"As The Living Father hath sent me, and I live by The Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." [Jn 6:57]
Jesus tells us, “he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” The one who desires to have life must receive it from Jesus; if you desire to live, it can only ever come through Jesus and because of Jesus. He says, “because I live, ye shall live also;” [Jn 14:19] and John writes, “God sent His only Begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” [1 Jn 4:9] Again, Jesus promises us, in contrast to our evil adversary the devil, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” [Jn 10:10] Jesus is our one-and-only source of life; and the way we “eat” of Him and thus find life is primarily through His word. As Jesus says,
“It is the Spirit which gives life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” [Jn 6:63]
In this particular chapter of John, Jesus describes Himself as the “Bread of Life,” saying,
“Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, He shall live for ever…” [Jn 6:48-51]
Jesus, who is “The Word” and, “The Word of God,” [Jn 1:1, Rev 19:13] describes Himself as bread which must be consumed. And regarding this analogy in terms of scripture, we are taught the same; for in Jeremiah, we read,
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of Hosts.” [Jer 15:16]
So then, it is God’s word which energizes our spirit, which gives us life; for again, Jesus says, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” In the same way we consume food and our bodies are thus energized to perform their duties, so too we consume Jesus Christ through His word and our spirits are energized. As we learn of Christ through His word, The Bible, we are filled with life. The knowledge of Jesus is, after all, “life eternal.” [Jn 17:3] In Psalms The Holy Spirit speaks of this life, saying,
“My soul cleaveth unto the dust: give me life according to thy word.” [Psa 119:25]
And,
“This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath given me life.” [Psa 119:50]
And,
“I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast given me life.” [Psa 119:93]
Let us take encouragement and instruction from this truth: that God’s word, wherein we learn of Jesus and find fellowship with Him, gives us life. Just as physical food gives life to the body, being converted into energy, so too God’s word for our spirit. Therefore, if we have found it necessary, useful, and enjoyable to consume physical food, should we not much rather God’s word? We must cling to it and abide in it, for Jesus says, “if ye abide in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” [Jn 8:31] And in Hebrews we are admonished to devote ourselves to it lest we drift: “therefore we ought to devote ourselves exceedingly to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we drift away.” [Heb 2:1]
But let us take this allegory one step further. For through it we may find more instruction. If food gives the body energy, let us also remember that non-food items do not. And see, that though a man may eat chips of wood, paper material, or dirt, yet it would hardly give him energy. More than that, a continual diet upon those things would work havoc in his life, eventually leading to death if it were pursued for any great length of time. In the same way, if we attempt to feed our spirits and dwell upon that which is not God’s word, our spirits will shrivel up and die. As Jesus said,
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” [Jn 15:4-6]
Those men who do not abide in Jesus through His word above all, receiving from it their necessary spiritual energy, shall certainly come to ruin; as Jesus said regarding the man who does not abide in Him and produce fruit, “he is cast forth as a branch…and cast…into the fire.” Just as Jesus said, so too nature teaches us, that a man cannot subsist on that which is not food, and likewise, the spirit cannot be sustained but by God’s word. Let us not be as Israel, who in idolatry God said, “Ephraim feedeth on wind,” [Hos 12:1] but rather let us receive and chew upon God’s word, abiding in Jesus.