In this piece, we'll be looking and be charged with and be stirred with this word, “The Spirit and The Life”. And we're going to start our observation from John chapter 6:63, Jesus said that “the Spirit gives life and the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit and they are Life.” Jesus said that it is the Spirit if you look at your Bible is capital letter S: referring to the person of the Holy Spirit. He said, it is the Holy Spirit that gives life, the Holy Spirit is the conveyor or the conveyer of life. He said He's the one that quickens, He is the one that makes alive; He said, there is no profits in the flesh. I love the way the Amplified put that John chapter 6 verse 63 He said, “it is the Spirit who gives life, He is the life-giver.”
So, is there any life that you desire in the kingdom, the Bible says, it comes via the Spirit, He is the Life-Giver. So, is there any life you desire in this kingdom, He is the Holy Spirit, He is the life-giver; He said, the flesh conveys no benefits and the Bible makes us to understand that physical exercise profits little but spiritual exercise is profitable in all things. So, the Bible is saying to us here in John 6:63, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ; He said, the flesh conveys no benefits, whatever, there is no profit in it. He said, the words, the truth that I have been speaking to you; they are Spirit and they are Life. Why is this important to us? There is a strong connection between the Spirit and the Life.
In John 3:16 the Bible says that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, He did not stop there, but will have; He said, there's something you will have, there's something that will be given to you, there's something you will possess, and He called it life. So, what is that Life? Why is that Life important? Why is that life-critical that Jesus had to die? If that life was not precious, if that life was not vital, Jesus would not have died. But Jesus died, that we might receive this life. So, if we have not received this life, then the death of Jesus over our lives has been in vain.
So, what is the life He's talking about? The same life He's speaking about in John 6:63 that the Spirit gives, He said that the Spirit gives life; eternal life. The life of the kingdom, the kingdom of God is eternal; so, the life of the Kingdom carries the DNA of the kingdom, which is eternal. So, when we're talking about this life, we're not talking about somebody that lives 120 years, or 180 years, or live as long as Methuselah, no, that's not what we're talking about, we're talking about the quality of life; the kind of life of the Kingdom. So, the Bible says, it is the Spirit that makes this life possible, it is the Spirit that makes this life accessible, it is the Spirit that makes this life possible for you and I, or else, we will continue to live in the flesh that brings no profit, we will continue to live in the flesh and walk in the flesh that has no benefits.
So, He said, the words that I speak to you, this is another very important point; He said the words that I speak to you they have the component required for that life, He said as I'm speaking to you right now, something has been conveyed. He said what is being conveyed via My words, is the Spirit and Life. So, let us re-order it from the beginning. The Spirit gives life, the flesh profits nothing. Jesus now said the words that I speak to you, they are spirit and life. If you see the second spirit, go back to your Bible, John 6:63. He said they are spirits, small letter S, and life, so He's talking about the nature of the word. The word is spiritual, the words I speak to you are spiritual, you cannot see them, you cannot lay hold of them; they are invisible, but they carry life. So, that's what we want to unbundle. Why this life? What is the connection between the Word and the Spirit? Why is it that when we hear the word, what is this that we receive by it? What must enter into us? Remember, that particular verse in the Bible, he said when He spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet. What happened when He spoke to me? What did He speak to me?
Let's go to John chapter 1:14, and the Word became flesh. Remember, Jesus said in John 6:63, the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life, then John 1:14 starting from verse 1, It says, “In the beginning was the Word capital letter W, talking about the personality, in the beginning, was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. So, we know that the Word is God. The word is a personality, the word is a being, the word is someone that has been from the beginning. So, verse 14 now says to us, that the Word now became flesh, we understood it, and He dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, capital letter H, we beheld His glory, so He is not one of us, He is not a man; He is God, we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, so we understand that he is speaking about Jesus, the Word, and he said, He's full of what? Grace and Truth.
So, let's collapse what is in the middle, and just pick and the word, and full of grace and truth; let's marry it together, and the word, full of grace and truth. Now, the process in between, whatever we read in between is a process “and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father”. But the two important things want to combine here is that and “the word, full of grace and truth”. So, what is Jesus saying to us? That the word carries the embodiment of the word which is grace and truth. So, when the word appears, the word was referring to John chapter 6:63, when the word appears, it is full; its not empty, it is full of grace and truth. How is this grace and truth possible for us as an experience and a reality? We are supposed to receive the word, His person; as we receive His person because every time, He is communicating to us, He said, He is releasing His life. The words that I speak to you, I am conveying, I am transferring, I am releasing spirit and life. How can this word that is spirit and life that is full of grace and truth become a personal experience?
You know, we're combining so many things together, but please follow in the Spirit. The word Jesus is referring to, the contents of the word is grace and truth, and it is spiritual; by now we know that grace is not something you can hold on to, truth is not something you can see but it is real; it exists.
So, Jesus said, the words that I speak to you, they are spirits, you can't see them, you can't touch them, but they have contents, they carry weights, and the weight of it; is grace and truth. And He said that there is a life in grace, there is a life of grace, there is a life of truth. That is what I am transferring, I am conveying to you but through a medium. That’s why the Bible says the letter killeth but the Spirit gives life. Every time the Spirit is spoken about, He talks about a transference, a conveying of life. I want us to see Romans chapter 8:11, this is just a word to stir our hearts. “But if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead, will also, do what? Give life.”
If the Spirit of Him, the Spirit of Him is the spirit of the word, who is Him? The Word. John 1:14, if the Spirit of the word that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, so let's collapse that part; if the Spirit word dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also do what? Give life to your mortal bodies, through what? His Spirit who dwells in you, through is Spirit. So, there is a Spirit of the word, there is no word you would ever receive from God, that will be conveyed to you in the flesh. No, it is conveyed in the Spirit, there's transference in the Spirit, the Spirit is the medium through which; that which you will receive from God will get to you. You know in the Message translation; he calls the Holy Spirit this, the alive and present God and I loved it. The Holy Spirit is not just a person or a means of conveyance, He is God.; but in what expression, in what form? He is the alive and present God, He is present with you in your room, in your toilet, in your bedroom, in your kitchen, wherever you are, He is alive and He is present. So whatever communication that God has for you from His kingdom, from His throne, from His realm, it is only made possible to you and realizable in this realm via the alive and present God; the Holy Spirit.
So, without the Spirit, our mortal bodies are condemned to death, our mortal bodies is flesh that profits nothing. So, we continue to live our life in that realm where there's no profits, no advantage, as you are just reading the things, it is just flying over your head. You can't receive, you can't internalize, you can't comprehend; but by the help of the Spirit, the Bible says He will give life. Another word that I love is how the KJV version puts it, He will quicken, the word quicken means He will make alive, He will quicken your mortal body. So, the Holy Spirit is the external force that makes sure that your body does not remain at a state of rest; the Holy Spirit is the external force. If not for the Spirit, the Bible says Jesus will not be raised from the dead.
The reason Jesus resurrected is because the Spirit quickened Him. The body of Jesus would have remained in the tomb today, if not for the power of the Holy Spirit. So, if God could trust the life of Jesus in the hands of the Holy Spirit, how much more us. He was certain that the Spirit will raise Him up on the third day. And the Bible says if that same Spirit that was reliable, dependable, alive, and present to raise Jesus from the dead and did not fail at doing it, that same spirit will quicken your mortal body. That same spirit will make alive what has been dead, that same spirit will bring to life what has been dead; so that's what Romans 8:11 is saying to us.
So, we're going back to John chapter 1:14, so, the Bible says and the word full of grace and truth, that the contents, that's the identity of the word every time the word appears. The Word appears in this two fullness, the fullness of the word is always in grace and in truth. So, we want to look at it. What is grace? What is truth? We're going to start with truth. John chapter 8:32 “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. And you shall know the truth, in the flesh or in the Spirit? And you shall know the truth, how do you know the truth? The Spirit brings you into fellowship with the truth, the Spirit brings you into communion with the truth, and the Spirit leads you in the truth. How do I know this? See the words of Jesus, John chapter 17 we saw that John 8:32 And you shall know the truth and the truth will do what? sets you free.
John chapter 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth, Your Word is truth.” Does it negate what we read in John 1:14? The word full of grace and truth; Sanctify them by Your truth, Your Word is truth. John chapter 16:13, How do we know the truth? John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of what? Truth has come, the alive and present God, when He has come, He will do what? How will you know the truth? He will guide you into all truths not some but all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak and He will tell you things to come. John chapter 14:17, Jesus still speaking, “the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him.” How do you know the truth? You know the Spirit of truth; the way you know the truth and you are sanctified by the truth is because you know the Spirit of truth that guides you into all truth. You can't be guided outside Him; He guides you into all truth, and He said, the world cannot receive Him for He dwells with you, He is the alive and present God, and He will be in you. How do you know the truth and the truth sets you free; by the Spirit of truth being in you. John chapter 15:26. “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of what? Truth.” Jesus called Him the Spirit of Truth three times, reaffirming that this is who He is; He is the Spirit of the Word.
The word cannot be alive, the word cannot become an experience and a reality in our lives except by the Spirit, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me; the Spirit of truth. Without the Spirit of truth, the word of truth cannot materialize; without the Spirit of truth, the word of truth cannot come alive within us, we can’t know the truth. Are you saying, you know the truth about many things, are you sure? Because the only way you can know the truth; is that you are guided in it. What do you even know that is the truth? I want us to see 2 Corinthians chapter 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, is it was? And now where the Spirit of the Lord is, who is the Spirit of the Lord? the Spirit of Truth. Wherever the Spirit of God is, what did He say, there is liberty; you will know the truth and the truth will give you liberty, it will set you free.
So, 2 Corinthians 3:17 is making us understand that this Spirit is what powers the freedom and the liberty we receive in the truth. Sanctify them by Your truth, for Your Word is truth; and you will know the truth. How do you know the truth? by the Spirit of God, by the Spirit of truth that is in you because when He is in you, He will guide you in all truth. And as He guides you in all truth, the Spirit of the Lord is in you and you are free, you are at liberty. What is the Liberty about? The Liberty is to live the life that Christ died for, is to live the life that God had ordained for you and I; the life of the Kingdom, the life of God; is not liberty for frivolity, is not liberty to do anyhow and take the grace of God for granted, No, it is the liberty to live the life of the Spirit, liberty to express God, liberty to carry God as a mobile entity.
You know when we were looking at the law of gravity, we realize that Spirit love mobility, God loves mobility; He wants to move everywhere. So, when He is in you, the truth can move everywhere. So, when the prophecy about the knowledge of God, covering the earth as waters the sea is because you and I will move across the length and breadth of the earth; carrying Him; the Spirit of truth.
Let's go to grace. Acts chapter 20:32 we will consider now the word of grace. It says, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to what? the word of His grace which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” His Word, and the word full of grace and truth. First Corinthians 2:12, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God.” This Scripture reaffirming what Jesus said in John chapter 15, that He proceeds from God, that the Spirit we receive from God, which is not of the world, He said that we might know; this is Grace, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. What are the things that have being freely given to us by God? Grace. Grace is the word that envelope the things, all things that pertains to life and godliness; all things that He has freely given to us; He has given to us in grace.
That's why the gospel is the word of His grace, the things He has freely given to us; good news. Hebrews chapter 10:29, now that we've established that the word is the word of His grace, and that He has freely given to us all things, which contains the fullness of the word, how is He powered? Hebrews chapter 10:29 “Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who has, number one; trampled the Son of God underfoot, number two; counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and number three, insulted the Spirit of grace?”
Let me read that verse 9 again. See the progression. Of how much punishment do you suppose will He be thought worthy who has, number one; Trampled the Son of God underfoot, trampled the Word, trampled Christ, trampled the Sacrifice. It said counted the blood of covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and number three it said; insulted the Spirit of grace.
That's why Apostle Paul said, should we continue in sin and ask grace to abound, He said, God forbid. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace, you can't insult the Spirit of grace; because He is in you, He makes you know the things that are being freely given to you by God. Grace, so the Word of God is full of grace and truth conveyed by the Spirit. Every word in the kingdom of God is powered by the Spirit for it to produce the life of God, that sentence covers everything we have been saying. Every word, man must not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, you must feed by the word, which is only digestible by the Spirit.
You can eat food, if it does not digest, it doesn't benefit you at the end of the day, you vomit it. For the food to benefit your body, it must digest, so the word is only digestible in our spirits to us in our lives, by the Spirit. So, when God says to you, you will be the head and not the tail, the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. When the word comes to you, the Spirit must enter into you, the Spirit must quicken your mortal body to be able to receive that word or else that Word will become flesh and He profits you nothing. That's why Jesus said, He said, it is the Spirit that gives life, do you understand it? It is the Spirit that gives life, it is the Spirit that supplies, it is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing, it will just sit-down feed, and be fat; nothing. No benefits. The word I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are life.
It is not enough to say Jesus died for me; it is not enough to say I have been crucified with Christ. Is that life an experience? Until that life becomes an experience, you have not started.
