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The Bread of Life, April 1
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.
John 6:35
.
“I am the bread of life,” the Author, Nourisher, and Supporter of eternal, spiritual
life.... Christ represents Himself under the similitude of heavenly bread. To eat His
flesh and to drink His blood means to receive Him as a heaven-sent teacher. Belief
in Him is essential to spiritual life. Those who feast on the Word never hunger,
never thirst, never desire any higher or more exalted good.
Christ exclaimed the meaning of His words so clearly that none need stumble
over them. His statement regarding eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the
Son of God is to be taken in a spiritual sense. We eat Christ’s flesh and drink His
blood when by faith we lay hold upon Him as our Saviour.
Christ used the figure of eating and drinking to represent that nearness to Him
which all must have who are at last partakers with Him in His glory. The temporal
food we eat is assimilated, giving strength and solidity to the body. In a similar
manner, as we believe and receive the words of the Lord Jesus, they become a part
of our spiritual life, bringing light and peace, hope and joy, and strengthening the
soul as physical food strengthens the body.
It is not enough for us to know and respect the words of the Scriptures. We
must enter into the understanding of them, studying them earnestly.... Christians
will reveal the degree to which they do this by the healthiness of their spiritual
character. We must know the practical application of the Word to our own individual
character-building. We are to be holy temples, in which God can live and walk
and work. Never must we strive to lift ourselves above the servants whom God has
chosen to do His work and to honor His holy name. “All ye are brethren.” Let us
apply this Word to our individual selves, comparing scripture with scripture.
In our daily lives, before our brethren and before the world, we are to be living
interpreters of the Scriptures, doing honor to Christ by revealing His meekness and
His lowliness of heart. As we eat and digest the bread of life, we shall reveal a
symmetrical character. By our unity, by esteeming others better than ourselves, we
are to bear to the world a living testimony of the power of the truth....
When men submit entirely to God, eating the bread of life and drinking the
water of salvation, they will grow up into Christ. Their characters are composed of
that which the mind eats and drinks. Through the Word of life, which they receive
and obey, they become partakers of the divine nature. Then ... Christ, not man, is
exalted (
The S.D.A. Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 5, 1135
).
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