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NASB | John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh conveys no benefit [it is of no account]. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life [providing eternal life]. |
Bible Question:
Hi Aixen7Z4, It has been nearly a year since you introduced your post. Can I get comments from you on comparing John 6:63 and John 11:25 with the idea of looking at "It is the *spirit that gives life?" John 6:63, "...the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." John 11:25, "...I am the resurrection and the life." From the heart, Ray |
Bible Answer: Can you believer this? I wrote a long response, and lost it. I suppose the Lord wants me to simply reiterate that capital letters do not serve the purpose of clarifying what a word in the original language stood for. As far as I can tell, the Greek word for “spirit” is exactly the same word that is elsewhere translated “Spirit”. Capital letters are simply the choice of the translators. I think it helps to have the proper name for a person to start with a capital letter. Thus I would say, “I do not think there is a ray of hope that Ray will give up his fascination with capitalization”. It helps us to distinguish between different English words with identical spellings. But in the originals, there was no such device. The translators have used capitals to convey their understanding that a word refers to a person, a deity, etc. In John 6:63, I do believe the New Living Translation says it best. “It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life”. The reason that the NLT is so good is that it takes context into account. The translators knew (from vv. 40, 47, 54) that Jesus was talking about eternal life and not biological life. They knew from the rest of Scripture (John 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:5) that the Holy Spirit plays this vital role in our salvation. They knew that the Gospel part of the word of God plays a key role (Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23). They knew that the word of God is what the Holy Spirit uses (Ephesians 6:15). They knew that only the Holy Spirit knows the meaning of the word of God (1 Corinthians 2:11), and that only he can impart the understanding to the hearer (vv. 12,13). Therefore their translation. The person who gives eternal life is the Holy Spirit. The words he uses are spirit(ual words). As for John 11:25, I believe the NLT is accurate again: “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.[a] Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again‘”. I prefer the GW translation, however: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die‘”. But I think the best translation would be: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the restorer of life; I am life itself. Those who believe in me will always have me, and they will never die”. And then: “Those who are spiritually dead, when they believe on me, they will come to life again” (v.26). I am not sure what comparison can be made between those two passages (John 6:63 and 11:25). To my mind, they are additive, not comparative. Jesus is the giver of life and the restorer of life, and he speaks words that are spiritual and life-giving. When Jesus says, “Live”, then we live, (as in Ezekiel 16 or 37). I think it is unlikely that Jesus said, “It is the spirit that gives life”. Someone else may have said that somewhere else, meaning, “As long as the spirit is in you, then you are alive”. But Jesus was not making that trite and unnecessary statement. I do not think so. His words are spirit, and life. He was talking about the Holy Spirit, I believe, and the eternal life he gives. |