S24P3 – The work of the Spirit: revival
John 6:62-63
What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Several months ago I took a course in CPR. The group was comprised of aspiring health and wellness professionals in different fields. The commonality was that they needed this certification for their respective licenses. Whether a nurse or a fitness coach, each of the participants needed to learn this skill as a way to ensure the health of their clients or patients. CPR is only used in a moment when someone loses the ability to breathe, which is a source of life. When that occurs, one must step in and try to reintroduce that source of life into that person. Some people who receive CPR are revived rather quickly. Others may remain without receiving oxygen to their brains for several minutes before coming around. There are even those who have technically died before being revived. And where man is sometimes able to revive someone after physical death, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to revive us after spiritual death.
Jesus talks about his spoken words being life. He doesn’t say that they give life; He says that they are life. We already know from an earlier verse in this series that one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of every word that Jesus Christ uttered. Here, He tells us that the Holy Spirit gives life. In one sense, the Spirit gives life when it reminds us of the living words that Jesus spoke. In another sense, the Spirit gives life as it is the person of God at work on earth drawing us to the Father through the Son. Although the physical presence of God in the form of his Son no longer exists on Earth, the presence of his Spirit is here to continue doing the work of giving life to those who were born spiritually dead. Prior to salvation, we are walking spiritual corpses in need of revival. Our only hope is for the breath of spiritual life to be breathed into us. It is the Holy Spirit that does the work of administering this spiritual CPR into our lifeless souls.
I remember a day at the beach when I could not come up for air. It seemed like every time I reached the surface another wave came crashing down on me and pulled me under. There was a moment when I thought that I surely would not make it out of the water alive. I remember the moment I landed on the sand and was able to breathe freely. It was eerily similar to the feeling I experienced on the day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Walking out of that church, it was like I could finally breathe. Before then I had just been gasping for air and trying to break the surface of the water. It was the Holy Spirit that allowed me to finally come up for the air that I desperately needed. Father, thank You that your Son has made a way for us to be revived and gain spiritual life, and thank You that your Spirit continues to work today to revive us through salvation.