The Life-Giving Spirit

Jesus grants his people the Spirit without which there is no enduring life or salvation. His words are Spirit, and they are Life. Jesus declared, “The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life.” His statement echoes the biblical principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The “flesh” has no lasting life apart from the Spirit.

This principle was demonstrated in the original creation, and the same life-sustaining Spirit is vital for the future resurrection of the believer and everlasting life in the New Creation.

[Patagonia - Photo by Diego Jimenez on Unsplash]

The Gift of the Spirit is linked to the New Covenant, everlasting life, and bodily resurrection. The Spirit of God places men in the Covenant Community, the “Assembly of God.” This Gift is a foretaste of the resurrection life that the saints will inherit when Jesus returns. His Death and Resurrection have secured the promise of the Spirit and everlasting life in the coming age.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the Church on the Day of Pentecost, fulfilling prophecy. Due to his righteousness and obedience, Jesus could not be held by death. God would not allow His “Holy One to remain in Hades or see corruption.” The Creator and Source of all life therefore raised him from the dead and seated him on the Messianic Throne where he reigns today - (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17-30).

Jesus now grants the Gift of the Spirit to his disciples, and his past resurrection and the present possession of the Spirit by the Church guarantees the future resurrection of his followers “on the Last Day” - (Acts 2:36-39, Romans 8:11-30).

In John 6:63, the Greek word heard on the lips of Jesus translated as “makes alive” is 'zôopoieô' (ζωοποιεω – Strong's Concordance, #G2227), a combination of the noun 'zôon', a “living being,” and the verb 'poieô', “to make.” Christ's “words” are “Spirit” because they are the source of “everlasting life.” Just as the word of his Father created life in the original creation, so the words of Jesus impart life to everyone who believes in him – (John 12:49, Hebrews 12:9).

Likewise, just as God's Spirit created all things and raised Jesus from the dead, the Spirit will “quicken” Christ's followers, raise them from the dead, and give them everlasting life on the final day.

Because bodily resurrection is an act of creation – the restoration of embodied life to dead saints - the Spirit of God will be intimately involved in “quickening our mortal bodies” on the day Jesus returns – (Romans 8:10-11, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57).

The Holy Spirit is God's creative and life-sustaining power in action. This idea is not unique to the New Testament - “By the word of Yahweh, the heavens were made, and by the spirit of his mouth, all their host” - (Psalm 33:6).

THE LAST ADAM

The Spirit of God “breathed” life into Adam in the  Book of Genesis, making him a “living soul” This phrase represents the Hebrew word that means a “breathing creature,” stressing the act of breathing. As Job wrote, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” – (Genesis 1:1-3, 2:7, Job 33:4).

The same passage from  Genesis  is cited by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians to explain the resurrection body:

• (1 Corinthians 15:42-45) – “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power,  it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul, the last Adam,  a  life-giving spirit.”

Paul contrasts the body of Adam with the resurrection bodies believers will receive when Jesus returns. The first man's body was weak, natural, and mortal. Our resurrection body will not decay or die. It will be “raised in power.” It will be a “spiritual body” animated and dominated by the Holy Spirit.

The resurrection body will also be immortal. The literal meaning of the Greek noun translated as “immortal” is deathlessness, that which does not die. For men and women raised from the dead by Jesus, death will no longer occur. The “last enemy, Death,” will be overthrown – (1 Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality”).

The resurrection of the saints will undo both the sentence and the reality of death; therefore, immortality will replace mortality, and death will be “swallowed up in victory.” Just like the “ Lord of Glory,” the followers of Jesus will live forever in resurrected glorified bodies – (“So also is the resurrection of the dead<…> It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory”).

Jesus is the “Last Adam,” the forerunner of all resurrected saints, differing in one key aspect. Because of his resurrection, he is now “the Life-Giving Spirit.” Christ has the authority to impart life by bestowing the Gift of the Spirit on his people now, and he will grant them immortality when he returns and raises them from the dead.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Spirit is Life!  - (The Spirit of God imparts life, especially the everlasting life of which the Gift of the Spirit is the forest and guarantee)

• Jesus Abolished Death  - (Paul reminded Timothy of the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death since false teachers were denying the future resurrection of believers)

• The Promise of the Father  - (With the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, the blessing for all nations promised to Abraham has begun)

• Spirit and Covenant - (The Gift of the Spirit is part of the New Covenant, the first fruits of the New Creation, and the gathering of the nations in fulfillment of the covenant)