BetterMornings Devo
Length: • 3 mins
Annotated by Chad Hudson
Chad Hudson: Mark 1:8 [Mark Observation Worksheets](obsidian://adv-uri?vault=Bible-Study-Vault&filepath=03%20Bible%20Study%2FMark%2FMark%20Observation%20Worksheets.md&heading=Chapter%201) Jesus, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit
September 10, 2026
The Spirit Gives Life
Scripture: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life... And he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.'"— John 6:63, 65
Thought: There may not be a more Reformed sentence in John's Gospel... “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”
Jesus doesn't say the flesh needs a little assistance. He doesn't say fallen man needs better information. He doesn't say spiritually sick people need some encouragement. He says, “The Spirit gives life.”
Why? Because sinners are spiritually dead. Paul says it plainly, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins..." [Eph. 2:1]. Not injured. Not struggling. Not mostly good but occasionally wandering. Dead.
And dead men don't resurrect themselves. This is the doctrine of regeneration.
Before we can see Christ as beautiful, desire Christ as Savior, or embrace Christ by faith, something supernatural must happen inside us. God must make us alive.
This is why Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” Notice the words... No one can.
That's inability. Unless it is granted, which is grace.
Left to ourselves, we don't merely fail to choose Christ. We don't want Christ. Our minds are darkened. Our affections are disordered. Our wills are enslaved to sin. We are free to choose according to our nature, the problem is that our fallen nature does not desire God.
That is, until God acts. God doesn't merely stand outside a dead heart offering resurrection. He speaks life into it.
Think about Lazarus. Jesus stood outside the tomb and said, ”Lazarus, come out” [11:43]. Lazarus didn't hear the command, weigh the evidence, consider his options, and decide whether resurrection sounded appealing. The command that summoned him also gave him the life necessary to respond.
That's a beautiful picture of regeneration.
God calls. The Spirit gives life. Our eyes open. Our hearts change. Our wills are liberated. And we come willingly to Christ.
This doesn't eliminate faith. It explains faith.
We really repent. We really believe. We really come. But underneath our coming is God's drawing. Underneath our believing is God's awakening. Underneath our choosing Christ is the astonishing reality that He first chose us. Calvin wrote... “Faith is the principal work of the Holy Spirit.”
Brother, if you love Jesus today, you didn't figure something out that everyone else missed. You were rescued. God found you dead and made you alive. God found you blind and made you see. God found you unwilling and gave you a new heart.
But there's another beautiful truth here. The same Spirit who gave you life is the Spirit who sustains your life. You didn't begin by grace so you could continue by grit. The Christian life from beginning to end is grace.
So stop trying to manufacture spiritual life. Return to the means God has appointed. His Word. Prayer. The gathered church. The ordinances. Christian community. And depend upon the Spirit to do what only the Spirit can do.
The flesh is no help at all. The Spirit gives life.
Reflection: Do you think about your salvation primarily as something you accomplished by choosing God, or as a miracle of grace in which God made you alive and brought you willingly to Christ?
Right Next Step: Take five minutes today and thank God specifically for your conversion. Remember where He found you, what He rescued you from, and the grace that opened your eyes to Christ.
Then pray for one person who doesn't know Jesus, not merely that they would “make a decision,” but that God would make them alive.
Prayer: “Father, thank You that when I was dead in sin, You made me alive in Christ. I had no righteousness to offer and no power to resurrect myself. Your Spirit opened my eyes, changed my heart, and drew me to Your Son. Kill every ounce of pride in me and replace it with gratitude. And for those I love who do not know Christ, do what only You can do: give life, open blind eyes, and draw them to Jesus. Amen.”
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