Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
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]. |
Subject: It is the (s)Spirit that gives life?Both |
Bible Note: I agree. It is important that with breath in our bodies we have biological life. The fact of it is obvious, I think, and trite, compared to the other topic. While it is true, I am saying that it is not what Jesus was talking about. Compared to eternal life, which is what he was talking about, it is minor. The fact that the first Adam had breath in his nostrils, and physical life, is true, and somewhat important. The fact that the second Adam gives eternal life is of a higher order. The fact is that the Holy Spirit is active in the process (John 16; 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 12, etc.). You will agree that a person can be physically alive and yet spiritually dead. For example, “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth“ (1 Timothy 5) and “He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked (Ephesians 2). But how do we know which kind of life Jesus was talking about? Context. Context. Context. It is what he had been talking about in verses 40, 47, and 54. Eternal life. This is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on him should have everlasting life (v. 40). Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on me has everlasting life (v. 47). Whoever partakes of my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life (v. 54). We do not suppose that he has lowered the level of discourse and is referring to physical life in verse 63. That is apparently why many translators have him saying: “It is the Spirit that gives life“. But we may also entertain the possibility of a double entendre here, in the fact that the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12) also gives life (Hebrews 4:12) to the word of God. You may understand better now why I asked the question in the first place? It is the Spirit who must bring these words to life and help us to understand what that scripture means. As The Message puts it, “Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen“. These fingers acting on these keys will profit nothing. The Spirit of God must reveal the meaning hidden in the word of God. I was about to post this when I noticed what our brother Hank has written, concerning your health. I wanted to join him in wishing you well and in praying for you. In that moment, I wondered whether all of this discussion was important at all, compared to your health. But I recalled a meeting I had recently with one brother whose cancer was in remission and another in whom it was spreading. One of them is saved, and a pastor, while the other has no memory of a conversion experience, as he told me later. I felt I should rather thank the Lord for your salvation. It reminded me to pray for the man who is healthy but unsaved, and to trust he takes in the gospel that he took home that day. But I will pray for you and for that pastor also. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers. |