Gives life (2227) (zoopoieo from zoos = alive + poieo = to make) means to revitalize, make alive, give life, quicken, vivify, reanimate, restore to life. Most of the NT uses refer to God's ability to give life to men, either by resurrecting them from physical death or by regenerating them from spiritual death. In 1Co 15:36 Paul uses zoopoieo figuratively to picture the sprouting of a seed in his defense of the doctrine of the resurrection. Beloved, note that Paul uses the present tense which is profoundly practical for in so doing he is saying that the Spirit continually vivifies and revitalizes our lives! Do we really understand what this means and how great is our daily need for the Spirit's sufficient provision? I think not (speaking for myself at least)! O, to understand the profundity of the phrase "the Spirit gives life". Father, open the eyes of our slow to understand hearts that we might be enabled to taste and see the practical implications of Thy Spirit continually working in us, daily, moment by moment, giving us new life in Christ Jesus Thy Son. Amen. In John 6:63 Jesus taught that... It is the Spirit who gives life (also in the present tense); the flesh profits nothing (not one thing! ever!); the words (rhema - spoken words - how important it is that preachers and teachers speak the actual Words of life to their hearers!) that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (Practical application - Where are these words today? Obviously in the Bible - are you daily going to the Scriptures, not because you "have to go" but because you "desire to go"? Don't be caught in the trap of reading "x" amount of Scripture each day. Instead slow down and meditate on a small section, asking the Spirit to teach you and then to empower you to obey what you read, an obedience motivated by love not law). Comment: While the immediate context speaks of life brought about by causing a spiritually dead sinner (Ep 2:1-note) to be born again (new birth, regeneration = Jn 3:3, 5, 6, 8), the Spirit "gives life" in another way. As taught elsewhere in the NT, the Spirit gives us the power to daily live our new life in Christ (eg, Gal 5:16-note , Gal 5:25-note; cp Ro 8:2-note, Ro 6:4-note, Ro 8:13-note). The Spirit gives life abundantly (Jn 10:10b) as He transforms us from one degree of glory to another (2Co 3:18-note). Alford on Spirit gives life... not merely life eternal, but the whole new life of the man of God (see Ro 6:4, Ro 6:11; Ro 8:2-note). (The Greek Testament) Zoopoieo - 11x in 10v in the NAS - come to life(1), give life(1), gives...life(1), gives life(4), impart life(1), life-giving(1), made alive(2). John 5:21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. Comment: Note the co-equality of the Father and Son in this passage. This passage says God has power to give life to the physically dead but even better He has the power to give life to the spiritually dead! (cp Jn 4:14, 6:27, 33, 35 11:25 14:6 17:2) John 6:63 (see above) Romans 4:17-note (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. Romans 8:11-note But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Galatians 3:21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 1Peter 3:18-note For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; Zoopoieo - 6x in 6v in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Jdg 21:14; 2Ki 5:7; Neh 9:6; Ps 70:20; Eccl 7:12; Job 36:6 Nehemiah 9:6 "You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You. Psalm 71:20 You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors. Job 36:6 "He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted. Thomas Watson... God's Spirit has a VIVIFYING virtue. "The Spirit gives life" (2Cor. 3:6). As the blowing in an flute makes it sound, so the breathing of the Spirit causes life and motion. When the prophet Elijah stretched himself upon the dead child, it revived (1Ki 17:22); so God's Spirit stretching himself upon the soul, infuses life into it. As our life is from the Spirit's operations, so is our liveliness: "the Spirit lifted me up" (Ezek. 3:14). When the heart is bowed down and is listless to duty, the Spirit of God lifts it up. He puts a sharp edge upon the affections; he makes love ardent, and hope lively. The Spirit removes the weights of the soul and gives it wings: "Before I was aware, my soul became like the chariots of Amminadab" (Song 6:12). The wheels of the soul were pulled off before, and it drove on heavily—but when the Spirit of the Almighty possesses a man, now he runs swiftly in the ways of God, and his soul is like the chariots of Amminadab. (The Godly Mans Picture) ><>><>><> IS YOUR SERVICE "WANT TO" OR "HAVE TO"? - A group of ministers attending an evangelistic conference gave testimonies as to how they came to know Christ. Most spoke of dramatic conversions. One pastor, however, had been born into a Christian home and had grown up in the church. "It seems from my earliest years I have always known and loved the Lord," he said. The other clergymen couldn't identify with this, since most of them remembered a definite time and place when they trusted in Jesus. The first minister quickly added, "But I do remember when `have to' became `want to.'" Yes, that's the key to knowing that our faith is real. The Holy Spirit fills us with a love for God that creates a desire to keep His commands for Christian living, not from force but from the impulse of a renewed heart. That's what Paul meant when he said that "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." If our service for the Lord is all "have to" but no "want to," we have probably become legalistic, having substituted adherence to man-made rules for loving obedience to God's commands. We need to ponder again the great price Jesus paid for our redemption. God exposed His heart of love for us. He inflicted on His beloved Son the punishment we deserve so that we could be forgiven. As we confess our sins and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us, we'll experience afresh His marvelous love. And this will bring us back to the place where "want to" replaces "have to." —D. J. De Haan Legalism weighs us down. Love lifts us up. ><>><>><> Filled With The Spirit - Bible scholar C. I. Scofield once visited a psychiatric hospital in Staunton, Virginia. The superintendent, who was giving him a tour, pointed out a powerfully built young man who seemed to be the picture of health. Scofield asked, “Wouldn’t that man be very difficult to manage if he became violent?” “Yes,” said the superintendent, “but he never exerts his power. His delusion is that he has no strength! He is always asking for medicine and complaining of weakness.” Scofield later commented, “How many in the church are like that! Divinely gifted with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, they lack the faith, knowledge, and consecration to use it. People are always praying for power. There is power enough. What they need is the willingness to be used in any humble position, and the faith to exercise the strength God has given.” There are many splendid goals we could reach if we would cease our timid excuse-making and just let the Holy Spirit fill and control our lives. Because of our relationship to Christ and the indwelling Spirit, we have all the strength we need to do His will (2Cor 3:5). — by Henry G. Bosch (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Lord, fill us with Thy Spirit’s might That we may live as in Thy sight; On all Thy children lay Thy hand That they may live as Thou hast planned. —Lloyd The human spirit fails unless the Holy Spirit fills. SUMMARY OF 1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-18 THE OLD COVENANT THE NEW COVENANT Written with ink on tablets of stone 2Cor 3:3 Written with the Spirit on tablets of human hearts 2Cor 3:3 Adequacy from Self 2Cor 3:5 Adequacy from God 2Cor 3:5 The Letter (law) Kills (3000 @ Sinai — Ex 32:28) 2Cor 3:6 The Spirit gives Life (3000 @ Pentecost — Acts 2:41) 2Cor 3:6 Ministry of Death (glory…fading) 2Cor 3:7 Ministry of the Spirit (more glory) 2Cor 3:8 Ministry of Condemnation 2Cor 3:9 Ministry of Righteousness 2Cor 3:9 No glory (~glory of moon) 2Cor 3:10 Glory that surpasses (~glory of sun) 2Cor 3:10 Fading Glory: Temporary 2Cor 3:11 Remains in Glory: Permanent 2Cor 3:11 Reading of Old Covenant hearts veiled 2Cor 3:14,15 Turn to the Lord Veil is removed in Christ 2Cor 3:16 (By implication Bondage) Where Spirit of the Lord is Liberty 2Cor 3:17 Glory fading on Moses’ face No Internal Transformation 2Co 3:13 Glory going to glory on saints' faces Continual Internal transformation by the Spirit 2Cor 3:18