It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
—John 6:63
You can’t make yourself new—no matter how much you may try. Only Christ gives new life. You can’t heal yourself from within and destroy the pain in your heart—no matter how much effort you make. Only the finished work of Christ heals you from within and gives you abundant life (2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Peter 1:24, John 10:10).
Jesus is the Word, and He is life. The Word speaks life, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives life to the Word. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals the Truth of God’s Word. Your natural understanding—your carnal mind—profits you nothing. It can’t discern the Truth of God’s Word. To try to understand the Word with your natural mind does not give life. But to understand it with your spiritual mind convinces you of the new life that you received when you were born again (1 Corinthians 1:14). To be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6).
When we allow the Holy Spirit to renew our minds with the Truth of God’s Word, we plant the incorruptible seed of His Truth in our hearts (Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:23). When our minds are continually renewed by that Truth, that seed burrows into the soil of our hearts. And when we apply faith, the Truth puts down deep roots and grows in us. We believe in what God says is true over any circumstance—over any feelings that arise. We believe His Truth over the opinions of anyone else. To receive the Truth of the Word, we must believe that Truth in our hearts.
What did we receive when we were saved? We received the perfect and finished work of grace. It is the finished work of Jesus and the power of the living Word of God that forgives, heals, and delivers. The Word is what changes us. The Word is what heals us. The Word is what delivers us. The Word provides all we need according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). When the Word is heard in the spirit of our minds, and we believe by faith the new nature that Christ has purchased for us, we are renewed and changed (Romans 10:17, Ephesians 4:23).
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,” Jesus told His disciples, “He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13, NKJV).
The carnal mind is hostile to God’s Truth (Romans 8:7). But the Holy Spirit guides you into the Truth of God’s Word that cannot be understood by the natural mind. The Truth of God’s Word is understood in the heart when the mind has been transformed.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, NKJV).
All Scripture is breathed by God. And what God says in His Word is Truth. It beneficially teaches and guides you—it corrects and instructs you in the righteousness you have received in Christ so that you may not be lacking in your understanding but complete in Him. The Word is His life in you that equips and prepares you to be what He desires.
You believe the Word by faith. It is near you—in your mouth and in your heart (Romans 8:8). The Holy Spirit speaks life to you, and when you plant God’s Word in your heart and allow Him to teach you, you experience the power of His living Word. And you never get enough of His Truth. His Word is your life, and you want His Truth to teach you everything that is true for you. You want His Word to breathe His life into you.
© 2022 Lynn Lacher
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