The Spirit and the Word

'It is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I have spoken unto you are Spirit and are life. Lord, to whom shall we go? I Thou hast the words of eternal life.'--John 6: 63, 68.

'The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.'-2 Cor. 3: 6.

The Spirit and the Word are one. You cannot truly have one without the other. It would be like trying to separate water from ice or air from the wind. One contains or is a form of the other. In the scriptures the Spirit is referred to as breath or wind. When God speaks he releases His breath. Thus all scripture is God-Breathed.

The words that Jesus gave us are Spirit and life. Life and the Spirit are one. The letter does not give life. Study of the scriptures is a noble and good pursuit, however the letter only kills if they are not received in the same way they were given. If we read the scriptures, filled with the Spirit who inspired them, we will receive life. If we read the scriptures with our own reason and human intellect, we receive death. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

If we treat the Bible like a rule book we must follow we will die. It is discouraging to see how many Bible studies are merely human attempts to be good. They usually consist of reading the Scriptures, listing the commands to obey, working out how I will obey them and committing to do so. This kind of practice will only produce failure and death. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Many in the church today practice "versology". That is they handle the scriptures as if God handed them down in chapter and verse. So I take a verse here and take a verse there, knit them together, do a little mixing of metaphors, stir in a Greek word and voila, I have doctrine. The scriptures tell a grand story of sin and redemption, of love and romance, of pain and victory. They are not simply disjointed collection of verses. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

We must have the Spirit to have life. He is the very life and breath of God. Without His working we are only empty shells of clay. It is in these week vessels that God has chosen to deposit His glory and power. Life does not come by living by the letter. Life comes if we live by the Spirit.