Faith Jesus Taught

Why did Jesus say He is the bread of life (John 6:35)? I always wondered. Furthermore, why did He say one of the most controversial words: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (v. 53)? That was a “hard saying” (v. 60). Many were offended by the saying and turned their back to Jesus (vs. 61, 66). So then, why would Jesus have said such words?

We also have to get the point of Jesus’ words of these. But, unfortunately, we are not at a vantage point in this regard. However, we have the scripture to find the context.

The context is that Jesus is talking about faith, which is the true work of God. True work is not for perishable food but eternal food (John 6:27, 29). And Jesus is the bread of life, His flesh is true food, and His blood is true drink (vs. 35, 55). True work, believing in Jesus, is to eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood. Then, what does eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood mean?

Eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood means becoming one with Him. Eating His flesh is like replacing our flesh with His and drinking His blood with His. Ideally, we have become Him in spirit after eating His flesh and drinking His blood enough. Jesus described this state as “abiding”–“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:56).

Therefore, according to Jesus, faith is to become Him. In other words, faith is abiding in Him and He in us. The abiding is like an Avatar. The spirit of an Avatar is the person’s, but the body is of the Avatar. The body of the Avatar doesn’t have any will; all of the will the Avatar has is that of the person. Therefore, it is the perfect surrender of the body to the spirit. This faith is what Jesus teaches by the hard sayings.

Why baptism saved us? Baptism is the faith Jesus teaches. We died to our old selves. God raised us from the dead, giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:38). We who were baptized in the name of Jesus are like the Avatars. The body is still ours, but our spirit is Jesus’. It is why salvation by faith can’t be completed without baptism in the name of Jesus.

Jesus’ hard sayings in John chapter 6 are all about true faith. It is abiding in Him and He in us. True and genuine baptism in the name of Jesus is the only process that makes true faith live in the person. Jesus said those hard words for people to believe in Him and be saved.