John 6:54-57

54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 

55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 

56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 

57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

Jesus gave His flesh and blood for us…..to save us from our sins. We would be lost for eternity without the sacrifice of the flesh and blood of Jesus. In verse 54, Jesus says that He will raise up whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood. We see this same language back in verse 40 of this same chapter where Jesus says, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Also, in verse 44, Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” So, how do we get Jesus to raise us up “at the last day” to life eternal? These three verses combined give us a clear picture of what is expected of us. We “see the Son and believe in Him”. (vs. 40) This is the beginning. Belief leads to obedience. When we believe and obey Jesus, we are “drawn by God” to Him. Obeying the words of Jesus as we are drawn by God to Him means we are symbolically feeding our souls with His flesh and blood. This is how we will be “raised up at the last day”! 

In verse 55, the word “indeed” means “of a truth” or “truly”. I like the way the ESV translated this verse. “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” (John 6:55) There is no other food or drink for your soul other than the flesh and blood of Jesus. What Jesus gives us is the real thing…..the genuine article…..the one and only, true food and drink that will forgive our sins and save our souls. When Jesus was scourged by the ruthless Roman soldiers with those horrible scourging weapons, His blood was shed as His flesh was torn away from His body …..for us. His blood was shed as a crown of sharp thorns was forced and beaten down upon His head, nails were driven through His hands and feet, and a sword was shoved into His side…..for us. It only makes sense that Jesus would symbolically refer to His flesh and blood as our “true food” and “true drink”. We have to have food and water to survive physically. In the same way, we have to have spiritual food and water to survive spiritually. Our physical bodies have to have a balanced diet of healthy foods and plenty of pure water with limited “junk food” in order to function properly. If all we ate was “junk food”, we would eventually kill our physical bodies. In the same way, when we turn to the world to solve our problems or fill our voids, it is like we are feeding our souls “junk food”, instead of the “true food” and “true drink”…..the “flesh” and “blood” of Jesus. Sometimes I find myself turning everywhere for satisfaction, except the true food and true drink that I need. When that happens, I have to RESET!

Side note…..Is everything in the secular world “junk food” for the soul? Am I saying that we can’t enjoy anything in the secular world? Not at all. I have lots of things that I enjoy that are secular. It is fine to enjoy sports, music, books, movies, shows, vacations, cooking, etc., just as long as I am not turning to those things for true satisfaction for my soul, and as long as they don’t pull me away from Jesus. Jesus has to be at the center of everything in my life, and He has to regulate what secular things/activities I allow myself to participate in, and how much time I put into them. We can’t let our secular things that we enjoy become our main focus. We can’t become the thorny ground where Jesus is choked out of our lives. Believe me, this can happen before you know it. It has happened to me before, and I have had to get my priorities in order more than once. If we have a good balance with Jesus as our number one priority, we can be a good influence and make a positive impact on  people in the world as well as our sisters and brothers in Christ.

In verse 56, Jesus lets us know that “eating His flesh” and “drinking His blood” is not a one time thing. It is an ongoing way of life. We have to abide in Him no matter what we are doing. He should consume our lives. The beautiful part of this is that as we abide in Him, He abides in us. We can’t become a Christian, and then not nourish ourselves with God’s Word. We won’t grow, and we will eventually die spiritually. 

In verse 57, Jesus says that He lives because of the Father. This means that He lived to do the Father’s will. We have already established that Jesus was with God from the beginning, and was not a created being. Jesus was God. Jesus was completely consumed by the will of His Father, because they are one. Jesus’ food is fulfilling His Father’s will as He said in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” The last part of verse 57 says that “he who feeds on Me will live because of Me”. Just as Jesus’ life was consumed with the Father, our life should be consumed with Jesus. Jesus is our spiritual nutrition. We are spiritually starved and malnourished without Him. Am I getting enough spiritual nutrition? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)