The flesh profits nothing John 6:63
John 6:63 The Flesh Profits nothing
What does Jesus mean when He says “the flesh profits nothing”? There are several different meanings for “flesh” so to understand what Jesus means, let’s first understand the rest of His saying so we can gain the intended contrast He has in mind.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Jesus identifies who gives life. It is the Spirit who gives life. The Father gives life and the Holy Spirit gives life. Does Jesus also give life?
The Spirit Gives Life
Jesus said in John 4 –
John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
Jesus said, “I WILL give him.” What will Jesus give? Jesus will give eternal life. Jesus said the same thing again in John 6.
John 6:27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
Jesus said that He will give eternal life to the crowd. What kind of life is He giving to the crowd? Jesus is giving eternal life. However, the way Jesus would give them eternal life is embedded in His use of the term “came down from Heaven.” It was the “who” not the “what” that came down from Heaven, that will provide eternal life.
Jesus is the life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15 shows that Adam at his beginning became a living soul, but Jesus as the last Adam, came in the beginning as something more..
1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
The Words are Life
Jesus also said the words He spoke were life.
John 6:63 “… the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
The disciples understood that Jesus alone had the words of life.
John 6:68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.
What are the words of eternal life? The words of eternal life are the revelation of God through the words of the Father given to Jesus.
John 12:49–50 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
50 “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
What we should be able to see from the words that Jesus said to His disciples, is that He gives eternal life from the Spirit and that His words are a life-giving revelation of God the Father.
The Flesh Profits Nothing
Jesus said that the flesh “profits” nothing. The term “profits” means:
“to provide assistance, help, aid, benefit, be of use (to).”
The term “nothing” means:
“in no respect, in no way.”
Jesus is saying that the “flesh” in no way has any benefit or use to you. The “flesh” that Jesus wants them to eat is not his physical flesh. It is His very person and His very words that give eternal life. The Spirit gives life, not his fleshly body. In the same way, it is His words that give life not His blood. To have eternal life one must COME to Him in faith and believe HIS WORDS. Taking in of the natural life of Jesus will be of no profit to anyone.
One thought on “The flesh profits nothing John 6:63”
If Christ’s Body and Blood do not give life, then His death and resurrection are vain.