a highly figurative
style of speech, striking Oriental idioms, the explanation of
which will cast further light upon the branch of the subject
immediately before us. "As the living Father hath sent me, and I
live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by
me;" that is, As the blessed Father hath inspired me with the
knowledge of him, and I am blessed with the consciousness of his
immortal love, so he that believes and assimilates these truths as
I proclaim them, he shall experience the same blessedness through
my instruction. The words. "I am the bread of life" are explained
by the words "I am the truth." The declaration "Whoso eateth my
flesh hath eternal life" is illustrated by the declaration
"Whosoever heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me hath
everlasting life." There is no difficulty in understanding what
Jesus meant when he said, "I have meat to eat ye know not of: my
meat is to do the will of Him that sent me." Why should we not
with the same ease, upon the same principles, interpret his
kindred expression, "This is the bread which cometh down from
heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die"? The idea to be
conveyed by all this phraseology is, that whosoever understands,
accepts, assimilates, and brings out in earnest experience, the
truths Christ taught, would realize the life of Christ, feel the
same assurance of Divine favor and eternal blessedness. "He that
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in
him;" that is, we have the same character, are fed by the same
nutriment, rest in the same experience. Fortunately, we are not
left to guess at the accuracy of this exegesis: it is demonstrated
from the lips of the Master himself. When he knew that the
disciples murmured at what he had said about eating his flesh, and
called it a hard saying, he said to them, "It is the spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of
you that believe not." Any man who heartily believed what Christ
said that he was Divinely authorized to declare, and did declare,
the pervading goodness of the Father and the immortal blessedness
of the souls of his children, by the very terms was delivered from
the bondage of fear and commenced the consciousness of eternal
life. Of course, we are not to suppose that faith in Christ
obtains immortality itself for the believer: it only rectifies and
light