John, chap. vi. From the 44th to the 51st verses, inclusive.
44. No man can come to me, except the Father, which has sent me, draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48. I am that bread of life.
49. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.
51. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
The sole object of this text is, to teach us the nature of Christian faith, and to stimulate us to the exercise of it: and, indeed, the general tenor of the Gospel of John, goes but little farther than to instruct us, how we must believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ; and that such a faith as is grounded on the true promise of God made to Christ, will save us; as the text under consideration plainly declares.
Those, therefore, who teach any other way or means to obtain righteousness, are here considered as ignorant of the true way. For whatsoever is the invention of men, can avail them nothing towards obtaining salvation. Although a man may exercise the duties of godliness, although his external works may appear holy before men, yet he will not be able to attain unto heaven, unless God, through his word, proffer him his divine grace, and enlighten his understanding, that he may walk in the way of life.
Now the way of life, is the Lord Jesus Christ; and he that seeketh another way, as those most certainly do, who trust in their own works, erreth from the right and true way; for Paul saith, Gal. ii. "If righteousness be by the law," (that is, by the works of the law,) "then Christ died without a cause." Therefore, I say, a man must be, as it were, bruised and broken by the Gospel; he must be humbled from the bottom of his heart; he must feel himself weak and frail, and wholly unable to do any thing of himself. He must fall prostrate before God, and cry, Help me,
O omnipotent God, merciful Father, I am not able to help myself! Help, O Lord Christ, mine own help is nothing!
Christ, in Luke xx. 18. speaking of the chief corner stone, which was rejected of the builders, saith: "Whosoever shall fall upon that stone, shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Now this stone is
Christ; therefore, we must either fall upon him through a sense of our imbecility and weakness, and so be broken, or he will fall upon us in his righteous judgement, and we shall be crushed under the weight of our own sins.
Christ saith in the text, "No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." The conclusion therefore is, that he whom the Father draweth not, and who cometh not to the Son, shall surely perish; for he is the only name given unto us whereby we can be saved; and without him there is no salvation: if he help not, our case is most miserable. Of him Peter also speaketh in the Acts of the Apostles, chap. iv. "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Where then is the doctrine of those divines and schoolmen, who have taught, that by many works we must attain unto righteousness! How is the doctrine of that great master,
Aristotle, confounded, who taught that reason instructeth men to do the best things, and is always ready to direct them in the right way? For this doctrine
Christ doth here disprove; and doth positively assert, that unless the Father draw us to him, we shall perish forever. Hence all men must confess their imbecility and slowness to good things; for if any man persuade himself that he is able to do any good work by his own strength, truly he accuseth Christ of falsehood; and with great arrogance, presumeth to come to heaven, although he is not drawn of the Father.
The word of God, wherever it is soundly preached, casteth down whatsoever things are high and great; it maketh mountains even with vallies, and overthroweth all hills; as the prophet Esaias saith, "that all hearts hearing the word may despair of themselves, otherwise they cannot come unto Christ." The works of God are such, that while they kill, they make alive; while they condemn they save; as Hannah, the mother of Samuel, singeth of the Lord: "The Lord killeth and maketh alive; bringeth down to the grave, and setteth up again.
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich; bringeth low, and heaveth up on high."
Wherefore, if a man be so stricken of God in his heart, that he acknowledgeth himself such a one as ought for his sins to be condemned, he surely is that very man whom God by his word has stricken, and by this stroke hath fastened upon him the bond of his divine grace, whereby he draweth him, that he may provide for his soul, and take care of him. At first, he could find within himself no help nor support, neither did he desire any; but now he hath found the special consolation and promise of God, which is this: "He that asketh receiveth, he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it is opened."
By such a promise, man is more and more comforted in mind, and conceiveth a greater trust and confidence in God: for as soon as he heareth that this is the work of God alone, he desireth of him, as at the hand of his merciful father, that he will vouchsafe to draw him. He is also encouraged to lay hold on the promises of God, he trusteth in his word, and hereby he obtaineth a certain testimony, that he is one whom God hath drawn: as John saith in his first.
Epistle, v. 10. "He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself."
He that is thus taught of God, he that hath this witness in himself, will find God no other than a helper, a comforter, and a Saviour. It therefore follows, that if we believe aright, God will ever be to us a comforter, and a giver of every good and perfect gift: he will require nothing of us, but will freely bestow upon us whatsoever things may be for our good; as he himself saith, in Psalms viii. "I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt; open thy mouth wide and I will fill it." Who would not love such a God; a God who is so loving and kind to us, and who so readily offereth us his divine grace and goodness?
They who do unadvisedly neglect so great grace as is offered to them by God, shall in no wise escape his severe and eternal judgement; as is said in the epistle to the Hebrews: "If they that transgressed the law of Moses escaped not unpunished, but died without mercy, how much more grievously shall God punish them who count the blood of the testament as an unholy thing, and tread underfoot the Son of God."
How diligent is Paul in all his epistles to teach how the true knowledge of God may be obtained! How ardently doth he wish that men may possess this knowledge! the language of his soul is, if ye only knew and understood what
God is, ye would then be safe: then ye would love him, and do all things that are approved of him. How desirous is he also that those who have obtained this knowledge should increase in it! Thus he saith, Col. i. "We cease not to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that ye might walk worthy of the Lord, pleasing unto all, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness, giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light"
Thus we learn from the first part of the text, that the knowledge of God cometh from the Father:—that it is necessary he should lay the foundation of our building, in order that our labour may not be in vain. This God effecteth through the preaching of his word, by those ministers whom he hath taught and sent forth to make known unto us the way of salvation. For St. Paul saith, Rom. x. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." And first, we have preached unto us the law; whereby we learn that all the deeds and actions of our lives, although they may have appeared righteous before men, are of no estimation before God; nay, that they are even abhorred and loathed of him; and that it is utterly impossible for us to obtain salvation thereby. Afterwards, we have the preaching of grace, which teacheth us, that although we cannot be saved by our own works of righteousness, yet it has pleased God to make provision for us, in order that we may not be utterly condemned and cast off; that he will receive us in the name of his beloved Son, whom he has given unto us as a mediator and Saviour: and that he will even make us heirs in his kingdom; yea, and lords over all things in heaven and earth.
When the preaching of the law taketh hold on our hearts, when we find ourselves condemned with all our works, our mind is made exceedingly sorrowful, we sigh unto God and know not what to do; our conscience is evil and fearful, we can see no way to escape from the justice of God; and thus we are brought to the very brink of despair. If, when in this situation, we hear the preaching of the gospel of grace, if the way to Christ be shown us, if we be made sensible that we must be saved through him alone, by mere grace and mercy without any of our own works and merits, then is the heart made joyful, and hasteth to lay hold on this grace, as the thirsty hart runneth unto the water. Thus
David saith, "As the hart desireth the water brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O my God: my soul thirsteth for God, yea, even for the living God."
When a man is thus taught of God, and cometh to Christ through the gospel, he heareth the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, which strengtheneth the knowledge that God hath taught him. He findeth God to be none other than a Saviour abounding with grace, and that he will be favourable and merciful to all who will call upon him in the name of his Son. For the Lord saith, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth in me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is that bread that cometh down from heaven, that he who eateth of it shall not die. I am that living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
In these words the soul findeth a table daintily furnished, whereat it may satiate its hunger. This is that supper, to the preparing of which our Lord hath killed his oxen and his fatlings; and he hath bidden us all to partake of it.
Therefore, if we commit ourselves confidently unto him, and cleave to his word, his spirit will dwell in us, and we shall continue at this goodly table forever. The living bread of which the Lord here speaketh is Christ himself, who was slain for us, and by whom we are fed. If we receive but a morsel of this bread in our hearts, and retain it, we shall be forever satisfied. It will furnish us a repast at which we may banquet continually, without ever being cloyed.
Now to enjoy this repast, we have only to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; that he is made unto us of God, as Paul saith, 1 Cor. i. "Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." He that partaketh of this repast shall live forever: for when the Jews were in contention about the words of Christ, he saith, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whosoever eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." The manna which the fathers did eat in the desert, could not save from death; but this food maketh us immortal. If we believe in Christ, death hath no power to hurt us; nay, there is no more death: for Christ saith unto the Jews, John viii. 51. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." Here it is evident he speaketh of the word of faith and the gospel.
But it may be said that the righteous die notwithstanding: that Abraham and the holy prophets are dead; as the Jews said unto Christ. I answer: The death of Christians is only a sleep, and it is commonly thus called in scripture. For a Christian tasteth and seeth no death; that is, it hath no pangs to him, nor doth he fear it. It is to him only a passage and gate to life; for the Saviour Christ Jesus, in whom he believeth, hath overcome death. Christ saith, John v. 24. "Verily, verily,
I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
Not only is the death of a Christian free from terror, but his life also is happy and joyful. To him the yoke of Christ is easy and pleasant; and that it seemeth grievous to others, is because the Father hath not yet drawn them: therefore, they can take no pleasure in doing his will, nor doth the gospel afford them any comfort. But to those whom he hath drawn, and hath taught by his spirit, the gospel of Christ is a source of exceeding joy and consolation.
Thus ye have heard how ye must feed by faith on this bread which cometh down from heaven; that is, on the Lord Jesus Christ; which ye do when ye believe on him and acknowledge him as your Saviour; and throughout the chapter from which our text is taken, the necessity of such a belief is strongly enforced. For when the multitude followed Christ, that they might eat and drink, he taketh occasion to recommend unto them this spiritual meat; and signified that he fed them with bodily meat, in order that they might believe on him, and thus feed on that also which is spiritual.
In this manner doth Christ, throughout his discourse, endeavour to persuade men to lay hold on this bread of life. In what familiar and plain language doth he here offer himself unto us! How gently and graciously doth he apply himself to our hearts, in order that we may do the will of our heavenly Father! which is nothing else than to believe on his Son; that he suffered death for our sakes; that although he was without sin, be took upon him the sins of the world, and suffered as though he had committed them himself; that he did the same willingly, to make atonement for our transgressions, in order that he might receive us as brethren and sisters;—if we believe these things, we do the will of our heavenly Father; for Christ saith, in the chapter from which the text is taken,
"This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life." It therefore appeareth, that he who hath faith doth the will of God, and eateth of the heavenly bread of which we have been speaking.
The bread and wine whereof we partake in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, are designed to represent the body and blood of Christ. This supper was instituted for the purpose of reminding us of the sufferings of our Saviour, and to strengthen our faith, in order that we may be assured that his body and blood deliver us from sin, death, satan, and all evil. But it may be asked, how shall a man know that he partaketh of this heavenly bread, and is called to this spiritual supper? Answer:—Let him consider the matter in his own mind, and if he find that he hath comfort in the promises of God, and is persuaded that he is of that choice company, he is assuredly such a one indeed; for as we believe, so cometh it unto us. Such a man, moreover, will have a regard for his neighbour; he will assist him as his brother; he will deal justly with him; he will comfort, support, and encourage him—in short, he will do unto him no otherwise than he desireth to be done unto himself.
The reason why the mind of such a man is thus disposed, is, because his heart is filled with the love of God, and he therefore delighteth to do his will. It is now a pleasure to him to do good to his neighbour, and he is even grieved if there be none to whom he may be serviceable. He also deporteth himself with humility towards all men; he doth not esteem the temporal pleasures and vanities of life; he judgeth no man; he defameth no man; he interpreteth all things in the most favourable manner. When such a person seeth that matters go not well with his neighbour; if he fainteth in faith, if he waxeth cold in love, if his life is not every way approvable, he prayeth for him, and expostulateth with him as a brother. He is likewise sorely grieved if he chance to commit a fault: he imploreth pardon of God, and is ever ready to make restitution to his neighbour.
But he that is destitute of faith, he that is not taught of God, doth not feed on this heavenly bread, neither bringeth be forth these fruits; for where a right faith is not found, such fruits are always wanting. Peter therefore teacheth us to make our calling unto salvation sure, by good works; namely, by works of love to our neighbour, doing toward him as toward our own flesh and blood. Thus much shall suffice, concerning this text.