It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing


 


 
 

『Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 』, (Ephesians 2: 5) Salvation is the resurrection of those who have died in trespasses and sins. It is not the flesh but the spirit that comes to life. The spirit is dead. In John 6:63 says:『It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 』 The Bible speaks of the Spirit, and listeners are listening with the fleshly mind.

 

Romans (8: 9-10) says:『 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 』When people read this article, the body and spirit will be regarded as enemies of each other. If the flesh dies, the spirit lives and if the flesh is alive, the spirit dies. The flesh refers to the thoughts of the flesh (soul: old man). The flesh received from parents cannot commit suicide. The soul formed in the flesh is the body of sin.

 

There is a difference in the biblical content of niv and kjv in Genesis (2: 7):『 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.』(niv)『And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.』(kjv) Living beings (niv), living souls (kjv)
[niv: New International Version (America), kjv: King James`s Version (England)]

 

『And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."』

 

 Thus, he who is born again becomes one with God in Christ. Jesus speaks about saving the spirit. John 6: 54-58 says:

 『Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.』

 

As Jesus said this, Jesus 'disciples and others struggled to understand Jesus' words. Jesus said, "My body is a real food and a drink of blood." If a person does not eat food, they cannot live. Why is Jesus' body food? This is the word about the Spirit. The body of Jesus represents Jesus who died on the cross. When they eat the body of Jesus, the body of Jesus is joined with them. That is why those who have joined Jesus on the cross eat the flesh of Jesus. So Romans (6: 4) says:

『Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.』

 

The Bible describes Jesus' body as bread from heaven. The Old Testament called food from heaven "manna." The Hebrews who fled Egypt ate manna in the wilderness. However, they remembered when they ate meat in Egypt, and they resent Moses because they could not eat meat (Exodus 16: 2-3). God sent quail to the Hebrews to eat meat. But because these men did not obey God, they did not enter the path of eternal life.

 

The Bible says that Jesus' blood is not a food but a drink. Drink drinks after eating. Thus the dead are released from sin by the blood of Jesus. (Romans 6: 7) The people who fled Egypt came to a place called Mara and tried to drink water, but they could not drink it. The taste of the water is bitter. So they resent Moses. God laid a rock on Moses, causing the people to drink water. (Exodus 15: 22-24)

Even if God shows all the miracles to the people, those who resent because they do not satisfy the desires of the flesh become children of the devil. This is sin and transgression. The spirit is dead because of greed. Greed is like the poison of a snake that kills spirits. A greedy person is only an object of wrath from God, as Romans 8: 5-7 says:

 『For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 』

 

There is no God in the heart of a follower of flesh, and Satan rules. So those who move according to Satan's thoughts become like Satan's slaves. Those who claim to have free will, but those who act in greed are Satan's slaves. In 1 Timothy 6: 9-10 it says:『But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 』

 

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