LEARNING DAILY

John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” Jesus

Jesus has just given interesting teaching about “eating His flesh and drinking His blood”. There were many who heard this say it was a difficult thing to understand; because the teaching was not understood many who were following Him stopped following Him. Jesus used symbolism at times that people could not grasp the meaning of. He referred to Himself as the Bread of Life and those who followed Him had to “eat His flesh and drink His blood”. He had earlier stated that people needed to believe in the “bread of heaven” whom God had sent. Jesus was certainly not saying that people needed to eat His body or drink His actual blood! The entire point is spiritual in its meaning. He was saying that a person believing in Him had to receive the truth of Christ deep within, they must receive it fully and absolutely.

There is absolutely no hope of salvation or spiritual insight that can be gained by human effort. Any effort to achieve spiritual insight by human effort will be flawed. In 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 Paul writes that spiritual insight about God’s Word through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Because the flesh relies on human efforts, it “profits nothing”. For example, no one can know the thoughts of another person; a person only knows their own thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:11). “The Holy Spirit is fully God so the Holy Spirit knows and understands the thoughts and wisdom of God. Therefore, He is able to teach believers the truth of God. The unbeliever can study the Scriptures and learn certain facts about the Almighty, but only through the illumination of the Spirit does true understanding come” (David Jeremiah Study Bible). 1 Corinthians 2:14 explains, “the unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him”.

John 3:6 gives more insight to this, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus that he needed to be “born-again” in order to receive the Holy Spirit who would then teach Him truth. When Jesus said, “the flesh profits nothing”, He was telling all people that they could never attain eternal life through the flesh or by their own power; the flesh will never be able to produce any spiritual power. Only through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the indwelling Holy Spirit can one be saved. Only by walking on the narrow way into eternity is one able to then do what Jesus instructed in Matthew 16:24, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”.  That is discipleship. It is a heavy cost that Believers commit to. The reward for doing so far exceeds the cost!

Jesus spoke only what the father told Him to speak. He said so often. He said that the words He speaks are spirit. The words He speaks are life to the Believer and, therefore, He is speaking life to all who hear them or read His Word. The Holy Spirit draws us to the Lord through the power and authority of His words. That is the power to change each Believer into the image of the Son as he/she walks the narrow way into God’s kingdom. May I encourage you to embrace what God is doing in you to prepare you to enter God’s kingdom. Stay in God’s Word each day; allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in you.