Note 13 at Joh 6:63: Jesus was stating that our spirits, not our flesh, are where our life comes from. These people were so dominated by their physical lives that they were missing all the spiritual significance of His words. Although God's Word does benefit our physical man, the Word is spiritual and must be understood through the spirit (1Co 2:14). God's Word is spirit, and it takes our spirits to illuminate its truths to our minds (Pr 20:27).

The Word of God is not paper and ink. Jesus is the Word (Joh 1:1), and He existed in spiritual form long before any words were inspired by the Holy Ghost to be written down (2Pe 1:21). The Bible is simply a physical representation of Jesus and spiritual truth. It is inspired of God and, therefore, totally accurate and reliable. Yet until we receive the spirit that these words express, the Bible will not profit us (Heb 4:2). This is why many people have read the Word and may even have memorized it and yet aren't reaping its benefits.

If we want to know what spiritual truth is, we must believe the Bible, for it is spirit and life. If we want to be led by the Spirit, then we must follow God's Word. If we want to hear from the Spirit of God, then we must listen to what God says in His Word. The Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the Word (Jesus, Joh 1:1) are one (1Jo 5:7).