John 6:56

6:52-59 The flesh and blood of the Son of man, denote the Redeemer in the nature of man; Christ and him crucified, and the redemption wrought out by him, with all the precious benefits of redemption; pardon of sin, acceptance with God, the way to the throne of grace, the promises of the covenant, and eternal life. These are called the flesh and blood of Christ, because they are purchased by the breaking his body, and the shedding of his blood. Also, because they are meat and drink to our souls. Eating this flesh and drinking this blood mean believing in Christ. We partake of Christ and his benefits by faith. The soul that rightly knows its state and wants, finds whatever can calm the conscience, and promote true holiness, in the redeemer, God manifest in the flesh. Meditating upon the cross of Christ gives life to our repentance, love, and gratitude. We live by him, as our bodies live by our food. We live by him, as the members by the head, the branches by the root: because he lives we shall live also.

He that acknowledgeth and receiveth me, though he seeth me as a man, consisting of flesh and blood, and that particularly applies himself to me as dying for the sins of the world, and committeth his soul in all its concerns for life and salvation to me, is united to me, and I to him: he is united to me by faith and love, Ephesians 3:17 1Jo 3:23,24 4:16 ; and I am united to him by a mutual love, John 14:23 , and by my Holy Spirit. As our bread and meat, which we are nourished by, doth not dwell in us, and nourish, unless we eat it; so neither doth Christ do good to any soul, unless such a soul as by faith receiveth him, and believeth in him. What is said in this verse maketh it evident that these verses cannot be understood of any sacramental eating, for it is not true that Christ dwelleth in every soul, or that every soul dwelleth and abideth in Christ, who doth sacramentally eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ. All unions are either natural or political unions. The strictest natural union is that of the head and members, the vine and the branches. The strictest political union is that of the husband and wife, Genesis 2:24 . The union betwixt Christ and a believing soul is set out by all these, John 15:1 Ephesians 5:30,31 Col 1:18 . For the nature of this union, see divines who have wrote on this argument.

56 . dwelleth in me, and I in him ] Or, abideth in Me and I in him . This is one of S. John’s very characteristic phrases to express the most intimate mutual fellowship and union. The word ‘abide’ is also characteristic, as we have seen. Comp. John 14:10 ; John 14:20 , John 15:4-5 , John 17:21 ; 1 John 3:24 ; 1 John 4:16 . Christ is at once the centre and circumference of the life of the Christian; the source from which it springs, and the ocean into which it flows; its starting-point and its goal.

(56) Dwelleth in me, and I in him. — Abideth gives the sense more fully. (Comp. John 14:2-23 ; John 15:4 et seq.; John 17:23 ; 1John 3:24 ; 1John 4:16 .) It is one of those deeper thoughts which meet us only in the words of the beloved disciple. The union which results from the communication of life is not temporary, but is one that remaineth. By virtue of it we abide in Christ, and He in us. It is our home life, that of every day, and will be the life of the eternal home ( John 14:2 ). (Comp. Note on John 5:38 , and the contrast in John 3:36 .)

Dwelleth in me - Is truly and intimately connected with me. To dwell or abide in him is to remain in the belief of his doctrine, and in the participation of the benefits of his death. Compare John 15:1-6 ; John 17:21-23 . I in him - Jesus dwells in believers by his Spirit and doctrine. When his Spirit is given them to sanctify them; when his temper, his meekness, his humility, and his love pervade their hearts; when his doctrine is received by them and influences their life, and when they are supported by the consolations of the gospel, it may be said that he abides or dwells in them.

John 6:56-57 . A statement parallel with what precedes, concerning him “who eats,” etc., and explaining how that comes to pass which is said of him in John 6:54 . ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ ] an expression distinctively Johannean of abiding, inner, and mutual fellowship ( John 15:4 ff., John 17:23 ; 1 John 3:24 ; 1 John 4:16 ), by virtue of which we live and move continually in Christ, and Christ works and rules in our minds, so that thus Christ’s life is the centre and circumference, i.e. the all-determining power of our life. John 6:57 . Consequence of this spiritual union: life, i.e. true imperishable life, as proceeding from the Father to the Son, so from the Son to believers. Observe (1) that the consequent clause does not begin with κἀγώ (Chrysostom and his followers); but, as John 6:56 requires, with κ . ὁ τρώγ . με , so also he that eateth me; (2) that in the antecedent clause the emphasis is on ζῶν and ζῶ (therefore ἀπέστειλε does not introduce any strange or unnatural thought, as Rückert supposes), while in the consequent it is upon the subject , which accordingly is made prominent by κἀκεῖνος , he also . ὁ ζῶν πατήρ ] the living Father (comp.

John 6:26 ), the Living One absolutely, in whose nature there is no element of death, but all is life. κἀγὼ ζῶ διὰ τ . πατ .] and I —by virtue of my community of essence with the Father— am alive because of the Father . διά with the accus. does not denote the cause (Castalio, Beza, De Wette, Gess, Rückert, and several), per patrem; nor for the Father (Paulus, Lange); but, according to the context, the reason: because of the Father, i.e. because my Father is the Living One. See on John 15:3 ; Plat. Conv . p. 203 E: ἀναβιώσκεται διὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς φύσιν ; and see Nägelsbach, Ilias , p. 39 ff. ed. 3. ὁ τρώγων με ] This sufficed to denote the relation, and is in keeping with the transition to John 6:58 ; whereas, if the discourse referred to the Lord’s Supper, the eating and drinking of the flesh and blood should again have been mentioned, as in John 6:53-56 . Note also that ὁ τρώγων με expresses a permanent, continuous relation, not one taking place from time to time, as in the Lord’s Supper. ζήσει ] in contrast with spiritual and eternal death. διʼ ἐμέ ] on account of me , because he thus takes up my life into himself.

Verse 56. - He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I (dwell) in him . This mutual indwelling is illustrated elsewhere ( John 15:1-5 ) by the image of the vine and its branches. The vine abides in the branch in the virtue of its life-giving forces. Cut away from the parent stem, it can do nothing. Fruitlessness condemns and fire consumes it. The branch abides in the vine , as deriving all its worth, its true place, its possibility of growth and fruit, from the vine (cf. also John 17:23 ; 1 John 3:24 ; 1 John 4:16 ). The dwelling of the believer in Christ involves an utter self-surrender to him, a recognition of the supreme claims of the God-Man and his work, a complete trust in him as the Source of all life, a sound and abiding place of rest, a justification before God as one with Christ, as one identified with him in his well pleasing to the Father. The dwelling of Christ in the believer is the fulness and riches of the Divine life. Christ liveth in him ( Galatians 2:20 ), thinks in his thoughts, moves through his will. This is sanctification. The believer is in Christ as the members are in the body. Christ is in the believer as God is in his temple. What is the condition of this mutual indwelling? Christ puts the condition of this Divine interpretation thus: "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." The verb is in the present tense, implying the continuous appropriation of the Divine sustenance. John 6:56