«　WEEK 3　DAY 4　»

　　John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life…the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

　　 3:6 ….and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

　　In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit.” The words of the Bible are not only letters but spirit……Since the Lord's words are spirit, we have to read them in spirit. In other words, we can only touch spiritual things with the spirit.

　　The Bible is not only a book with words or letters printed on pages of paper. The very nature of the Bible is spirit. For this reason, everyone who reads this book must approach it with his spirit; it must be read with the spirit. The spirit that we are referring to is the spirit of every regenerated person. We call this spirit the “regenerated spirit.” ……Perhaps we were born into a Christian family. Before we were regenerated, we probably had read the Bible already, but we did not understand it…... When can a man begin to understand the Bible? On the day he receives the Lord, he can begin to understand the Bible..….Although he may not understand everything in it, he will begin to love it. He will read it daily and yearly…… When he reads God's word this way, he will begin to understand it. He can understand it because he is now regenerated. “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6)……. “The words which I have spoken…are spirit,” and “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The words in the Bible are spirit. The life which a man receives at the time of regeneration is spirit, and it takes a man with a spirit to read the words of spirit. Only then will the Bible shine within him, and only then will it become useful to him.

　　No matter how clever and well educated a man is, as long as he is not regenerated, this book is a mystery to him. A regenerated person may not be that cultivated, but he is more qualified to read the Bible than an unregenerated college professor. The former has a regenerated spirit, while the latter does not have such a spirit. The Bible is not understood by talent, research, or intelligence. Since God's word is spirit, only a man with a regenerated spirit can understand it. The root, the very nature, of the Bible is spiritual. If a man does not have a regenerated spirit, he cannot understand this book; it will be a closed book to him.

　　God is Spirit. We know God today because we have a spirit. When some unbelievers argue with us, we may not match them in eloquence or wisdom, and we may not be able to tell them profound teachings, but we have the confidence that we know God because we are regenerated. We have a regenerated spirit, and we can touch God with this spirit…… In order to study the Bible, a man must have a regenerated spirit, in the same way that he must have a regenerated spirit to touch God. Suppose a man has installed an electric lamp in his house. He wants to connect the lamp to the power source, but the only materials he has ……No matter how much cloth, bamboo, and wood he has, he cannot tap into the electricity. Another man may not have any cloth, bamboo, or wood, but he has a little piece of wire. With that little wire he can light up the lamp because the wire transmits electricity. In the same way, a man must have a regenerated spirit before he can touch God. He must have a regenerated spirit before he can touch God's word. (How to Study the Bible)