It
Is The Spirit That Quickeneth
John 6:48 “I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness, and are dead.
50
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven,
that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came
down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he
shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world.
52 The Jews therefore
strove among themselves, saying, How can this man
give us his flesh to eat?
53
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,
and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will
raise him up at the last day.
55
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed.
56 He that eateth my
flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I
in him.
57 As the living Father
hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that
eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58
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.
59 These things said he in the
synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60
Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard
this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that
his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them,
Doth this offend you?
62 What
and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where
he was before?
63 It is the
spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:
the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life.
64 But there
are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew
from the beginning who they were that believed not,
and who should betray him.
65
And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man
can come unto me, except it were given unto him of
my Father.
66 From that time
many of his disciples went back, and walked no more
with him.
67 Then said Jesus
unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to
whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal
life.
69 And we believe and are
sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the
living God.
70 Jesus answered
them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you
is a devil?
71 He spake of Judas
Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should
betray him, being one of the twelve.”
1. The Living Bread
In verse forty-eight: “I am that bread of life.”
Then verse fifty-one: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Jesus Christ is the TRUE BREAD.
[Remember verse thirty-two!] This true bread is unlike the [physical] bread for the belly given to Israel in the wilderness. This true bread is also unlike the [physical] bread given to feed their bellies [the feeding of the five thousand] earlier in this chapter [John six]. This BREAD is different!
The BREAD of LIFE is Jesus Christ.
This BREAD is for the SOUL.
Jesus Christ is that LIVING BREAD that we must eat if we are to be saved from the wrath of GOD and obtain eternal life.
The EATING here is equated to RECEIVING, and it is a reference to receiving Jesus Christ as the SON of GOD [supernaturally] through FAITH [BELIEVING].
EATING equals RECEIVING by BELIEVING [on HIS NAME] through FAITH by GRACE.
Do you have it now?
The reason why I ask you this is because we must account for the HARD SAYING.
2. The Hard Saying
Verse fifty-three through fifty-six: “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 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.”
Verse sixty-one: “When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?”
Something that is SPIRITUAL is not PHYSICAL.
Something that is figurative is not literal.
The [eating] here is not literally for the belly which will only pass out to the draught, but is symbolic and is pointing to something that is unseen. Those who are hearing what Jesus Christ is saying here in John chapter six are not really HEARING what HE is SAYING.
Their hearing is such that they hear a HARD SAYING, and as a result are offended. The hard saying results because they think Jesus Christ is advocating CANNIBALISM.
Today, in the year 2007, many see it the same way.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches this “eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood” is [LITERAL], that is, they teach that this means eating the very flesh, and drinking the very blood of Jesus Christ through the Catholic MASS performed each week.
[The Church of Rome calls this "transubstantiation", meaning the priest has the power to change the bread and wine into God Almighty (the literal, actual body, soul and blood of Jesus Christ.)
Roman Catholic Canon Law and Dogma by reason of ordination, has given the Priest two powers: to forgive sins and to perform mass.]
ERROR!
In spite of the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church these verses do not mean we need to literally eat the body or the flesh of Jesus Christ. [Leviticus 3:17]
3. Who Can Hear It?
Verse fifty-nine and sixty: “These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?”
[Isaiah 29:10] “For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.”
The Jews here stumble over who Jesus Christ is … the Messiah.
They talk to Jesus Christ, and answer HIM as they answered HIM in the book of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah’s day, the LORD laid it out to Israel this way, that if you want “rest for your souls” here – on earth [blessings] then here is what you need to do.
[Jeremiah 6:16] “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”
What was their answer? “But they said, We will not walk therein.”
Then, what did God say?
Here is HIS answer! [Isaiah 30:9] “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.”
In the New Testament in the book of Romans we find this summation by the Holy Ghost.
[Romans 11:7-10] “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.”
The people milling around Jesus in his days on this earth had already gone to sleep to the invisible things of God. Blindness had been imparted to them. For the last two thousand years their eyes [Israel] have been darkened to the truth [that Jesus Christ is the SON of GOD].
There is more.
We in America today [in the 21st century] have this same problem. We have left the old paths, and we refuse to go back.
We are the people!
• Those who can hear are those who have not gone asleep.
• Those who can see are those who can see by faith those things prepared by God for them.
The Spirit Quickens
Verse sixty-two and three: “What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Ultimately … all that matters in the end is if we have come to terms with God concerning his SON Jesus Christ.
That is the sum of it in a nutshell.
Now when we come to terms with God [by RECEIVING Jesus Christ] it results in something called QUICKENING, which leads to this question.
How do we receive?
Here is the answer!
This RECEIVING is by BELEIVING [on HIS NAME] through FAITH by GRACE.
[Romans 8:11] “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Quickening involves making alive from the dead by the operation of the HOLY GHOST. This is done by the Spirit of God according to THE WORD OF GOD or BY THE WORD OF GOD.
Turn to Psalms 119.
• [Psalm 119:25] “My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word."
• [Psalm 119:154] “Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.”
Being QUICKENED in this dispensation [the Church Age] is being BORN AGAIN.
Being BORN AGAIN is accomplished BY THE WORD of GOD.
Now turn to First Peter and see how it comes together.
• [1 Peter 1:23] “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
When we receive Jesus Christ, which is by believing in HIS NAME, we instantly are quickened, or [BORN AGAIN – or spiritually made alive] by GOD … though we were DEAD in our SIN.
Let us take it further. Turn to the book of Ephesians and get it concisely and completely, and in total precision of the HOLY SCRIPTURE.
[Ephesians 2:1-6] “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Quickening or being Born Again … is the supernatural work of the Spirit of God performed inside the sinner coming by repentance who comes to:
1. Eat The True Bread
2. Receive The SON
3. Believe on HIS NAME
This sinner will
be:
1. Quickened
2. Born Again
3. Seated in Heavenly Places [and will be indwelt,
sealed, and kept by the Holy Ghost]
5. Will You Also Go Away?
Verse sixty-seven: “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?”
Let’s pause here. This causes me to remember something. I am remembering what the Apostle Paul said concerning Demas. Demas was a fellow laborer with Paul in the work of the ministry. Here is the sad note. He had forsaken Paul.
[2 Timothy 4:10] “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.”
What about you? You started well, and now will you end well? I do not know about you, but I do not want to be a Demas. What I have started [by getting saved] I want to follow on through till Jesus Christ comes for me. This is my prayer for you all.
6. We Believe And Are Sure
Verse sixty-eight and nine: “Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
There you have it! To whom shall we go? There is no one else to turn to. There is no other salvation.
[Acts 4:12] “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
We believe and are sure!
[1 John 5:11-13] “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Amen!