Jn6:63 It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profits nothing, THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK ONTO YOU, THEY ARE SPIRIT AMD THEY ARE LIFE.

The words which Jesus spoke and which were recorded in the bible were life giving "Spirit"

In the above scripture the word "quickeneth" in the Greek (Zoopoieo) means to make alive to cause to live. It is used also in 1Cor 15:45

The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

It is used particularly of resurrection life. Also in Jn6:63 the word "life" is translated from the Greek (Zoe) which means life in the absolute sense, life as God has it, that life which the Father has in himself. This life was in Jesus which he manifested to the world

1Jn 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

He that heareth My word, and believeth on him that sent Me, hath everlasting life."Jn5:24

The Soil Is Humanity

In 1Cor 15:47 Paul makes a play on words he uses the Greek. (ge) which denotes earth as arable land, it is said of the earthly material of which the "first man" (the natural man) was made. Adam Heb (adamah) denotes ground, earth land.

If we read the parable of the sower Mat 13:1-23; Mk 4:l-25; Lk 8:4-18; and compare then with 1Cor 15: 35-47 we understand that the heart of man is the soil into which the seed is sown and that the seed is the word of God.

Jam1:21...receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls.

"Engrafted" in the Greek (emphutos) which means implanted. The metaphor is that of a seed rooting itself in the heart. The seed itself conceives the new life, but the word also sustains it and causes it to grow. In plain terms the seed is nourished by the source from where itself (the seed) originated, from; GOD.

This is demonstrated in 1Cor 3:5-9 where Paul reveals that the evangelist sows the word, the teacher waters the word, but God gives the increase.

To the faithless and unbelieving the bible is merely human words written by mere men. To a lot of believers they are no more than divine instructions communicated by human words. But in fact they are Spiritual life imparted to obedient hearers through human words.

The Seed Is Sown At The Cross

Mk 4:30-32Where unto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or what comparison shall we compare it? (Jesus has just informed the listeners He is about to reveal an accurate comparison)

It is like a grain of mustard seed (Jesus), which ...is less than all the seeds in the earth. But when it is sown (Jesus' death), it groweth up and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches (the church) so that the fowls of the earth may lodge under it.

Jesus shows through this parable the humble beginning of the church through the death of Jesus to it's enormous proportions.

Jn 12:24...Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth ALONE. But if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.

The Glory In The Church

Jesus declared:

Jn 15:5 I am the vine ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.

This scripture that is quoted by many to express the fact that apart from Jesus you are fruitless. But if we ponder the connotations, Jesus is stating that he is the life, but he does not manifest the fruit, the roots do not bear fruit, neither does the trunk, though these are the life source for the branches. The branches manifest the life within, Christ glorified in the branches a metaphor of the church.

This is why we as Christians should display the fruit of the Spirit. "By their fruit you shall know them."

Heb 2:9,10...that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. ...in bringing MANY SONS TO GLORY.

This is the reason Jesus suffered the death of the cross that he might share his glory with us.

The Life Within

Col 3:4 When CHRIST WHO IS OUR LIFE SHALL APPEAR, then shall YE ALSO APPEAR with Him in glory

Ponder the above scripture for a while; read it over and over, memorize it. Doesn't it inspire you to be more committed to the Lord, do not the things of this world grow strangely dim, in the light of this scripture.

Note that the new life here is the life of God. But although the true character of this new life is now hidden, it shall shine forth in that day when the Lord shall appear.

1Cor 12:27 Now ye are the body of (the) Christ, and members in particular.

The Apostle Paul gives the title "the Christ" to the Church though the bible leaves out the definite article which is in the Greek. The Church like the body is a living organism, not a mechanical organization, and each member has a necessary part to play.

It is hard for the natural man to comprehend the meaning of the scriptures. When we look at ourselves it may seem impossible to us that "we will be like him". Yet we are not to look to ourselves but to "Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" he is "the beginning and the end the Alpha and the Onega. (He is the seed and the fruit.) We will look at the manifestation of Christ in the church under the heading "Resurrection of the individual.

After Jesus' resurrection

While Jesus ministered on the earth he was by His choice in a finite body. In this body He was subject to the Father to whom He could pray, because when God was "manifest in the flesh" He still existed in eternity, and He was in Christ.

Jesus being the Christ was in a limited body. One of the characteristics of God he did not have was omnipresence. Unlike God who is everywhere Jesus could only be in one place at any given time.

After His death and resurrection Jesus had the ability to both appear and disappear, and also to appear in other forms.

In Luke 24:13-35 we are given the account of when Jesus appeared to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. in verses 30,31 it states, "And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight."

A rather puzzling account of Jesus spending time with His disciples after His resurrection, in the sense that:

1.They did not recognize Him all the time He spent with them, which must have been considerable, since He took time, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets" and "expounded the Scriptures."

Today many Christians believe they will see the nail prints in His hands and His feet. Yet the scars were not present on this occasion. It was only when the eyes of their understanding were opened that they recognized Him.

2. Jesus had the ability to "vanish" before their eyes. Both these points prove that Jesus did not have the same body in which He was crucified.

Another reference to this appearing is recorded in

Mk 16:12 "..He appeared in another form unto two of the as they walked, and went into the country."

The word "form" in the above shows that Jesus had the ability to reveal Himself in different ways or at least a different way to that which He existed before His crucifixion. The risen body of Christ had abilities which it did not possess before. When he became invisible and thus passed from their sight, the body he now possessed was not subject to the laws of the natural world. He was living now on another plane.

The Ascension of Jesus

Let us now look at the chart, to the "U" shape, with the word "FATHER" at the top of each end. This part of the chart represents the descent and ascension of Jesus. One of the scriptures contained inside this part of the chart is

Jn 3:13 No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

There is quite an amazing statement to those who desire to study it further, but for our purpose here we will look at it in the context of our study. In this scripture Jesus is telling us he came from heaven, and He would go back.

To explain this further we look at

Jn 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the World and go to the Father.

To most this conjures up thoughts of Christ going into heaven to be with God, to "sit at His right hand". Many forget that Jesus Himself was before His incarnation; God. Having all the attributes and characteristics of the Father. Jesus was saying He came from being infinite in eternity and was again going to become that which he had before.

Php 2:9 Wherefore God has highly exalted him, and given him a NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME.

Some say of this scripture that Jesus was given a name that was above every other name except Jehovah. That is not what the scripture says; in fact many scriptures testify that before His incarnation that Jesus was Jehovah of the Old testament, more on this a little later.

God was willing to leave the highest glory for the lowest estate, because he loved man so much, suffering the death of the cross and "tasting death for all men" But as a result God had exalted Him from the lowest estate to the highest glory.

Jn 17:5 O Father, glorify thou me, with thine own self with the glory I had with thee BEFORE the world was. None is higher in authority than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today when it is common for groups to emphasize that Jesus Christ is less than the Father,  it is well to remember that the Jews clearly understood the claims of Jesus.

Jn 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying. For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy and because that thou, BEING A MAN MAKEST THYSELF GOD.

Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? :10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Jesus Is The Father

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

"The everlasting Father" means Jesus' fatherhood will never come to an end. But there is more than that involved. Literally the words mean "Father of eternity", One who in His own being is eternal and is thus able to give the gift of eternal life to others. There is a progression in this verse from a child being born, (the incarnation), to a son being given, (the sacrifice being given for us) to the everlasting Father.

This is why I used this scripture at the top of the chart to show the path that God took to not only save us, to bring us to Himself, to bring us to the Father.

Above are just some of the titles given to both Jesus in the New Testament and Jehovah in the Old Testament. As you read them you will notice that in certain scriptures there is a finality in statements by Jehovah that besides Him there is no other God, no other Saviour, or any other Creator. These individual claims are also said of Jesus that He alone is uniquely God, the only means of salvation, and responsible for creation. I am at the end of this part of the study personally convinced that Jesus is God, and not only God but possessing all the characteristics  of  God. Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence, anything less than this would make him less than that which He was in eternity before His incarnation. I believe there is only one body that Christ has, and that is the Body of Christ, the Church.

"The sower soweth the word"

One of the most elaborate parables is that of the sower and the seed. Mat 13; Mk 4; Lk 8.

The kingdom is to be propagated by the sowing of the Word. This conception is fundamental to all evangelism; the task of the evangelist is not to merely argue or use persuasive eloguence to induce others to think in a certain way, but to sow the living seed of the Word of God in the soil of human hearts. The germ of the new life is in the Word, and without it's implantation no one ever became a Christian.

Jn6:63 The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life. 

1Pet 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible SEED, but of incorruptible, by the WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth forever.  

His seed fell on four different kinds of ground, and the teaching of this parable rests on the differences in the ground.

4 Types of Soil

THE WAYSIDE

Mat 13:19 When anyone heareth the WORD of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which is sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside.

The seed sown by the wayside represents the word of God as it falls upon the inattentive hearer. Like the hard beaten path trodden down by men and beasts, is a heart that becomes a highway for the world's traffic, it's pleasures and sins. The soul is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin .

As the birds are ready to catch up the seed from the wayside, so Satan is ready to catch away the seeds of divine truth from the soul. Satan and his angels are in the assemblies where the gospel is preached.

THE STONY PLACES

Mat 13:20,21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Many receive the gospel as a way of escape from suffering, rather than as a deliverance from sin. They rejoice for a season, for they think that religion will free them from difficulty and trial. While life moves smoothly for them they appear to be consistent Christians.

But they faint beneath the fiery test. They cannot bear reproach for Christ's sake. When the word of God points out some cherished sin they  become offended. It cost them too much effort to make a radical change in their life. They look at the present inconvenience and trial, and forget the eternal realities. Like the disciples who left Jesus they say, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" True holiness is wholeness in the service of God

The effort to serve both self and Christ makes one a stony-ground hearer, and he will not endure when the test comes upon him.

AMONG THE THORNS

Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word: and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

The thorns of distraction will grow in any soil; if they are not controlled they flourish. The cares of this life are always ready to spring up; and the sanctification and fellowship of  the Spirit must be maintained.

Men may profess to believe the gospel: but unless they are sanctified by the gospel their profession is of no avail. If they do not gain victory over sin, then sin is gaining the victory over them. The thorns that have been cut off but not uprooted grow again, until the soul is overspread with them.

1Jo 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. :16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

The world is the environment were the natural man flourishes, and nothing will choke the spiritual man more than the cares of this natural life. And nothing will draw you away from God than friendship with the world.

Jdg 2:3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

Mark mentions: the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things.

Luke specifies the cares, riches and the pleasures of this life. These are what choke the Word.

Cares, riches and pleasures are all used by Satan to snare your heart. The warning is given;

Lk 21:34Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life. 

Read 1Tim 6:9,10

They are themselves responsible for the hardness of the heart that prevents the good seed from taking root, and for the evil growths that prevent it's development. The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The soil 'must be broken up by deep repentance for sin. The soil once overgrown by thorns, can only be reclaimed by diligent labour.

Jer 4:3 Break up your fallow ground and sow not amongst the thorns. 

Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground:

Heb 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected 

Every believer should be taught  foundation principles. He should be taught that he is to make Christ his life and the nature of  Christ his
nature.

Read Rom 5:10

THE GOOD GROUND

Mk 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

The "honest and good heart" of which the parable speaks is not one without sin. This is he who confesses his guilt, and feels the need of mercy and love of God. He has a sincere desire to know the truth, that he may obey it. The good heart is a believing heart, one that has faith in the word of God. "not as the word of men, but as in truth the word of God". Those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance. The "good-ground" hearers, having heard the word keep it. And bring forth fruit the other hearers do not.

Jn 14:23 If a man love me, he will keep my words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.  

Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.

The seed signifies the principle of spiritual life imparted to believers, ultimately producing the fruit of the spirit.

The Resurrection

The apostle Paul uses some well-known facts of nature to show the the reason for belief in a higher form of life in the resurrection state. He is reasoning by analogy. It must be understood that He is not seeking to prove resurrection in these verses. But the nature of the resurrection body as being in a different form to the natural body.

lCor 15:35-38 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

...bare grain...

NOTE: bare grain is not the end product, and the soil nothing without the seed.

Let us now look at nature to confirm this teaching, if we take a seed, say for instance an apple seed, and we water it. In time, what comes forth is not that which was sown, but the source from where the seed originated, an apple tree.

Fulfilling the eternal truth : every seed brings forth after it's own kind. Probably an even clearer example is with man. When a man impregnates a woman with sperm (seed) that which is formed in the womb is not a sperm or an egg but a child in the image of his father and mother.

Another eternal truth is that a seed will grow in the place it is planted.

Jam 1:21...receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. 

Engrafted in the Greek (emphutos) which means implanted. The metaphor is that of a seed rooting itself in the heart.

The seed it's self conceives the new life, but the word also sustains it and causes it to grow. In plain terms the seed is nourished by the source from where itself (the seed) originated, from GOD.

The Life

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.

When John calls us "sons" he uses the Greek word (tekna), which draws attention to our nature rather than to rights and privileges, in other words to our being "born again" rather than to adoption.

Not only are we called God's children, but in actual fact we are . All this springs from the amazing love God has bestowed upon us, a love which vitalizes, which generates new life. Bestowing upon men God's own nature.

Jn 3:3 For only those who are like Him can see Him. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

What is quite clear is those who have the "HOPE" that when they see Him they will be like Him, this hope is a present stimulus to get rid of everything in the heart and life that does not tally with the perfect purity of the Son of God. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God"

Some readers may now be thinking, how does this relate to the resurrection? Let us turn back to 1Cor 15:52-55

1Cor 15:55....and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

This verse is often quoted when there is a message or discussion concerning the resurrection. There are many concepts people have of the resurrection, many of them are only remotely based on the bibles description. Paul had an idea what it would be like, so did John, and Jesus described it and even gave a demonstration.

A false idea comes from people conjuring up images of the grave opening and the dead rising whenever they hear the word resurrection.

The word resurrection comes from the Greek word (Anastasis) to rise, a standing the feet again or rising as opposed to falling.

Let us look again at 1Cor 15:55, in the last part of the verse it says "we shall be changed". Change in what way? Remember that the 1Cor 15:36-58 is the answer for verse 35. How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? In all these verses their is not even a hint of the graves literally opening.

1Cor 15:40 (my translation) There are heavenly bodies, and there  are earthly bodies, the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly bodies is another.

2Cor 3:18 (my translation) And all of us with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from the (earthly) glory to the (heavenly) glory.

1Cor 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthly we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

How Do We Rise

The resurrection, or the raising up of the saints is not not being elevated in an literal geographical sense as is believed by many, but is ascending into a higher realm, a spiritual realm. Whenever we refer to the fall of man, we are not refering to a literal tumble.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who vas made a little LOWER THAN THE ANGELS for the suffering of death. 

Christ Jesus came in the likeness of men, a lower life form than the angels, putting off the glory He had with the Father in eternity. He came from the realm of God down into the carnal realm. Why? The scriptures clearly teach He was made flesh so He could die for our sins. He was made flesh so He could reveal or show us the Father. For God is invisible, God is Spirit. But most importantly for us that are saved he came that he might bring us to the Father, that where He is we may be also.

With What Body?

I am continually overwhelmed with the freshness of revelations that come through studying the Word. In Jesus' ministry on earth he was often challenged by the religious teachers of that day. It must be remembered too; that these men were scholars, the teaching of the scripture was their profession.

The Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, came to Jesus with a hypothesis concerning the resurrection, to make the resurrection appear foolish. Read Mat 22:23-33.

The first thing Jesus said was You do err, not knowing the Scriptures, This answer tells me two things for certain.;

l. The Sadducees did not understand the Scriptures.

2. Particular truths concerning the resurrection can be found even in the the writings of Moses whom they (the Sadducees) had quoted.

Jesus then answers there hypothetical argument saying: For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Angels are always referred to in the masculine gender, so also is God. The reason for Jesus saying in the resurrection there is no marriage, is because being as the angels of heaven their is neither male nor female. Life in the spiritual realm, is not a mere repetition of the present conditions.

Marriage and male and female is relevant only in a world where death prevails, and so it is necessary for the perpetuation of mankind.

The sadducees accepted the authority of the writings of Moses, so Jesus quotes the scriptures saying: But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have you NOT READ that which was spoken unto you by God saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead but of the living.

After they had died in the natural bodily state, these patriarchs must be now living in another state or realm.

Relating back to our original thought of a seed being planted within the hearts of believers

Paul speaks of the resurrection as a process that started at his conversion.

Php 3:10-12 That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable to His death, If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.

Notice, it was not resurrection Paul wanted to experience; rather, it was   the power of Christ's resurrection. The words "being made conformable" are all translated from one Greek word (summorphizo). This word emphasizes one inner essence.

Thus as Paul wrote he was thinking of the spiritual development of the inner man. As Paul learned more about Christ, and participated in the fellowship of His sufferings, he knew these would be used to mould him into the image of the Lord. Paul had his eyes fixed on the "high calling" of God

Unfortunately, many Christians think once they have obtained salvation through faith in Christ there is nothing else to pursue. Such believers remain in the infancy stage of the Christian life because they never go on to spiritual maturity. God feeds his children in response to an appetite and a desire, and apart from that desire there will be no feeding.

And apart from this feeding there will be no spiritual growth. Spiritual giants are not born they are made.

2Cor 4:16...though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Our flesh is like a veil hiding the life within

2Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure (the life of Christ) in earthen vessels.

Gal 4:19 My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you.   (amplified).

Peter also had the revelation of this spiritual man within because of the transfiguration.

 The Transfiguration

Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ HATH SHOWN ME.. .that ye may be able after my DECEASE to have these things always in remembrance... when we made known unto you the POWER AND COMING of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were EYE WITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY .. .when we were with Him in the holy mount. (2Pet 1:14-18.)

In the above scripture Peter tells of his impending death, he uses the word decease, from the Greek (exodus) lit. "way out" or departure. And that he must put off this temporal body of flesh. He strengthens his position with reference to his own personal witness of the Transfiguration of Christ. He infers that when Jesus was transfigured it was a confirmation of what will happen to believers. Peter states that what happened on the mount was that Jesus put off His earthly form momentarily to reveal the life with in.

He also mentions the coming of he Lord. Many people have many theories on how the Lord will appear, but I believe Peter is giving us a clue to this mystery, even as Jesus when He was transfigured was revealing the nature of His Parousia, his "COMING".

There be some standing here (Peter, James, and John) which shall not taste of death, till they see the SON OF MAN COMING IN HIS KINGDOM. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John...and bringeth them up into a high mountain. And was TRANSFIGURED before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. (Mat 16:28-17:2) there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah ...and spake of His decease. (Lk 9:30,31)

The word "transfigured" comes from the Greek (metamorphoo) to change into another form. Jesus' transfiguration was a miracle transformation from an earthly form to a supernatural which is denoted by the radiance of His garments also  the  countenance, suggesting what  the appearance of the righteous will feel like in the age to come. The transformation is an invisible process in Christians which takes place or begins to take place during their life in this age.

Another amazing truth is revealed in who appears with Jesus. Why of all the old testament saints these two men? Without getting to deep the scriptures show that Moses died a natural death, Elijah never saw death he was translated.

1Thes 4:15 For this we say unto you by the WORD OF THE LORD, that we which are alive and remain (represented by Elijah) unto the coming of the Lord , shall not prevent them which are asleep, (represented by Moses) .

1Cor 15:52 Behold we shall NOT ALL SLEEP but we shall ALL BE CHANGED.   the appearance of Moses and Elijah is an assurance to us that whether we remain or die we shall still be changed.

Remember both Peter and Jesus said the transfiguration foreshadowed the nature of his Parousia. ("coming")

Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body

Rom 8:19 For I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.

THE DAY OF THE MANIFESTATION OF CHRIST WILL BE THE DAY OF THE MANIFESTATION OF THE BELIEVER

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