Let us turn in our Bibles this
evening to John chapter 6. John chapter 6 and beginning
our reading in verse 30 through verse 40. They said therefore
unto him, what signs showest thou then, that we may see and
believe thee? What doest thou work? Or what dost thou work? Our fathers
did eat manna in the desert, as it is written. He gave them
bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he that cometh down from heaven and giveth
life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord,
evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
I said unto you that you also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which
he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on
him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. We began looking at these verses
last Sunday evening, and we saw that these verses were spoken
to men and women who the Lord Jesus Christ had fed the day
before. Remember, he had fed 5,000 men,
not counting the women and children, and they followed him to Capernaum. And this is one of his longest
discourses that is recorded in the word of God. They came to
him and we saw they asked him two questions. Now, also pointed
out that at the end of his discourse, their reaction was, this is an
hard saying. The words which he spoke at this
time, they considered to be an hard saying. And from that time,
many of his disciples turned back. They did not continue to
follow along with the Lord. They came to him, and we saw
this last time, they asked two questions. The first question
was simply one out of curiosity. When comest thou hither? Or,
how did you come here? They saw that there was only
one ship on that side of the lake and he did not get into
the ship with his disciples and now here he is the next day on
the other side and in the synagogue. How or when did you come here? Just curiosity and many people
have questions that can only be called questions of curiosity,
not the most important questions, questions which are all important
concerning our relationship to God, just curiosity. I mentioned one that is a favorite,
you know, where did Cain get his wife? That's a favorite question,
isn't it? And there are many, many others
that I could mention. But their second question was,
and this is one that is common to all lost men. This is just
a common question that all lost men ask if they ever ask any
question. And it is this. What shall we
do? Notice in verse 28. What shall
we do? Do... Notice that. What shall we do that we might work the works of God. This is always the question of
the natural man. This was a question that the
person in the Gospels who is referred to as a rich young ruler
who came running to the Lord Jesus Christ and kneeled down
to him with this question, good master, what shall I do? What shall I do that I might
inherit eternal life. This is a way that the writer
of Proverbs tells us is a way which seems right unto men, but
the end thereof is the way of death. That is, desirous of earning
eternal life by doing. And I noticed this past week
that even the prodigal son, I had not seen this before, but even
the prodigal son, when he was in the hog pen and he decided
that he would return to his father, he would come back saying, I
have sinned against heaven and I am no more worthy to be called
thy son. Now listen, make me. Make me as one of thy hired servants. Now, when he got back, this is
what is a blessing when we think about it. When he got back and
his father ran out there and embraced him and kissed him,
he did say that. He did say, Father, I've sinned
against heaven and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But, before he could add, make
me as one of thy hired servants. His father said, bring the robe,
put the ring on his finger, put sandals. The father would have
no hired servants. God has no servants, no sons
who earn eternal life or salvation by doing. Yet this is a common question. I was reading and preparing these
messages looking at J.C. Rouse's comment in the Gospel
of John. And I don't know when, but sometime
in the past I'd read that and underlined these words. And this
is what he said. Nothing so thoroughly reveals
the hearts of men as a summons to believe on Christ. Exhortations to work excite no
prejudice and enmity. It is the exhortation to believe
that offends. Isn't that experience that we
see? Exhortations to work, and people
will do just about anything some so-called preacher tells them
to do. to earn eternal life, to merit eternal life, and not
be offended, no matter how difficult the task may be, but simply believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved is offensive. It's offensive to the natural
man. Now we'll continue looking at
these verses tonight. And there are two things that
I want to especially emphasize. First, Christ's confession. Christ's confession in verse
35. I am the bread of life. This is the first of these I
am statements in the Gospel of John, where He declares Himself,
of course, to be God. I am. I am the bread of life. Now let me give us five things
in these verses that he tells us about himself as the bread
of life. Number one, he is the bread of
life who is the true bread. Notice that in verse 32. Then
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses
gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth
you the true bread from heaven. Now it's clear from his words
in verse 32 where he says, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, that the he Notice the he in verse 31. Our fathers did
eat manna in the desert as it is written, he. Who do they mean,
he? Moses. Moses. Moses gave them bread from heaven
to eat. But our Lord corrects them. Moses
did not give the true bread. Moses gave you not that bread
from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. Moses did not have the power. He did not have the power to
give them that bread. It was God who gave it. The Father
gave them that bread every day that they went outside their
camps. There was manna, manna on the ground, except of course
on the Sabbaths when they were forbidden to gather. to do any
work on the Sabbath. But how could Moses, surely how
could Moses have the power to cause for 40 years that manna
to fall six days a week, every day for all of those 40 years? He, they say, He gave them bread
from heaven indeed. Moses, they say, gave them that
bread. And our Lord corrects them, telling
them that my Father giveth you the true bread. The bread which
fell during the wilderness days, it wasn't Moses who gave you
that bread. It was my Father. And that bread... Now here's the thing when He
says, I am the true bread. The true bread was illustrated
or pictured by the manna. That's all it was. It was typical
bread. But the true bread, the true
bread which gives everlasting life, not that manna, not anything
other than Him. I am the bread of life. So first
of all, He is the bread of life who is the true bread, contrasted
with the manna, which was only typical of the true bread. Number two, he is the bread of
life who was given by the Father. Verse 32, again, Moses gave you
not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you. the true
bread. Now you and I, when we read here
that the Father giveth the true bread, you and I recognize that
there is only one God. And yet there is a trinity of
persons in the Godhead. And that word Godhead is used
by the Apostle Paul. In the divine essence, the Godhead,
there are plurality of persons. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. And there's no inequality among
the Godhead, the divine presence, the Father is God, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. But in the covenant, in the covenant,
the everlasting covenant that God has made, each one of the
persons in the Godhead has a different office. And the office of the
father was to choose the church in Christ before the foundation
of the world. The office, or the work of the
son rather, was to betroth the church to himself forever. and
became the servant of Jehovah to redeem His church. And the
Holy Spirit, His office work, is to anoint both the head, that
is Christ, and all of His members. He regenerates and gives each
and every one of us life. But it is the Father, the point
I'm making, in the Godhead, It's not the Son who gave this true
bread. It's not the Holy Spirit. It's
the Father. It's God who gave this true bread. You say, well, that's the same
person, not the same person, the same being, that's true.
But yet there are distinguishing works of each person in the Godhead
that are revealed to us in the scripture. The Father chose His
church. The Son redeemed His church. And it is God, the Holy Spirit,
who regenerates His people. But we have verses like this.
God so loved the world. Now, who do we normally associate
with that word God in that text? The Father. God so loved the
world that He gave, and the reason we do is because He gave His
only begotten Son. And not only that verse, but
here in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 10, the apostle said, Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent,
sent His Son, gave His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. So first of all, he is the bread
who is the bread of life, rather, who is the true bread. Second,
he is the bread of life who was given by the Father. Doesn't this remind us of God's
great love that he would give his son, that he would give his
son for such as you and I? Well, number three, He is the
bread of life who came down from heaven. That's what he says in
verse 33. For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven. Now how did he come down from
heaven? Truly this is a mystery, isn't
it? Paul said great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. This is truly a mystery. How did he come down from heaven? Well, we refer to this as His
incarnation. When He was made, the Word was
made flesh. And we read about this, a very
well-known passage to all of us in Philippians. If you want
to turn here, Philippians chapter 2. He came down. He is the bread of life who came
down from heaven. Philippians chapter 2 and verses
6 through 8. We read, who, and that refers
back to Christ Jesus, being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. But he made himself of no reputation,
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. Remember what the apostle
wrote in Romans chapter 8 for what the law could not do. and
that it was weak. God sending his own son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh, in the flesh
of Christ. The sins of his people was condemned
and paid for. Listen to these words of the
Lord Jesus that he spoke to Nicodemus. And I said, truly this is a mystery.
Here's a man, the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and here's
Nicodemus. I guess they're about as close
to each other as we normally are when we are speaking to one
another. And he told Nicodemus, No man
hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,
even the Son of Man which is in heaven. which is, that's present, isn't
it? Present tense. Not who was, which
was, or who shall be. No man hath ascended up to heaven,
but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is
in heaven, even as I speak to you, as God. God is Indivisible. We understand that. He cannot
be divided. And when we speak of Him coming
down, we're not thinking about movement, but He took into union
with His person, that body that the Holy Spirit prepared Him.
He came down. The true bread, the bread of
life is He that came down from heaven. This is what gives value
to His sacrifice, isn't it? The fact that He is God. The
reason His blood redeems and His obedience justifies is because
He's God. Because He's God in flesh. The fourth thing, it says, He
said, rather, He is the bread of life who giveth life unto
the world. Verse 33. For the bread of God
is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the
world. The manna which was typical of
the true bread, the manna which God gave the nation of Israel
in the wilderness, and remember it was only for the nation of
Israel. There were other nations, maybe
even some in the wilderness, I don't know. But the manna was
given especially for the nation of Israel, for God's people which
He brought out of Egypt. The Amorites, the Canaanites,
the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and all the other ites that we
read of. The manna was for the nation
of Israel. Now when the Lord Jesus Christ
here uses the word world, He giveth life unto the world. It is in opposition to only the
nation of Israel. He gives life not to every individual
in all of the nations of the world, but He gives life to those
that the Father gave unto Him. As He said, Thou hast given Him
power over all flesh that He should Give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him. So the use of the word world
here, and take your concordance sometimes because this is a sticking
point with some people, isn't it? About the death of Christ
being particular for his people. And they, people that deny this,
they love John, they love to quote John 3 16. But just take your concordance
and work, look up the word world only in the gospel of John. And
see if there's any way that in every case it can refer to each
and every individual in this world. Now remember one scripture,
I don't think this is in John, but in Mark, the whole world,
the whole world has gone after him. Well surely that doesn't
mean every single solitary individual in the world had gone after Christ
at that time. People need to pay attention
to what the scripture says. And number five, so we see that
He is the true bread. He's the bread which came down
from heaven. He's the bread of life that gives
life unto the world. He's the bread of life that the
Father gave. But number five, He is the bread
of life that satisfies fully. Fully. Verse 35. I am the bread
of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never In this verse
I call our attention to the fact that coming to Christ is believing
on Christ. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. To
come to Christ, to receive Christ, is to believe on Christ. To as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
which believe on his name. He is the bread of life that
satisfies fully. A person who comes to Him, who
believes in Him, shall never hunger and shall never thirst. Now there's different ways to
look at these words of our Lord. Arthur Pink, he said this, this
is the way he understood these words. He said that Christ speaks
according to the fullness and satisfaction there is in Himself. and not according to our imperfect
apprehension and appreciation of Him. If we are straightened,
if you are a believer tonight in the Lord Jesus Christ and
you are hungry, you are thirsty, if we are straightened, it is
in ourselves, not in Him. There's a fullness in Him to
satisfy all our needs. And if we're not satisfied, the
fault does not lie with the bread. It lies with us. Now, the second
part of the message, that was Christ's confession. I am the
true bread, or I'm the bread of life, rather, the true bread,
the bread which came down from heaven, the bread which the Father
gave. The bread which giveth life unto
the world, the bread that fully satisfies. But I want us to notice,
secondly, Christ's mission. Not His confession now, but His
mission, He declares in verse 38. I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Now these are His words. I came down from heaven, not
to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. What
is the Father's will? He came to do the Father's will. What is the Father's will? Well, I believe we can learn
what the Father's will is considering these two things. Christ came
to do the Father's will. That's what He said, isn't it?
What did He do? What did He do? Let's look at
what He did, and we will ascertain what the Father's will is. Because He came to do the Father's
will, and surely no one would be so brazen as to say, well,
He failed. No, no. So what is the Father's
will? Well, by what we read of the
Lord Jesus Christ, let me show us these four things. First of
all, He preached the gospel. Look with me and we're going
to look at these verses, but look with me in Luke chapter
4. He came to do the Father's will,
so whatever He did, that is, that was the Father's will. Here
in Luke chapter 4 and verses 18 and 19, he declared, the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. He came to do the Father's will,
and this is what He did. He preached. He preached the
gospel to the poor. You know, we're not talking about
those who are materially or monetarily poor here. We're talking about
people who are poor in spirit. They may be monetarily poor also,
but poor, poor in spirit. He hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. To preach, notice, the acceptable
year of the Lord. Now this has reference to that
year of Jubilee, doesn't it? Remember, every 50th year in
the law that God gave to Moses, there was a year of Jubilee,
the 50th year. And all debts were forgiven,
and the land of the people that had sold their land to others,
was all returned to them. It was the year of jubilee. What a jubilee it was. But listen,
it only pictured, that's all it could do, it could only picture
the year of jubilee that He came to preach. The acceptable year
of the Lord, when all the debts of His people were paid and forgiven,
and all the blessings of God accrued unto those that He came
to save. Here's a second thing that He
did. He worked miracles. What was the Father's will? It
was, first of all, to preach the gospel to the poor. Second,
to work miracles. In John chapter 5 and verse 17,
we read this several weeks ago, but he said, My father worketh
hitherto, and I work. And the works which we know that
he did were works of mercy, healing the poor, opening the eyes of
the blind, cleansing the lepers, healing those that were were
crippled and all of those various diseases. This was the Father's
will. He did the Father's will and
those miracles identified Him as the one who was sent from
the Father. Number three, what did He do? He fulfilled all righteousness.
Look with me in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. Matthew 5 and verse 17. He said, Think not that I am
come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but
to fulfill the law and the prophets. The law and the prophets. All
the Old Testament scripture which spoke of Him. He came to fulfill,
not to destroy the law, The law which required perfect obedience,
absolute obedience, but to fulfill that law. To fill that law full. To do everything that the law
commanded. And in doing that, we know he
brought in that everlasting righteousness. That righteousness which is yours,
if you are a believer tonight. that righteousness which is imputed
unto all them who believe. And then here's a fourth thing.
He came. What was He come to do? The Father's
will. He came in Matthew chapter 20
and verse 28. He said, Even as the Son of Man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give
his life a ransom for many. This was the Father's will. I
came, he said. I came down from heaven, not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me, which
we see included preaching the gospel, working the miracles,
fulfilling the law, and giving his life a ransom for many. But now back in our text, I said,
how can we How can we determine the Father's will? First of all,
by what He did. And we've looked at four of those
things. But secondly, what He reveals here in our text. John chapter 6 and verse 39. This is the Father's
will which has sent me. that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day. It is the Father's will that
he lose nothing that was given to him. And you notice when he
speaks of raising it up again at the last day, this includes
even our bodies, doesn't it? The bodies, that's what's going
to be raised. And it was the Father's will
that He lose nothing, not our soul nor our bodies, but that
He raise it up at the last day. All who were given unto Him,
that He lose nothing. And secondly, it is the Father's
will, He says, everyone that seeth the Son, Notice that in
verse 40. And this is the will of him that
sent me that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him
may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the
last day. It is the Father's will that
everyone that sees the Son and believes on him have everlasting
life. Now, men by nature are blind. By nature, all men, we come into
this world and we are blind. And our eyes, rather, are shut
to all that is spiritually good. But it is the Spirit of God who
opens the blinded eyes. and He illuminates the understanding. And in His light, the light of
God the Holy Spirit, we not only see ourselves, we do. We see ourselves, we see our
sin, we see our absolute want of righteousness, we see our
lost estate, our lost condition, but we also see Christ. And we see in Him beauty, glory,
and excellency in Him. We see His ability to save and His willingness to save.
You see that? This is the Father's will, that
everyone that seeth the Son, we see ourselves, we see our
need, that's true, but we also see in Christ and able, a sufficient,
a willing Savior, that He's just the Savior that I need. He's
exactly the Savior that I need. Why? Because He's God. And He satisfied God as man in
my place and in my stead. And He paid my sin debt. He paid a debt He did not owe.
He paid a debt that I could never have paid. And we see his righteousness. We see the peace that only comes
from him, reconciliation with God, pardon, cleansing, wisdom,
strength, grace, life, salvation. And we go out of ourselves to
him for all, everything. We don't look to ourselves for
anything, but we look to Christ for all our wisdom, our righteousness,
our sanctification, and our redemption. Now this site, it may be just
glimmering. Remember that one man in the
gospel with the Lord He was blind, and the Lord opened his eyes,
and the first thing he said is, I see men as trees walking. This
sight, everyone that seeth the sun and believeth on him, it
may be just glimmering at first, but it's saving. It's saving
because we see Christ, the Savior, and we trust in Him. Someone said the other day, how
much does a person have to know to be saved? It's not how much
you know, it's who you know. It's who you know, isn't it?
We must know Him. We must see Him and believe in
Him. Let's sing a couple