"Bread of Life"

The Seven “I AM” Declarations of Jesus Christ

Spiritual Metaphor:    Jesus Christ is…

I. The Bread of Life – John 6:35, 41, 48, 51

Briefly, consider physical “bread.” Fact: we need food (often referred to as bread) to live physically. It is essential and must be desired, accepted, and received into the body to nourish it.

Scripture Readings:

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

This verse conveys the Trinity, as Jesus is the Son of God, and God the Son. Jesus is the Eternal Logos (Word). He, as God, had no beginning and no end. The “beginning” refers to the time of Creation. Jesus is the “Word” – Logos.

John 1:4 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

The Eternal Logos (Jesus Christ) is the source of Life and Light. Light is truth and its knowledge combined with spiritual maturity, moral and spiritual truth.

John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (Jesus speaking)

The Holy Spirit is He who “quickens” (causes to live, makes alive). Our efforts apart from Jesus Christ and the Cross (finished work of Christ) will gain us nothing spiritually. He, the Holy Spirit, provides life by and through the Cross.

Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Jesus speaking)

We are humans, physical beings; however, it doesn’t stop there for we are spiritual beings who are dependent on God. Physical bread will sustain us for a short time; however, the Word of God (Bread of God) will sustain us for all eternity – if we accept it as truth. The bread that nourishes is the Word of God.

Spiritually, we must have Jesus Christ to survive. He is the essential for life eternal. He and He alone can completely satisfy the spiritual hunger all men have. He must be desired, accepted, and received into the heart for His spiritual food to nourish spiritually and for us to live eternally.

Man must personally accept the “Bread of Life” (See: Salvation above) and allow Him to do that which only He can do – keep him alive - eternally.

When Jesus says He is “the Bread of Life” He teaches us He alone is the Only One who can satisfy a spiritually hungry and thirsty soul.

Preparing Spiritually for the Metaphors

The seven metaphors are currently being studied and prepared to share.

Before continuing, please prepare your heart and set your mind on the spiritual, not materialistic, aspects of Jesus’ metaphors. We humans can easily focus on that which we can see and touch and be sidelined causing us to miss the spiritual application. Satan would love nothing more than for us to totally miss, misunderstand, or be confused. There are so many distractions thrown at us each and every day to distract and take our minds off of God, the living God, the God of Creation.

Jesus, the Son of God, God the Son, came to earth and became 100% man while remaining 100% God to make a way for all of us to be ready and fit for Heaven. His message is that He loves us and wants us to be with Him forever and He lays it all out within the pages of Scripture for us since He is not physically present with us at this time. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to be present during His earthly ministry and to hear Him teach. That was not God’s plan and here I am this day and time. Yet, I yearn to hear His voice and to see His face!

The last post was about the “I AM” statement Jesus quoted prior to each of the seven metaphors (allegories). Jesus is absolutely a people person and was very much so when He walked this earth. He used metaphors so that people could grasp what He was teaching them. For our understanding, He used an earthly story to reveal the heavenly meaning. These were not for only those who heard His voice when He spoke them. They have been preserved for us until this very day.

Again, let’s prepare our hearts to seek the spiritual aspect of Jesus’ teachings and apply it to our lives in order to grow spiritually, gain wisdom and understanding, to live for Christ, and to prepare our spirits for life eternal with the Living God.

Coming next: The Bread of Life

The Seven "I AM" Declarations of Jesus Christ - "I AM"

God told Moses in Exodus 3:14, "I AM THAT I AM." The proper covenant name of the one true God is "Jehovah" (YHWH/Yahweh (Hebrew noun)). He is the only self-existent, Eternal One, the Living God. Jehovah needs no one or no thing to exist. He is eternal (Isaiah 57:15) without beginning and without end (Jeremiah 10:10).

We, must understand that God is infinite, He is and always has been (Psalm 90:2), and is not limited by time, space, or matter. He is infinitely great and far above us. He is wisdom and knowledge unbounded and limitless (Psalms 147:5; Romans 11:33-34). He is the Almighty (Genesis 17:1) Sovereign (Psalm 147:5) Potentate (1 Timothy 6:15). He is omniscient (1 John 3:20), omnipotent (Revelation 19:6), and omnipresent (Colossians 1:17). He is the Creator of all that is (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1). He is holy (Psalm 145:17) in all His ways and works.

Beginning in Genesis, God tells us He is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4, Galatians 3:20, 1 Timothy 2:5) consisting of three Persons (triune, Genesis 1:1,26, Genesis 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, 48:16, 61:1; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14), God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (His “plural name” is Elohim). Each Person of the Godhead is coexistent and coequal. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Jesus is God (John 10:30), the Son of God (Matthew 27:54, Mark 1:1). God cannot lie, Jesus is God; therefore, Jesus cannot lie. Our finite brains cannot fathom the Godhead (Trinity); however, Almighty God tells us through His Word that He is triune and by faith we must accept His testimony, without question, else we call God a liar (1 John 2:22; 5:10).

When Jesus says, “I am,” He testifies He is Jehovah. He is God.