inherited from Adam. In that state, our heart and mind cannot properly perceive the things of God. As it is written, ““But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14). So when Jesus spoke of eating His flesh. He was using something familiar in our daily life for us to be able to grasp of what He all wants us to understand. We all eat food every day. When food is placed before us, we do not simply stare at it. We take it. We eat it. It enters into us, and through it we are nourished, strengthened, and sustained. Without it, we grow weak. In the same way, the Word of God must be received. It must enter the heart. It must nourish our spirit. If we neglect it, we grow weak spiritually. But when we feed upon it daily, life begins to grow within us.
And when He spoke of drinking His blood, even the word drink carried meaning in their culture. To drink together could symbolize agreement, covenant, and celebration. So when we drink of Him, we are agreeing with His covenant. We are believing His promises. We are celebrating what we have received through His sacrifice. Communion carries even deeper meaning, but I will not focus on that here.
What I want to emphasize is what the LORD Jesus was truly declaring that His Word is Spirit, and it brings life within us! He calls us to value His Word, to set aside time to read it, meditate on it, and speak it. As we do, life begins to form within us.
For how can we truly know God? We know Him through His Word. Through the Scriptures, His character is revealed. His will is revealed. His promises are revealed. We do not discover God by imagination, nor by human reasoning. Left to our own thoughts, we become ignorant of Him. And ignorance opens the door to deception and destruction. As it is written, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Without His Word, we are guided by feelings, opinions, and the wisdom of this world. But through His Word, we come to know Him as He truly is. His Word gives us discernment. It gives us discretion. It makes us wise. “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7). And again, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
Because how can we truly know God? We know Him through His Word. Apart from His Word, we are left to our own imaginations. But through His Word, He reveals who He is, what His will, and what He has promised. This is why in evangelism we speak the Word of God. As it is written,
“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? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:14-17
As we understand, the Word of God is a seed. When we speak it to someone, we know that something is being planted. It may not be seen immediately. It may not appear to grow at once. But a seed has entered the soil. Jesus Himself said, “The sower sows the word” (Mark 4:14). And again, “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). This is the main reason for creating this blog: to plant the seed of the Word of God, to inspire, to build, and to call hearts back to Jesus.
Through the Word of God “seed”, life can begin in someone who was once spiritually dead. Just as a natural seed carries life within itself, so the Word carries life within it.
So speak Jesus. Speak His Word. Let His Word be planted in hearts. Let His Word bring light into darkness and life into dead places.
For His words are Spirit, and they are life!
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