John 6:47-58 Truly, truly, I say to you, He that believes on me has everlasting life.… Few passages have been so wrested as this. Men have turned meat into poison. I. WHAT THESE VERSES DO NOT MEAN. 1. Literal eating and drinking, or partaking of the Lord's Supper. We may eat that, and yet not partake of Him. For — (1) A literal eating and drinking would have been revolting to the Jews and contradictory to their law. (2) To take this literal view would be to interpose a bodily act between the soul and salvation, for which there is no precedent in Scripture. (3) It would involve most blasphemous and profane consequences. It would shut out from heaven the penitent thief, and admit to heaven thousands of godless communicants. 2. This view arises from man's morbid habit of paltry and carnal sense on Scriptural expressions. Men dislike that which makes the state of the heart the principal thing. II. WHAT THEY DO MEAN. 1. "Flesh and blood " means Christ's sacrifice. 2. "Eating and drinking" means reception of Christ's sacrifice. III. THE PRACTICAL LESSONS THEY SUGGEST. 1. That faith in Christ's atonement is necessary to salvation. 2. That faith in the atonement unites us to the Saviour and entitles us to the highest privileges. 3. That faith In the atonement is — (1) A personal act; (2) a daily act; (3) a conscious act. (Bp. Ryle.) Parallel Verses KJV: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.WEB: Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life. |
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