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“It is the Spirit that quickeneth [gives life]; the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63).
According to John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” The water speaks of the Word of God, and the Spirit uses the Word of God to give us new life in Christ. We read the same thing again in today’s verse, for the Spirit of God quickens us, using the Word of God. But what about the rest of the verse?
Many years ago, a young man asked a much older Christian what advice he would give him, as he just started out on his Christian pathway. The older Christian simply said, “Learn well four words—‘The flesh profiteth nothing.’” What did he mean? He meant that the old sinful nature with which we were born does not do us any good. The Jews thought that somehow they could be saved through their own efforts, and many people today think the same thing. Sadly, even we who are believers sometimes persuade ourselves that there is still some good in the old nature. Let us believe God’s Word and recognize that it is bad—all bad.
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