Saving Faith: Satisfied by the Bread of Life

John 6:35-59

Passage

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” 41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life.” 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Outline

1. The Absolute Sovereignty of God in Salvation

· The Father Gave a People to the Son (v. 37a, 39b; Ephesians 1:4)

· The Son Secured Their Salvation through His Atoning Death (v. 51; Acts 20:28)

· The Father Draws Them to the Son (v. 44)

· The Son Perfectly Preserves Them (v. 37b, 39b)

· The Son Promises Future Resurrection (v. 39c, 40, 44b)

“John is not embarrassed by this theme [Divine sovereignty in salvation], because unlike many contemporary philosophers and theologians, he does not think that human responsibility is thereby mitigated. Thus, he can speak with equal ease of those who look to the Son and believe in him: this they must do, if they are to enjoy eternal life. But this responsibility to exercise faith does not, for the Evangelist, make God contingent.”

“The obedience of the Son (v. 38) … stands behind the assurance that those whom the Father has given to the Son will be preserved to the end, and will be resurrected on the last day. In other words, if any of them failed to achieve this goal, it would be the Son’s everlasting shame: it would mean either that he was incapable of performing what the Father willed him to do, or that he was flagrantly disobedient to his Father. Both alternatives are unthinkable.” [1]

2. The Required Response of Man in Salvation

· Come to Jesus (v. 35a, 37, 44, 45)

· Believe in Jesus (v. 35b, 40, 47)

· Look at the Son (v. 40)

· Eat the Bread of Life (v. 50-58)

3. The Nature of Saving Faith

· Saving Faith Happens Internally (v. 35)

--all the actions of point #2 are internal not external—in the heart

· Saving Faith is the Work of God (v. 44, 45)

· Saving Faith is Finding Your Soul’s Satisfaction in Jesus

If you have come to Jesus and have not found him to be satisfying to your soul, then either Jesus is a liar, or you have not truly come to him.

· Saving Faith is Persevering Faith

Our hope of perseverance and final salvation rests in God’s unshakeable promise and power, but our responsibility lies in regularly drawing near to Jesus and enjoying him. (Greek present tense of verbs)

If God has begun the good work in you, he will complete it (Philippians 1:6); the means by which he completes it is your regular communion with Jesus—continuing to feast on the Bread of Life.

· Saving Faith Results in Eternal Life (v. 51, 54, 58)

Application:

Test yourself to see if your faith is genuine. (2 Cor. 13:5; 1 Cor. 15:1-2)

· 2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

· 1 Corinthians 15:1-2: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Keep coming to Jesus for the continued satisfaction of your soul. (1 Peter 2:2-3)

· 1 Peter 2:2-3: Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Praise God for his amazing gift of salvation in his Son, Jesus Christ.