I Am the Bread of Life
Introduction
Reading: John 6:33 ESV
The book of John is different to the other gospels, it delves deeper into the divinity of Jesus through the I Am statements.
From the passage we see that Jesus is the bread of Life. What does this mean? What did Jesus mean by this statement? To understand this, we would divide this statement into three parts:
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Life
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Bread
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I Am the Bread of Life
LIFE
The word life in this context comes from the Greek word Zoe. It means the God kind of life.
Eternal Life does not mean to live forever in heaven according to popular opinion. Every man who is born on the earth will live forever, either with God in heaven or in hell depending on the choice they make while on this earth. Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus, both continued to live even after death but in separate places.
What is Eternal Life?
Jesus gave us the definition of eternal life in John 17:3 ESV.
Eternal life is KNOWING God and Jesus whom He has sent.
The knowing comes from the Greek word “ginosko” which means intimate/experiential knowledge. Knowledge gained from intimacy or experience. It is the same reference word we see many times in the bible when it says for example: …and Adam KNEW His wife. Genesis 4:1.
Eternal life/Zoe is knowing(ginosko)/ having an intimate relationship with God.
In other words, we can say eternal life or the God kind of life (Zoe) comes to us from a union and connection with God and is the ability and empowerment to know God intimately.
Where to find Eternal Life?
Jesus is the giver of eternal life John 17:2 ESV, 1 John 5:11-12 ESV
This is the main reason why Jesus came. He came to give eternal life John 10:10
John 3:16 ESV
A better understanding of Eternal Life
The proof of life is consciousness. A man who has eternal life becomes conscious of the realm or domain of God. When you became born again, you came alive and are connected to God’s domain(i.e. the kingdom of God).
Eternal life is an in-built capacity to be conscious of God’s domain and to be in communion with Him.
BREAD
Lets talk about Bread. From that Sentence, I Am the BREAD of Life.
Bread was a staple food back then, they almost ate nothing without bread. It was seen as a source of sustenance. When we think of bread, the first thing which comes to your mind is food.
When God created every living thing, He created them to need nourishment, everything that is alive must eat in some way, shape or form.e.g. trees, animals, plants, sea creatures and even Man.
Man is a complex creature, He is what we call a Tripartite being which means tri(three), partite(parts). i.e. He consists of three parts.
Let’s look at those parts.
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Spirit
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Soul
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Body
Man is a spirit, has a soul and lives in a body.
Body
We are familiar with our body, we know that our body needs nourishment in the form of physical food.
Soul
The soul is the part of you that consists of the mind, will and emotions. Unlike the body which will eventually die. The soul of man is eternal. But still, it must be fed.
So what does the soul feed on. The soul feeds on knowledge, not just intellectual knowledge, but experiential knowledge. Proverbs 2:10 ESV, Proverbs 24:13-14. ESV
Spirit
Man is a spirit being. You have a human spirit which has been born again when you gave your life to Jesus Christ.
Your spirit feeds on revelation knowledge. Matthew 4:4 ESV
I Am the Bread of Life
When God gives you his name, He is inviting you just like Moses was attracted by the burning bush to experience Him, God wants to take you on a journey into that name. He wants to reveal a dimension of himself of what that name means.
When Jesus says He is the bread of Life, He is inviting you to experience intimacy with Him. To grow in knowing who He is and for you and him to have fellowship.
Eating The Bread of Life
Physical Bread is a sustainer of physical life, and Christ and union with Him is the source of spiritual Bread or sustainer of eternal life to your spirit. As you unite with Him, the realities of Knowing God which is eternal life begin to become more and more real to you. It begins to become a reality that you experience daily, you’ll begin to walk in what you have already received in your spirit. And that reality begins to affect every facet of your life.
Contained within physical bread are the necessary components to gain physical strength and nourishment for your body for growth and all the nutrients your body needs to continue to function.
Same also as you fellowship and abide in him in prayer and the word, within Him contains all the building blocks needed to nourish your soul and spirit with the Zoe life of God.
Jesus as the bread of life is the building block of imtimacy with God.
Bread in those times was seen as a sustainer of life. Physical life.
There is a sustainer of spiritual Life and that is the Word of God/Jesus.
Ways to Eat the Bread of life
You must first be born again: John 5:24, 1 John 5:12
The Word of God: Proverbs 4:20-22
Prayer: Fellowshipping with God through prayer builds your intimacy with God and you become more aware of His domain.
Conclusion
Feeding your spirit will re-orient your soul eventually converting it, similar to resetting a phone to its factory settings to fix software issues. This is referenced in James 1:21 ESV.
Do you need to know Him today, to experience Him, to be connected with him and experience his peace, love, power, healing or anything you need today. Are you feeling down, depressed, sad, Jesus is the bread your soul needs. You need to feed on the Bread of Life today.
Take Aways for I Am the Bread of Life
What is eternal life? What does it mean to you practically?
Let John 17:2-3 and 1 John 5:11-12 serve as guides to aid your discussion.
Man is a tripartite being or consists of 3 parts. What are these parts:
You can use 1 Thessalonians 5:23 as a guide.
Can you distinguish each part of man based on today’s topic?
How can I change the state of my soul? For example, if a person is suffering from addictions or wrong state of mind and comes to you for explanation on where his addictions are coming from and asks how can I be free? What will be your response.
You can use James 1:21 and Psalms 19:7 as guides.