“Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.’” (John 6:52-58 NASB1995)
Now, this is a passage of Scripture which can be somewhat confusing or disturbing if we don’t understand the message behind it. In this case, I believe, Jesus was speaking more metaphorically or figuratively, much like he did in all his parables, and in order to illustrate a biblical truth. For there is no record in the Scriptures of anyone literally eating of Jesus’ flesh or drinking of his blood, and yet there were people who believed in Christ and who had salvation from sin and eternal life with God promised them.
So, what can we make of this? What did Jesus’ body and blood represent? They represented his body given for us on that cross in the shedding of his blood in order that he might put our sins to death with him, so that by God-persuaded faith in him we might die to sin and live to righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands. So, to eat isn’t just about consuming physical food, but taking in (accepting) spiritual nourishment resulting in a trusting relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Since his flesh and blood were given for us on that cross, to eat his flesh and to drink his blood means to accept into our lives what he did for us in putting our sins to death with him so that we can now walk in freedom from bondage to sin. And it means that we partake of what he did for us by us now following our Lord in death to sin and in walks of obedience to his commands, living holy lives, pleasing to God. We participate with him in his death when we die to sin and now live to God and to his righteousness.
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
And then we need to take Jesus’ message to heart, for he meant what he said. If we do not partake of his death and resurrection, in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness, in obedience to our Lord’s commands, then we have no life in us, i.e. the life of the Spirit of God. We are not born of the Spirit, we are not of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, and we will not have eternal life with God in heaven.
But if we do partake in his death and resurrection, and we do die to sin, and now we live for God to do what pleases him, then we are promised eternal life with God. And we are those who abide in him, and him in us. And that means that we obey him, we follow Jesus wherever he leads us, and we conform our lives, by the Spirit, to his will and purpose for our lives. We uphold his teachings, not just in word, but in deed, and we live the lives God designed for us to live, by his grace, in his power, by the Spirit within us.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Abide in Him
Based off Ps. 27:14; Is. 40:31; Jn. 14-15
An Original Work / July 31, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
If you wait for the Lord, put your hope now in Him,
He will give you His strength and endurance within.
He will renew your strength, so you will not lose heart.
You will soar on wings like eagles, never depart.
“If you abide in Me, and My words live in you,
You will walk with Me daily and follow what’s true.
I will live now in you; give you peace now within,
If you obey My teachings and turn from your sin.”
“If you listen to Me, and do all that I say,
I will give you My comfort; be with you always.
I will heal all your pain; life with Me now you’ll gain,
If in fellowship with Me you always remain.”
Login to view embedded media
The Bread which Came Down from Heaven
An Original Work / December 3, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love