The Words of Eternal Life by Robert Wurtz II

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)

John chapter 6 is filled with revelation as to the means by which God sends His grace to us. In verse 63 we learn that the words that Christ speaks to us are spirit and they are life. They are 'quickened' words as opposed to words of the flesh. Now, it needs to be pointed out here that a great deal is said in academic circles about the necessity of good exegesis in bible study, and rightly so. What is almost never spoken of is what the LORD speaks of here in verse 63, the words that I speak unto you. This is God's word proceeding from the mouth of God in the present dealing with needs in real time.

The Flesh Profiteth Nothing

We know that our Lord states earlier, the flesh profiteth nothing, but what did He mean by that? The context of our passage is dealing with eating Christ, the true bread and drinking Christ's blood as a picture of the true Passover. Christ is the Lamb that is to be eaten; that is, His words are to be utterly consumed until they are written upon our hearts. From God's mouth to our hearts is the route. The blood is applied inwardly even as the ground drank in the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:24) The flesh has no power to effect any of these operations. This is the prerogative of God alone. In other words, man cannot be moving in the flesh making application of God's word to circumstances and expect that application to be profitable. Why? The words spoken from human ideas and energies (the flesh) are not spirit and they are not life. Hence, the shocking truth of our Lord, the flesh profiteth nothing.

The Words I Speak

‎In contrast to those moving and applying the word of God or the Sage wisdom to the needs of the people, Jesus said, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 'Speak' is in the present, active, indicative here. The words I continue speaking. That is to say, Christ is always bringing His Words to us and they are words that 'profit.' What good are my words or anyone else's words if they are not words that are proceeding in the present tense from the very mouth of God? Jesus said, the words that I speak unto you. Did you see that? The whole key to edification of the Body of Christ is found in that one pronoun, 'I'. The Words that 'I' speak unto you are spirit and they are life and if it is not 'I' that send them they will profit nothing. That is as simple as anything.

Ascertaining the Words of Christ in Present Reality

Our objective in biblical exegesis should be to ascertain the mind of God on a subject with a view to setting forth the Word of His grace in the meeting or class. The 'Word of His grace' are the words that Christ speaks unto us in the present, active, indicative. This is not merely an academic hermeneutic that disregards the pneumatological aspect of study as does often dominate ministry; but seeks to move in synergy with the Spirit of God to produce spiritual sustenance tailored for the present needs of edification for the hearers of that Word. These words are spirit, and they are life. This approach scoffs at brevity for brevity sake, but rather seeks to draw forth from the wells of salvation until the sheep have drank to the full. It is a leading of the sheep, with little regard to goats, upon the Table Lands of God's Word that they may declare with the Psalmist, "He maketh a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." This approach is sure to vex the carnal minds proportionally to the edification of the spiritual mind. Knowing that God cannot please sinners, it seeks to bring forth a message that carries all before it until the Holy Spirit may rightly be said to be over all.