Jesus Christ is the bread of life; this is the only bread that gives life and preserves from death.
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1. The Bread of Life:
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 6:35)
Bread is necessary for life. In the time of Christ bread was the only staple in most people’s diets. Without bread, men died. God has provided you with all the essentials for eternal life without price and without cost. Jesus Christ is the bread of life. This is the only bread that gives life and preserves from death.
The person who receives His doctrine and believes in Him as the great atoning sacrifice shall be delighted and never feel the misery of mind again. All the guilt of his sins shall be blotted out, and his soul shall be purified unto God; and, being enabled to love him with all his heart, he shall rest, fully, supremely, and finally happy, in his God.
Since God is the source of the true heavenly bread, and since God has sent Jesus, the bread of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot do without Him. You remain spiritually dead without Him. He is the life, and He in truth is all you need.
2. The light of the world:
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Jesus is the light of God’s holy presence among His people. Jesus stood in the courtyard of the temple at the Feast of the Tabernacles and shouted, “I am the light of the world.” As explained by Lenski, “What that pillar was for Israel in the days gone by Jesus is for the whole world. That pillar was Jehovah, Jesus is God’s own Son.”
God is light. His nature is pure and holy. When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” He was declaring to the world His absolute deity. The Word who had been with God in the beginning was now incarnate on earth. He, and He alone is the Light of the world. He reveals Himself as no other possibly can. He is the I AM, and it is His light that shines and penetrates the darkness of this world.
Jesus shines brightly in a spiritually dark world. The light conquers the opposing power called “darkness.” Light triumphs over darkness. The Light is our guide. Jesus is the one who gives the believer guidance. When we are in fellowship with Him, He is leading us.
The world is in spiritual darkness, and Jesus Christ is our only hope. He alone is the “light of life” in a world of spiritual darkness. Jesus is the light, and this light is always linked with life. He is the Light that dispenses life to the person who lives in Him, and partakers of His life become light, walking as light in the dark world. Darkness and death go together; light and eternal resurrected life also go together.
3. The All-Sufficient Saviour and God:
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58)
God has revealed Himself to men. The great names of God in the Old Testament are self-revelations of the LORD God to men and women who were in helpless situations. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. In each case, God saw their need and demonstrated that He alone could perfectly meet the challenge. To Moses, He revealed Himself by His personal name, “I AM” or “I AM THAT I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”(John8:58). Jesus is saying that He is the same person as the “I AM,” the Self-sufficient One, without beginning and without end. He alone can meet our every need if we will trust Him. But we have to meet Him on His conditions, not ours.
He is a faithful Father. He sees and knows, and it is impossible for Him not to provide. Since He sees and knows, He always provides. He is the One who sees your need and will provide what is best for His own. He is everywhere present, surrounding, sustaining, and holding us secure in His safekeeping.
4. The Gate:
Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7)
During the night the sheep are herded inside a stone enclosure. There were no doors of any kind in these enclosures. In place of the door, there was just an open space. The shepherd himself lay down across the opening and entrance into the sheepfold. The shepherd was at the door. No sheep could get out and no enemy could come in except over his body. In a very literal sense, the shepherd was the door or the gate.
Jesus is alone the door. Jesus is saying, “I, and I alone, I and no other is the Door of the sheep.” Jesus is the one and only gate into heaven. Jesus Christ is the sole way to God. Jesus Christ is the only doorway salvation and eternal life.
5. The Good Shepherd:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
The LORD is our Good Shepherd, and He has assumed the responsibility of caring for His sheep. As a Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ keeps His sheep. He is so good that He gave His life for His sheep and rose from the dead.
Sheep lack a sense of direction, so they tend to wander off and are forever getting lost. As the Good Shepherd, He knows what He must do to protect dumb and foolish sheep. They are helpless and weak. His omnipotent strength and omniscient wisdom are sufficient for every need of His sheep. The only thing that will keep the Good Shepherd from tending His sheep is if they refuse to trust Him and refuse to let Him be their shepherd.
6. The Resurrection and the Life:
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25 & 26).
Martha’s response to Jesus is a settled and firm conviction. She replied, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
The resurrection and the life radiate from the one centre “I AM.” Jesus is the “I AM” and therefore He is the resurrection and the life. The “I AM” is self-existent. He has life in Himself even as the Father has life in Himself. He that was alive and was dead is alive forevermore. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. “I am the resurrection and the life.” Only God can say that!
When Jesus is with His people none of them shall die forever because He is the Resurrection and the Life. The Resurrection and the Life was standing there talking to Martha. The Resurrection and the Life stands before us and speaks to us if we will but listen and trust Him.
7. The Way and the Truth and the Life:
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Jesus Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. He is not one of an infinite number of ways to God; He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus made this statement with a sense of supreme authority on the night before His death. He answers to our greatest needs in life, and He can do that because He is the “I AM.” With the “I am,” there is the emphatic emphasis, “I and I alone, I and no other,” am the way, and the truth, and the life. The “way” is the means to God the Father. He is the only Way that takes us to the Father.
We are in desperate need for “the truth” in the place of religious ignorance and error. Jesus gives us a perfect revelation of the LORD God. We are alienated from God because of our sin, and we need the perfect way into His holy presence. However, there is a way to God through the person of Jesus Christ. We are dead in our trespasses and sins, and He alone gives us eternal life instead of death.
8. The Life in the Vine:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Christians live their lives with the attitude that God will help us win and gain everything we want on our own terms. It is a cheapened, commercialized version of Christianity, and it will never produce the fruit of righteousness that is pleasing to God. Some people imagine they can have the person of Christ without doctrinal responsibility. They like the idea of a sympathizing and loving Jesus, but they do not want to accept His teaching.
The result of such an attitude toward God and His purposes is always disillusionment, disappointment, doubt, and despair. We approach Him with our agendas and expect an abundant spiritual life. It doesn’t work that way. God will bless only that which will bring Him glory through an abundant life. The truth is God never blesses us on our terms or conditions. He will have nothing to do with it. However, He wants to bless each one of us abundantly according to His purposes.
Are we who are joined to Christ fruitful? Are we useful to the kingdom of God? Are we no more than dead wood, or at best just beautiful leaves?
A. W. Pink lucidly said, “The Vine and its branches express oneness, a common life, shared by all, with the complete dependency of the branches upon the Vine, resulting in fruit-bearing.”
The true, authentic vine is Jesus Christ. The value of the vine lies in its fruit. Jesus came to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. His fruit always has the sweet, authentic fragrance of righteousness. If it is not characterized by righteousness it did not come from His vine. God expects every believer to produce “fruit,” and “more fruit,” even “much fruit” for His glory.
9. The Alpha and Omega
“I am the Alpha and theOmega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13)
Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega (The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). He is the first and last. He is the beginning and the end.
Christ is the beginning and source of all things as well as the goal all things. Jesus claims to be the one who began all things, including time. He is also the end. He is the One who will bring everything to its consummation. He is the First and the Last because he is the Initiator and the Concluder of all things. He is the only true God and the only Creator. He lacks nothing and is perfectly complete within Himself for he is eternal God. It is God, the One true God, that is the First and he is also the Last. Because He created time, He is outside of time. When we look back to the creation, He is there as the First, and when we look forward to the eternal state, He is there as the Last. He is “All in all.”
We all stand at the threshold of eternity, and we all must be ready for the moment of Christ’s coming – either through our death or through his second advent. The eternal state will be one of blessing, abundance, and joy in His presence.
Selie Visa