Entering the Land 6

John the 6th chapter has been a paradox in the church. Not only did the people in Jesus' time not understand how His body could be true food and His blood be true drink, it is not clearly understood in our day. Some strange doctrines are the result.

JOH 6:53 Jesus therefore 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 yourselves. JOH 6:54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. JOH 6:55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. JOH 6:56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

Eating the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking His blood is critical to the christian and is the basis of eternal life and the resurrection. Much of the church has taught the Lord's table satisfies this demand. However the teachings of scripture on the Lord's table do not include any of these points. The teaching on the Lord's table centers around remembering the Lord's death until He comes and acknowledging , and participating in the new covenant.

If we look at the context of John 6 it may help us understand Jesus' words. JOH 6:31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, '\ He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. \'" JOH 6:32 Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. JOH 6:33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." JOH 6:34 They said therefore to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." JOH 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

This was the time of the Feast of Passover and Jesus had just feed the multitudes, supernaturally, by multiplying the bread and the fishes. The people recognized there was a prophet in their midst. They were remembering the first Passover and the supernatural provision of the manna their fathers ate free every morning. Perhaps this prophet would also provide bread and fish free every morning. This welfare mentality is not limited to this generation. They ask Jesus "What sign do you perform". How about giving us bread like Moses? Jesus said to start with Moses didn't give you that bread, My Father supplied the bread.

Now Jesus gives the meaning of the manna. It was just a type and picture of what was to come. Now the true bread has come. Now My Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. Now the reality is here. I am the reality and the fulfillment of that bread. Israel ate that supernatural bread of God but they still died. I am the true bread and if you eat me, you will not die.

JOH 6:52 The Jews therefore {began} to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us {His} flesh to eat?" This is still a valid question today, and the argument still goes on. The doctrine of "transubstantiation" comes from this question. This doctrine teaches that at the consecration of the bread and the wine in the Eucharist, the elements actually turn into the body and the blood of Christ. Even though the appearance doesn't change, the change does occur. Many churches refute this doctrine.

The answer must lay in the understanding of the manna. EXO 16:4 Then the \Lord\ said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. The first point is, the manna was given to test Israel to see if they would walk in God's instruction.

God had a two fold plan. To feed Israel supernaturally and to see if they would obey His voice. They could gather enough bread for one day, except for the day before sabbath. If they tried to horde the bread it would spoil. They had to gather all they could eat but they had to eat all they gathered.

EXO 16:12 "I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the \Lord\ your God.'" Another purpose of the supernatural provision was so the people would learn to know God.

The manna fell in a cloud of dew and when the dew lifted the bread remained for a short time. If the people slept in and wasn't there at the exact time the bread disappeared. The manna also taught them discipline.

EXO 16:16 "This is what the \Lord\ has commanded, 'Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.'" EXO 16:18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.

When they gathered exactly one omer apiece, as God said, there was no excess and no lack. EXO 16:31 And the house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. NUM 11:8 The people would go about and gather {it} and grind {it} between two millstones or beat {it} in the mortar, and boil {it} in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil.

Israel could choose how they would prepare the manna in order to have variety, the manna was God's chosen food for them. DEU 29:5 "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. DEU 29:6 "You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the \Lord\ your God. PSA 78:23 Yet He commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven; PSA 78:24 And He rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven. PSA 78:25 Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.

This is a strong point. The manna was the same food that the angels in heaven ate. The angels are some of the most powerful beings of God's creation. Angels food will also make us strong.

DEU 8:3 "And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the \Lord.\ God gave them the bread out of heaven so they would know the man does not live by bread alone but must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Man's true food is to eat and live by the RHEMA, the now word of God. That word that proceeds out of God's mouth. There two mannas in scripture. One was the manna that Israel ate in the wilderness and died. The other was the true manna that came down out of heaven from God to give life to the whole world.

In that same way there are two kinds of the word of God. The written word and the living word. There is the written scriptures, and there is the spoken word of God. The permanent, eternal word, and there is the voice of God. The logos and the Rhema.

There is the bread you eat and still die and there is the bread you eat and never die. Maybe we can now answer this question in John 6:52. JOH 6:52 The Jews therefore {began} to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us {His} flesh to eat?" First we must see the bread He was speaking about came down out of heaven to give life to the world, as opposed to Israel only. There was the bread they cooked and ate and there is this spiritual bread. Then Jesus said, we must eat His flesh. There must be two kinds of flesh. The natural which God forbid Israel to eat and there is the spiritual, which God commanded them to eat.

We must remember these are not ordinary words. These words are spirit and they are life. These are words of God, not words of man. Interpreting these words as ordinary words is where strange doctrines arise. We must receive the Holy Spirit's light or we will just try to work this out by natural logic. This is why some interpret this as communion.

From our study of John 1, what was it that came down out of heaven from God? Not the natural body of Jesus. That was conceived in the body of Mary and was born as the son of man. As a baby. Then what came down out of heaven? The logos. The eternal Word Of God, that had no beginning. He always existed. He was always with God and He was God. That Word was Made flesh and lived among us.

Then what are we to eat? The eternal Word of God. We must eat from every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We must eat from the eternal substance that was made flesh. The Word of God.

There are two kinds of flesh. The one profits NOTHING. The other profits Everything. The flesh Jesus is speaking about can be eaten in our time period. That is the Word of God, that gives life to the world.

The practical application of the manna for the church today is the eating of the Word of God. You must gather all you can eat but you must eat all you gather. You must gather for yourself and your household. Eating all you gather means, put the word of God into your life. Don't leave any left over because it will bred worms. God will supply in abundance. You may prepare it in many ways that is edible. Variety is in the preparation of the Word, not in many different foods. The reason God gives the manna is to test us to see if we will walk according to God's ways. God's word tests us.

Some will say, If that is how it is then it is better we don't know or hear. But this is the food God has provided for us to eat. Unless we eat we have no life and we die. Since this is spiritual food , if we don't eat , we die spiritually.

The people got tired of just eating manna so they asked for variety. Give us the leeks and the garlics, cucumbers and melons,fish and onions. We are sick of this manna all the time.

The church also wants more variety. Bring in the gospel clowns, the singing groups, some theatrical acts, spiritual dancing. We are tired of the Word of God all the time.

It is the Word of God that is the angels food. It may make them strong but why do we have to eat it? We are totally dependent upon God and have to gather it every morning. We should hire ourselves a pastor who will go out early every morning and gather up enough for all of us. He can prepare it and serve it to us. If we show up for the meal, it is enough. It would be better if the pastor delivered the baked manna to our houses.

When Israel entered into Canaan and ate some of the produce the manna stopped. From this we see the Kingdom of God has it's own kind of spiritual food. The way the spiritual church feeds itself will change in the Kingdom. We must learn to eat from the produce of the Kingdom. We will be eating from The Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. Eating from every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The Kingdom is not one person feeding another but each person EATING HIS FLESH AND DRINKING HIS BLOOD. This requires intimacy with Jesus. That is the basis of the Kingdom of God.


	ENTERING THE LAND NO. 6 THE MANNA John the 6th chapter has been a paradox in the church. Not only did the people in Jesus' time not understand how His body could be true food and His blood be true drink, it is not clearly understood in our day. Some strange doctrines are the result. JOH 6:53 Jesus therefore 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 yourselves. JOH 6:54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. JOH 6:55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. JOH 6:56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. Eating the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking His blood is critical to the christian and is the basis of eternal life and the resurrection. Much of the church has taught the Lord's table satisfies this demand. However the teachings of scripture on the Lord's table do not include any of these points. The teaching on the Lord's table centers around remembering the Lord's death until He comes and acknowledging , and participating in the new covenant. If we look at the context of John 6 it may help us understand Jesus' words. JOH 6:31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, '\ He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. \'" JOH 6:32 Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. JOH 6:33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." JOH 6:34 They said therefore to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." JOH 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. This was the time of the Feast of Passover and Jesus had just feed the multitudes, supernaturally, by multiplying the bread and the fishes. The people recognized there was a prophet in their midst. They were remembering the first Passover and the supernatural provision of the manna their fathers ate free every morning. Perhaps this prophet would also provide bread and fish free every morning. This welfare mentality is not limited to this generation. They ask Jesus "What sign do you perform". How about giving us bread like Moses? Jesus said to start with Moses didn't give you that bread, My Father supplied the bread. Now Jesus gives the meaning of the manna. It was just a type and picture of what was to come. Now the true bread has come. Now My Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. Now the reality is here. I am the reality and the fulfillment of that bread. Israel ate that supernatural bread of God but they still died. I am the true bread and if you eat me, you will not die. JOH 6:52 The Jews therefore {began} to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us {His} flesh to eat?" This is still a valid question today, and the argument still goes on. The doctrine of "transubstantiation" comes from this question. This doctrine teaches that at the consecration of the bread and the wine in the Eucharist, the elements actually turn into the body and the blood of Christ. Even though the appearance doesn't change, the change does occur. Many churches refute this doctrine. The answer must lay in the understanding of the manna. EXO 16:4 Then the \Lord\ said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. The first point is, the manna was given to test Israel to see if they would walk in God's instruction. God had a two fold plan. To feed Israel supernaturally and to see if they would obey His voice. They could gather enough bread for one day, except for the day before sabbath. If they tried to horde the bread it would spoil. They had to gather all they could eat but they had to eat all they gathered. EXO 16:12 "I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the \Lord\ your God.'" Another purpose of the supernatural provision was so the people would learn to know God. The manna fell in a cloud of dew and when the dew lifted the bread remained for a short time. If the people slept in and wasn't there at the exact time the bread disappeared. The manna also taught them discipline. EXO 16:16 "This is what the \Lord\ has commanded, 'Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.'" EXO 16:18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. When they gathered exactly one omer apiece, as God said, there was no excess and no lack. EXO 16:31 And the house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. NUM 11:8 The people would go about and gather {it} and grind {it} between two millstones or beat {it} in the mortar, and boil {it} in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil. Israel could choose how they would prepare the manna in order to have variety, the manna was God's chosen food for them. DEU 29:5 "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. DEU 29:6 "You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the \Lord\ your God. PSA 78:23 Yet He commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven; PSA 78:24 And He rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven. PSA 78:25 Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance. This is a strong point. The manna was the same food that the angels in heaven ate. The angels are some of the most powerful beings of God's creation. Angels food will also make us strong. DEU 8:3 "And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the \Lord.\ God gave them the bread out of heaven so they would know the man does not live by bread alone but must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Man's true food is to eat and live by the RHEMA, the now word of God. That word that proceeds out of God's mouth. There two mannas in scripture. One was the manna that Israel ate in the wilderness and died. The other was the true manna that came down out of heaven from God to give life to the whole world. The first manna was just for Israel. Other nations could not eat from it. The true bread is for all who will receive it and eat. In that same way there are two kinds of the word of God. The written word and the living word. There is the written scriptures, and there is the spoken word of God. The permanent, eternal word, and there is the voice of God. The logos and the Rhema. There is the bread you eat and still die and there is the bread you eat and never die. Maybe we can now answer this question in John 6:52. JOH 6:52 The Jews therefore {began} to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us {His} flesh to eat?" First we must see the bread He was speaking about came down out of heaven to give life to the world, as opposed to Israel only. There was the bread they cooked and ate and there is this spiritual bread. Then Jesus said, we must eat His flesh. There must be two kinds of flesh. The natural which God forbid Israel to eat and there is the spiritual, which God commanded them to eat. We must remember these are not ordinary words. These words are spirit and they are life. These are words of God, not words of man. Interpreting these words as ordinary words is where strange doctrines arise. We must receive the Holy Spirit's light or we will just try to work this out by natural logic. This is why some interpret this as communion. From our study of John 1, what was it that came down out of heaven from God? Not the natural body of Jesus. That was conceived in the body of Mary and was born as the son of man. As a baby. Then what came down out of heaven? The logos. The eternal Word Of God, that had no beginning. He always existed. He was always with God and He was God. That Word was Made flesh and lived among us. Then what are we to eat? The eternal Word of God. We must eat from every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We must eat from the eternal substance that was made flesh. The Word of God. There are two kinds of flesh. The one profits NOTHING. The other profits Everything. The flesh Jesus is speaking about can be eaten in our time period. That is the Word of God, that gives life to the world. The practical application of the manna for the church today is the eating of the Word of God. You must gather all you can eat but you must eat all you gather. You must gather for yourself and your household. Eating all you gather means, put the word of God into your life. Don't leave any left over because it will bred worms. God will supply in abundance. You may prepare it in many ways that is edible. Variety is in the preparation of the Word, not in many different foods. The reason God gives the manna is to test us to see if we will walk according to God's ways. God's word tests us. Some will say, If that is how it is then it is better we don't know or hear. But this is the food God has provided for us to eat. Unless we eat we have no life and we die. Since this is spiritual food , if we don't eat , we die spiritually. The people got tired of just eating manna so they asked for variety. Give us the leeks and the garlics, cucumbers and melons,fish and onions. We are sick of this manna all the time. The church also wants more variety. Bring in the gospel clowns, the singing groups, some theatrical acts, spiritual dancing. We are tired of the Word of God all the time. It is the Word of God that is the angels food. It may make them strong but why do we have to eat it? We are totally dependent upon God and have to gather it every morning. We should hire ourselves a pastor who will go out early every morning and gather up enough for all of us. He can prepare it and serve it to us. If we show up for the meal, it is enough. It would be better if the pastor delivered the baked manna to our houses. When we try to gather, we can't make anything out of it that is edible When Israel entered into Canaan and ate some of the produce the manna stopped. From this we see the Kingdom of God has it's own kind of spiritual food. The way the spiritual church feeds itself will change in the Kingdom. We must learn to eat from the produce of the Kingdom. We will be eating from The Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. Eating from every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The Kingdom is not one person feeding another but each person EATING HIS FLESH AND DRINKING HIS BLOOD. This requires intimacy with Jesus. That is the basis of the Kingdom of God.