My Words are Life

“The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life.” This declaration by Jesus echoes the biblical principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The flesh has no lasting life apart from the Holy Spirit, and this was demonstrated in the original creation. The same Spirit is essential for the bodily resurrection of believers and everlasting life in the age to come.

The Gift of the Spirit is linked to the New Covenant, everlasting life, and resurrection. The Spirit places men in the covenant community, and the Gift is a foretaste of the resurrection life they will inherit. This promise is based on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

[Life - Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash]

The Spirit was poured out on the Assembly on the Day of Pentecost, fulfilling prophecy. Due to his obedience, Jesus could not be held by the “throes of death,” therefore, God raised him from the dead and seated him on the Messianic Throne where he has reigned ever since - (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17-30).

Jesus now grants the Gift of the Spirit to his disciples, and his past resurrection and the possession of the Spirit by his Assembly guarantee the future resurrection of his followers - (Acts 2:36-39).

In John 6:63, the Greek word heard on his lips or “makes alive” is zôopoieô, a combination of the noun zôon, a “living being,” and the verb poieô, “to make.” His “words” are “Spirit” because they are the source of “everlasting life.” Just as the word of his Father created life in Genesis, his words impart life to believers under the New Covenant – (John 12:49, Hebrews 12:9).

Likewise, not only did God’s Spirit create all things and raise Jesus from the dead, but the Spirit will “quicken” believers and provide them with everlasting life when Jesus arrives “on the clouds of Heaven.”

Because bodily resurrection is an act of creation – the restoration of life to the dead - the Spirit will be intimately involved in “quickening our mortal bodies” on the Last Day – (Romans 8:10-11, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57).

The Spirit of God is His creative and life-sustaining power in action. This idea is not unique to the New Testament - “By the word of Yahweh, the heavens were made, and by the spirit of his mouth, all their host” - (Psalm 33:6).

THE LAST ADAM

In Genesis, the Spirit of God “breathed” life into Adam, making him a “living soul.” This translates the Hebrew word which means, a “breathing creature.” The stress is on the act of breathing. As Job wrote, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” – (Genesis 1:1-3, 2:7, Job 33:4),

The same passage is cited by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians when explaining the resurrection body:

• (1 Corinthians 15:42-45) – “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.”

Paul contrasts the body of Adam with the resurrection bodies believers will receive. The first man’s body was weak, natural, and mortal, but the resurrection body will not decay or die. It will be raised in power.” It will be a “spiritual body” animated and dominated by the Holy Spirit.

[Photo by Gabriel Affonso on Unsplash]

It will also be immortal, that is, deathless, the literal meaning of the Greek noun translated commonly as “immortal.” After the future resurrection, the “Last Enemy, Death,” will be overthrown.

The resurrection will undo both the sentence and the reality of death; therefore, immortality will replace mortality, and death will be “swallowed up in victory.” Just like the “Lord of Glory,” the followers of Jesus will live in resurrected bodies.

He is the “Last Adam,” the forerunner of all resurrected saints, differing in one key aspect. Because of his Resurrection, he is now the “Life-Giving Spirit.” He alone has the authority to impart life by bestowing the Spirit of God on his people, and he will grant them immortality when he returns and raises the dead. His decision determines whether a man lives or dies forever, therefore, his “words are spirit, and they are life.”

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• Spirit and Mission - (Jesus now dispenses the gift of the Spirit to his people, and it empowers them to carry out gospel proclamation to all nations)