Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1)
Message Seven
The Bread of Life
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger…
57 As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Word of Appetizer
What is the main purpose of the Lord came down out of heaven?
The Lord’s purpose in coming to the earth was not to perform signs and wonders or to ask people to labor and work. He is the bread that came down out of heaven in order for man to eat. He who comes to Him will by no means hunger, and he who believes into Him will by no means ever thirst.
The Lord Jesus came to earth to accomplish one central matter, that is, to give Himself to man as food so that He could be eaten by man as spiritual nourishment and be digested to become man’s constitution.
Spiritual Burden
The primary purpose for which the Lord Jesus came down out of heaven to the earth was to accomplish one central matter—to give Himself to us as food—the bread of life—so that He could be eaten by us as spiritual nourishment and be digested by us to become our constitution.
Daily we need to come to the Lord and touch Him as the Spirit in the Word; if we do this, we will feed on Christ as the bread of life.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
If we read John 6 carefully, we should have a deep impression of this chapter and pay attention to the sequence of seven crucial points.
The primary purpose for which the Lord Jesus came down out of heaven to the earth was to accomplish one central matter—to give Himself to us as food—the bread of life—so that He could be eaten by us as spiritual nourishment and be digested by us to become our constitution.
Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John is a detailed discourse on the Lord Jesus being the bread of life; He declared, “I am the bread of life”.
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
The Experience of Life
He gave His body for us and shed His blood so that we might receive eternal life; to eat His flesh is to receive by faith everything He accomplished in giving His body for us; to drink His blood is to receive by faith everything He accomplished in shedding His blood for us. Thus, to eat His flesh and drink His blood is to receive Him as life and the supply of life in His redemption through believing in what He accomplished for us on the cross.
Eating the Lord Jesus is to receive Him into us, to be absorbed in a life-giving way by the regenerated new man; then we live by the Lord we have received.
Practice and Application
To eat Him is not a once-for-all matter; rather, we need to contact the Lord and eat Him daily, for He is edible; we need to exercise our spirit to feed on Him, receiving Him, digesting Him, experiencing Him, enjoying Him, and applying Him moment by moment.
Daily we need to come to the Lord and touch Him as the Spirit in the Word; if we do this, we will feed on Christ as the bread of life; our need is Christ as our life supply and then daily contact Him as the life-giving Spirit embodied in the Word.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 The Lord Jesus came down out of heaven to be the bread of life so that anyone who eats of Him would not die (John 6:33, 35)
(Please illustrate that the seven deep impressions we should have of this chapter if we have carefully read John chapter six.)
T2 The Lord Jesus came down out of heaven to earth in the form of food (John 6:33, 35)
(Please illustrate that prostrate ourselves before Him or to offer sacrifices to Him. He wants us to receive Him and take Him in as life. )
Day 2
T1 To eat Him is not a once-for-all matter. It is a daily matter (John 6:27, 32)
(Please illustrate that we must exercise our spirit to feed on Him as the word, and as the Spirit.)
T2 The food which abides to eternal life is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (John 6:27, 32)
(Please illustrate that He is the true food, and all other kinds of food are mere shadows of Him as the real food. )
Day 3
T1 We must eat Christ every day so that we may live by Christ (John 6:51, 53)
(Please illustrate that the meaning of eating and drinking is to receive something into ourselves.)
T2 The separation of blood and flesh indicates death (John 6:51, 53)
(Please illustrate that to eat the Lord’s flesh and drink His blood is to believe in Him, because to believe into is to receive.)
Day 4
T1 Seeing the five characteristics of the Lord as the bread of life (John 6:55-57)
(Please illustrate that we live by eating; in the same way, we must eat the Lord so that we can live by the Lord.))
T2 Day by day, we should exercise our spirit to touch Him (John 6:55-57)
(Please illustrate that Christ is not only your life, He is also your life supply, our daily food. )
Day 5
T1 It is as the life-giving Spirit that He can be the life and life supply to us (John 6:63, 1 Cor. 15:45)
(Please illustrate that the reason why many people misunderstand John chapter 6 verse 63. )
T2 Knowing Christ as the Spirit (John 6:63, 1 Cor. 15:45)
(Why do we call upon the Lord Jesus but receive the Spirit? )
Day 6
T1 The words the Lord spoke are the realization of the life-giving Spirit (John 6:63, 68)
(Please illustrate that the Spirit is alive, yet very mysterious, but the word is reality. )
T2 The Lord is both Spirit and Word (John 6:63, 68)
(Please illustrate that when we receive the word into ourselves, the word immediately becomes the Spirit; when we speak the word, the Spirit becomes the word again.)
