The subject of John 6 is Salvation:
Vs.
35 - “…I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger;
and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.”
It is coming to Christ and
believing on Him that rewards
the hungering, thirsting soul with eternal life. Matt. 5:6 puts it like this:
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall
be filled.”
Vs. 44 - “No man can come to Me except the Father…draw him…”
And who will the Father draw that He may give him (or her) to the Son?
Those who have truly believed on Christ.
See vss. 35, 64, 65. (not “the frozen chosen.”
as Calvinists
teach).
Vs. 53 - “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood,
ye have no life in you.”
Many of His
disciples said, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it…and they walked no more
with Him.” (vs. 66)
But the Lord had already clarified what He had in mind by the words, “It is the
Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.” Vs. 63.
Had those disciples who walked away from Him been had been hungering for
truth instead of the loaves and fishes (with which He had fed the five
thousand), they would have understood this.
See
John 6:24-29.
Have you ever wondered why is it that in man’s quest for heaven “the flesh
profiteth nothing?”
Why can’t man’s
charitable deeds of kindness, his compassion and self-sacrifice, or strict
obedience to the Mosaic law, or trying to live right, do right, think right, why
these things can’t move the hand of God to save and bring him into glory? The
answer is simple: it’s because God has said that “no flesh should glory in His
presence.” 1 Cor. 1:29.
Or, as Paul was led to write it, “the gift of God [of eternal life]
is “…not of works lest
any man should boast.”
Eph.
2:8-9.
The Second Adam’s (1 Cor. 15:45) `substitutionary
death on the cross on our behalf, (2 Cor. 5:19)
and
His death-conquering resurrection (1 Peter 1:21) is all that has ever availed the sinner who would reach the eternal
treasures of “…fullness of joy…[and] pleasures forevermore.” Psa. 16:11.
This is because salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin is all of Him or
none of Him; there is no middle ground - and no amount of ingeniously contrived
substitutes, heart-breaking sacrifices, or all of earth’s greatest treasures
combined, will suffice!
What gripped my heart and mind that Sunday morning at the so-called Church of
the Open Door, went beyond God’s salvation plan.
It
was
the application
of
John 6:63
to
my
walk that turned
me around and started me off in the right direction. Other Bible verses were
soon brought to my attention, the Lord using them to assure me that I had made
the right decision, plus adding to my understanding as to why, in spiritual
matters, “the flesh profiteth nothing” during our pilgrim journey with the Lord.
Here is a sampling of said verses:
1.
Phil. 3:3 -
“We are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
2.
2 Cor. 5:16
- “Henceforth know we no man after the flesh…”
3.
2 Cor.
5:7 - “We walk by faith; not by sight…”
4.
1 Thess. 3:1-3 - “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which
are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the
earth, for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
5.
Romans
14:17, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but
righteousness, peace and joy in the holy Ghost.”
6.
Gal.
3:3 – “Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
It was these and other crystal clear truths
that gave me the strength to put down my crutches of religious traditions that I
had been leaning on for so long, including pagan holidays and organized
religion, and walk away a free man - never to look back.
Allow me to add one more word.
There
has never, ever,
been a time in the history of mankind, when it
comes to true worship, that John 6:63 has not been the norm.
Why is this?
It’s because, as
we’re told in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him
must
worship Him in Spirit and in truth.”
God help us all to believe it and walk in it!
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