The Bread of Life

The Bread of Life (John 6:32-58) I. Our Lord Jesus had recently multiplied loaves and fishes for a multitude. JOH 6:5-13. A. This had generated an association with the manna given to Israel under Moses. JOH 6:30-31. B. Jesus’ audience consisted of “the Jews” (JOH 6:41, 52) and “his disciples” (JOH 6:60-61). C. Jesus here sets Himself forth as the superior bread of life of Whom only some partake unto eternal life, fully entered at “the last day” (JOH 6:39-40, 44, 53-54). D. To those who partake of Him, a certain and secure eternity is promised. JOH 6:54. 1. They are all that the Father gave to Him. JOH 6:37. 2. They will unfailingly “come” unto Him. JOH 6:37-38. 3. Their “coming” to Him is owing to a gift by the will and power of the Father (JOH 6:44, 65), made alive by the Spirit without regard to the will of the flesh. JOH 6:63 c/w JOH 1:12-13. E. Whatever this “coming” unto Him was, it was in accord with a teaching by God. JOH 6:45 c/w ISA 54:13. 1. There is an inward teaching which God alone performs. MAT 16:16-17. 2. This teaching by God gives an inward knowledge of God and forgiveness of sins. HEB 8:10-12. 3. Herein is a life-giving change apart from human works. F. This discourse was murmured against as an offensive “hard saying” by even many of His disciples. JOH 6:60-61. 1. It sounded like Moses’ manna implied death, not life. JOH 6:48-49. 2. It sounded like cannibalism and blood consumption which they knew was wrong. JOH 6:52 c/w LEV 17:10. 3. Christ the Bread was superior to Moses and manna. 4. It implied that Israel was not the sole object of this Bread’s provision. 5. The works of the flesh were excluded as profitless. 6. Partakers of Christ would not die, and only them. II. Consider A. It B. It the giving of the manna. supplied the need of the body, no more. was given to a tempting people of little faith. PSA 78:19-20 c/w EXO 16:11-14. C. Moses did not give it; God did by a miracle. EXO 16:15 c/w JOH 6:32. D. It was angels’ food. PSA 78:24-25. II. A comparison between the manna and Christ the Bread. A. The manna only sustained life. Christ gives life. JOH 6:33. B. The manna could do nothing for a dead man. Christ has power to quicken the dead. JOH 5:21 c/w JOH 17:2. C. The manna only sustained natural life temporarily (JOH 6:49, 58). Christ is the Bread of everlasting life. JOH 6:51. D. The manna was only for Israel. Christ the Bread of everlasting life was given for the life of the world. JOH 6:33, 51 c/w 1JO 2:1-2. E. The manna only temporarily stopped carnal hunger. Those who are partakers of Christ shall never hunger. JOH 6:35. F. The manna had to be given repeatedly to bring Israel to Canaan. Christ was given once to The Bread of Life 1-13-19 Page 1 of 2 bring God’s children to glory. HEB 9:26-28; 10:10-18; 1PE 3:18. G. The manna stopped when Israel entered Canaan (EXO 16:35). Christ is continually the bread of life of His people after entering heaven. HEB 9:24-28. H. Those who ate manna might fall short of Canaan at any day. All who partake of Christ shall certainly come to heaven at the last day. JOH 6:36-40, 54. I. Those who ate the manna could be cast out of Canaan (DEU 29:24-28). Those given to Christ the Bread of Life will never be cast out of their inheritance. JOH 6:37. J. The manna was corruptible (EXO 16:20). Christ the Bread sent from heaven is incorruptible with an incorruptible inheritance for His people. ACT 2:31; 1PE 1:3-4. III. The eating and drinking of Christ is not referring to the ordinance of communion. A. These words were spoken long before the institution of the Lord’s Supper. B. Christ was speaking in the present tense of something that was THEN occurring and which would be fully realized later at the resurrection. C. This is a spiritual partaking of Christ: having a part in His humanity and His eternal life. 1. This is not the first time such language applied to identity with Christ. 1CO 10:1-4. 2. That was spiritual drink, spiritual meat of the spiritual Rock, Christ. 3. Those Israelites were partakers of Christ and His eternal life. c/w JOH 6:54. 4. Their dying in the wilderness was owing only to their lack of faith, not their lack of Christ. 1CO 10:5. D. Christ was setting forth that participation in His humanity is necessary for eternal life. 1. Eating Christ is defined in JOH 6:57 as living by Him. If one has eternal life by Jesus Christ, he is spiritually eating His flesh and drinking His blood. 2. We have eternal life by the humanity of Jesus Christ. HEB 2:14; 1TI 2:5-6. 3. Note JOH 6:62-63. a. The physical presence of Christ would be removed. He would become unseen until His Second Coming. 1PE 1:8; HEB 9:28. b. The union with the humanity of Christ is through the Holy Spirit Who imparts eternal life without regard to the flesh. ROM 8:9-11; TIT 3:5. 4. “As Man alone, Jesus could not save us; as God alone, he would not; Incarnate, he could and did.” (Malcolm Muggeridge) IV. Believers may rest assured that they are partakers of Christ and His eternal life. JOH 6:47 c/w JOH 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; 1JO 5:13. A. Their belief is not the cause of their eternal life any more than seeing Him is the cause of eternal life. JOH 6:40. B. To make belief a condition for eternal life prior to His coming is to also make seeing Him prior to His coming a condition for eternal life, which excludes multitudes. C. Belief is the effect of eternal life. JOH 5:24; ACT 13:48. D. Belief is the evidence of partaking of an unseen Savior in an unseen heaven. HEB 11:1. E. Unbelief has no such direct claim on Him. V. All who are partakers of Christ shall be raised up at the last day. JOH 6:54. A. The dead in Christ shall rise first, reunited to their remains and perfected. 1TH 4:16; 1CO 15:52. B. Then the living which remain shall rise also. 1TH 4:15, 17. C. No fragments of His life’s saving efficacy shall be lost. JOH 6:12 c/w JOH 6:39. The Bread of Life 1-13-19 Page 2 of 2