After one of the times that Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the loaves and fish, he gave us a wonderful salvation teaching, again pointing people to himself. This time he made an analogy between himself and bread. He stated that he himself is the bread of life:
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:32-35)
Notice the words: comes and believes as on Jesus. Both are present tense. Hence, if one comes to Jesus day after day and believes on Jesus day after day he will never be spiritually hungry or thirsty! That is how we consume the bread of life. That is very important to remember.
Again, Jesus alone is the true bread from heaven. The following verses, still related to the bread of life, show it takes a present tense belief in Jesus or an equivalent of that (a saving faith) to have present tense eternal life (or everlasting life):
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:40)
I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:47-51)
Eat Jesus’ Flesh and Drink Jesus’ Blood For Eternal Life
After saying all of that, Jesus then said to have eternal life we will have to eat his flesh and drink his blood:
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53,54)
That passage has stumbled a lot of sincere people because the words eat and drink have been taken to mean something different than previously shown in the context of this teaching! It is terribly unfortunate that so many Catholics have been wrongly taught about that and consequently think they literally receive Jesus in their mouth and swallow him into their stomachs through the communion wafer, which they call the Eucharist! That Catholic practice has nothing to do with partaking of the real bread of life the way it is used in John 6. To have eternal life we must have Jesus and a faith in him which will follow, obey God and live holy, even under adverse circumstances. To continue to remain in Jesus (the Son of God and eternal life) is conditional:
See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us–even eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. (1 John 2:24-26)
That passage, related to false teachers, shows the spiritual danger connected with being doctrinally wrong! DO NOT BE DECEIVED about eternal life.
