The Holy Spirit Giving Life

"It is the Spirit who gives life"…[God] also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (John 6:63 and 2 Corinthians 3:6)

The Lord's new covenant of grace is a covenant of the Spirit: "[God] also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant…of the Spirit." Any approach to God other than by the Spirit results in spiritual deadness.

People need life, initially and continually. We need it initially, because we were spiritually dead due to sin and guilt. "And you…were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we allonce conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh…and were by nature children of wrath"(Ephesians 2:1-3). The only remedy for such spiritual death is spiritual life. "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)" (Ephesians 2:4-5).

People also need life continually, "for the letter kills." If we were left to our best efforts after we were given new life in Christ, we would be struggling under a human performance bondage of rules and regulations. That is spiritually deadening.

Jesus came to earth to offer people fullness of life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Jesus taught that if we looked to Him for our spiritual nutrition, we would find ongoing life. "And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life'" (John 6:35). Jesus did not refer to Himself as a leader establishing a new religion. Rather, "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'" (John 14:6). When the early disciples were freed from prison, they were not told to recruit members to a movement. Instead, they were instructed to "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life" (Acts 5:20).

The New Covenant of Grace: A Holy Spirit Covenant

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

As noted earlier, the new covenant is about grace, as contrasted with the old covenant, which is about law. "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth camethrough Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). The connection between grace and the Holy Spirit can be seen in various Scripture passages on the new covenant, including this glorious prophecy. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." The first verse in this prophetic promise concerns regeneration, spiritual new birth. Through faith in the Lord, our original, hard, lifeless heart is removed, and a new, pliable, living spirit is given to us.

The second verse pertains to transformation, the ongoing development of this new life. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes." The life that increasingly complies with the will of God depends upon the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We know that unredeemed humanity has no hope of living in a way that is pleasing to God. Yet, many Christians may be unaware that even the new creature in Christ cannot, on his own resources, please God. The Spirit of God must be the heavenly cause that produces heavenly character in believers.

What is promised here is not an automatic experience. The lives of many Christians do not consistently match what is described here in Ezekiel 36:27. The reason is that they arenot relating properly to the Lord in humble dependence. Yes, these two relational realities (humility and faith) also determine whether or not the Spirit of God is our resource, just as they were determinative concerning grace.

Two statements by Jesus expound upon this fact. "You have no life in you…It is the Spiritwho gives life; the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:53, 63). We do not innately possess life as God intends it to be lived. Natural human resources are of no benefit in developing a godly life. Such revelation is very humbling. If we embrace Jesus' evaluation of our personal inadequacy, then we are willing to relate to God in humility. There is a further truth in which we are to place our trust. "It is the Spirit who gives life." As we count on this truth, we are relating to the Lord in faith. The result of such humble reliance is that God'sSpirit becomes our vitality for godly living.

The Grace of God and the Holy Spirit

This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts. "Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" (Zechariah 4:6-7)

The Scriptures reveal a profound connection between God's grace and His Holy Spirit.Living by the grace of God and walking according to the Spirit are two different perspectives on the same reality. As we consider what walking in the Spirit comprises, we also gain insight into living day by day by grace.

Our passage from Zechariah confirms this correlation between grace and the Spirit. Here, the Lord gives a message to Zerubbabel, telling him how service is rendered unto God:"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." Human might or power will never be a sufficient resource for living life as God intended. Rather, the Holy Spirit must supplywhat we need for a life of service to the Lord.

In the next verse, this same truth is restated, using different terminology. Now the Lord is addressing the mountain of impossibilities that stood before Zerubbabel. "Who are you, O great mountain?" This leader of Israel was given the challenging mission of reestablishing the testimony of God in Jerusalem, as the people returned from captivity. The obstacles had the appearance of being a "great mountain." Nevertheless, God declares that this mountain of obstructions would become a highway for advancement. "Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!" Then, as God's man attended to God's assignment by the empowering of the Spirit, he would eventually place the final stone with an intriguing exclamation. "And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"This summary testimony would declare that God's grace was the explanation for the completion of the task. The relationship between grace and the Spirit is clear: "by My Spirit… grace, grace to it!" When we depend upon the Spirit, He works God's grace within our lives.

The early church also illustrated this "grace-Spirit" association. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness…And with great powerthe apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace wasupon them all" (Acts 4:31, 33). The former statement indicates that their boldness came from the Holy Spirit. The latter statement, two verses later, reveals that their boldness was a result of grace impacting them.