How do we walk in this passage of scripture?

[Blane]

<sup>John 6:47-71 is such a unique passage of scripture. I feel I have a basic understanding of what it means, but it's full meaning probably goes much deeper. This would probably be a worthwhile passage to discuss in depth. Maybe God has given someone insight that will edify the brethren here. This passage, particularly the part in blue, is a command from Jesus. I know it's vitally important, or the Catholic Church wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to distort it's true meaning. Satan tends to work overtime to distort and confound anything of value or importance that God has given to the Church.

What are your thoughts on John 6:47-71? How are the verses highlighted in blue supposed to play out in the life of a believer? What will it look like when a believer properly understands and walks in these commands from Jesus?

Blane



John 6:47-71

47</sup> 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 for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
⁵² The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
⁵³ Then Jesus said unto them, 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.

⁵⁴ Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

⁵⁵ For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
⁵⁶ He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

⁵⁷ As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

⁵⁸ This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

⁵⁹ These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
⁶⁰ Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
⁶¹ When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
⁶² What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
⁶³ It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
⁶⁴ But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
⁶⁵ And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
⁶⁶ From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
⁶⁷ Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
⁶⁸ Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
⁶⁹ And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
⁷¹ He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

[Lou Newton]

[SUP][SIZE=2]
John 6:47-71 is such a unique passage of scripture. I feel I have a basic understanding of what it means, but it's full meaning probably goes much deeper. This would probably be a worthwhile passage to discuss in depth. Maybe God has given someone insight that will edify the brethren here. This passage, particularly the part in blue, is a command from Jesus. I know it's vitally important, or the Catholic Church wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to distort it's true meaning. Satan tends to work overtime to distort and confound anything of value or importance that God has given to the Church.

What are your thoughts on John 6:47-71? How are the verses highlighted in blue supposed to play out in the life of a believer? What will it look like when a believer properly understands and walks in these commands from Jesus?

Blane



[SIZE=3][B]John 6:47-71

Hi Blane,

53 Then Jesus said unto them, 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.

54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Jesus made it very clear here that we do not eat His flesh as Israel ate the manna in the dessert.

: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead

When we eat in the natural, it gives us life in the natural. But those that ate the manna in the natural eventually died. And Jesus tells us here that most died also in the spirit.

When we consume Jesus in the spiritual, we get spiritual life and we live forever.

Natural life is not eternal life, but it is temporal, and always has been. Animals have natural life, but they do not have eternal life, for they have no spirit. Animals have always died from the very time the earth produced them. This was to show us that no one can have eternal life without the Spirit of God. It also declared that something innocent has to die for us to have life.

The serious error taught in the church, that there was no natural death until Adam sinned, would declare a lie. For nothing can have eternal life without the Holy Spirit. Man was the only one to have the Holy Spirit and therefore had real life.

Only the Spirit is eternal. We must have the Holy Spirit of Jesus to have eternal life.

JESUS IS LIFE.

Lou Newton

[Baruch]

Hi Blane,



Jesus made it very clear here that we do not eat His flesh as Israel ate the manna in the dessert.



When we eat in the natural, it gives us life in the natural. But those that ate the manna in the natural eventually died. And Jesus tells us here that most died also in the spirit.

When we consume Jesus in the spiritual, we get spiritual life and we live forever.

Natural life is not eternal life, but it is temporal, and always has been. Animals have natural life, but they do not have eternal life, for they have no spirit. Animals have always died from the very time the earth produced them. This was to show us that no one can have eternal life without the Spirit of God. It also declared that something innocent has to die for us to have life.

The serious error taught in the church, that there was no natural death until Adam sinned, would declare a lie. For nothing can have eternal life without the Holy Spirit. Man was the only one to have the Holy Spirit and therefore had real life.

Only the Spirit is eternal. We must have the Holy Spirit of Jesus to have eternal life.

JESUS IS LIFE.

Lou Newton

Aye, Jesus is Life, and His words in this passage are spiritual and speak of the eternal.

The Pharisees were pondering this in the natural. It would be unthinkable for a natural man to give his own blood and flesh for this purpose. And how can they eat blood? In the law it carries a death sentence.

The book of John solidly connects Jesus to Old Testament truths: the Word of God, who often visited men: man does not live on bread alone, but by every word out of the mouth of God: the temporal manna in the desert; being reborn of the Spirit: rivers of living water: the temporal life of the creature is in the blood: God gives the sacrament of blood sacrifice for the atonement of the soul.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the heavenly after which the natural shadows are patterned.

We're nourished continually by receiving the Word of God.

We're quickened and renewed by continually receiving the Spirit of God.

Communion by breaking bread and wine is the sacrament that shadows this. Our true and eternal communion is with God and each other in the Spirit, the Holy person. Our true and eternal nourishment is the Word, the Holy person.

But how do we walk in it? I think the answer lies in discovery through the journey and trusting in Jesus, and only Jesus.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Our life is the in the blood of Jesus, shed for many for remission of sins. Henry Gruver is the best modern example I know of one who clings to the life and power in the blood of Jesus.

Our ways are the ways of Christ. We learn His ways from the Holy Spirit, being shown in spirit the truth of His (old and new) testaments, the testimony of the apostles and early Church fathers, history, science, examining the ways of others who are in Christ (e.g. 1Co 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me [Paul]. 17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church) and probably so many sources we cannot know them all. But what we witness, we can know by their fruits.

[Baruch]

I seem to have stopped short in my reply. I answered, I think, the aspect of what the bread and the blood mean to our walk, and how they lead necessarily to faith in Jesus, and only Jesus.

An equally important extension of the question is: what ought the expression of our walk be?

In a nutshell, we have the supreme commandment, paraphrased: love the Lord with all your being, and your brother as yourself. Digging for details is important, and Galatians 5-6 makes for a rich study. The Holy Bible is full of case studies.

Yet it still stands that we learn to walk by walking in the Spirit.

[Lou Newton]

I seem to have stopped short in my reply. I answered, I think, the aspect of what the bread and the blood mean to our walk, and how they lead necessarily to faith in Jesus, and only Jesus.

An equally important extension of the question is: what ought the expression of our walk be?

In a nutshell, we have the supreme commandment, paraphrased: love the Lord with all your being, and your brother as yourself. Digging for details is important, and Galatians 5-6 makes for a rich study. The Holy Bible is full of case studies.

Yet it still stands that we learn to walk by walking in the Spirit.

Amen Barry. We are lame and can not walk. It is only when we confess that we are lame that Jesus heals us and makes us able to walk with Him.

Every man in the NT who confessed that he could not walk and asked Jesus to heal him, Jesus healed and made him able to walk.

There was no man healed of being lame that did not confess that he was lame and unable to walk.

We should be able to see from this example that if we want to be able to walk, we must first confess that we can not walk.

Those that confess that they can see will remain blind.

Those that confess that they can hear will remain deaf.

Those that confess that they are able to walk, will remain lame and unable to walk.

Lou Newton

[Blane]

Amen Barry. We are lame and can not walk. It is only when we confess that we are lame that Jesus heals us and makes us able to walk with Him.

Every man in the NT who confessed that he could not walk and asked Jesus to heal him, Jesus healed and made him able to walk.

There was no man healed of being lame that did not confess that he was lame and unable to walk.

We should be able to see from this example that if we want to be able to walk, we must first confess that we can not walk.

Those that confess that they can see will remain blind.

Those that confess that they can hear will remain deaf.

Those that confess that they are able to walk, will remain lame and unable to walk.

Lou Newton

You just blew a bunch of holes in a boat load of doctrines, Lou. The positive confession folks, the name-it-and-claim-it people, and the King's Kids, just to name a few.

Blane

[Lou Newton]

You just blew a bunch of holes in a boat load of doctrines, Lou. The positive confession folks, the name-it-and-claim-it people, and the King's Kids, just to name a few.

Blane

The Pharisees thought themselves to be the people of God. They thought they were wise and also thought that they could see better than everyone around them.

BUT that only proves that what we think is true, might not be true at all. Our only hope is to cast all of our cares upon Jesus.

Lou

[TennesseeLinda]

Amen Barry. We are lame and can not walk. It is only when we confess that we are lame that Jesus heals us and makes us able to walk with Him.

Every man in the NT who confessed that he could not walk and asked Jesus to heal him, Jesus healed and made him able to walk.

There was no man healed of being lame that did not confess that he was lame and unable to walk.

We should be able to see from this example that if we want to be able to walk, we must first confess that we can not walk.

Those that confess that they can see will remain blind.

Those that confess that they can hear will remain deaf.

Those that confess that they are able to walk, will remain lame and unable to walk.

Lou Newton

Such a simple beautiful truth! How many times has another Christian said to me, "Don't confess that. You need to confess what you want, not what you feel." When I think about it, I see Christ never said "Confess your desires. He said confess your sin and ask if Me."

[Lou Newton]

Such a simple beautiful truth! How many times has another Christian said to me, "Don't confess that. You need to confess what you want, not what you feel." When I think about it, I see Christ never said "Confess your desires. He said confess your sin and ask if Me."

Hi Linda,

It is so good to hear from you. Thanks for the reply.

This error is one of the errors that keep the church in this nation so weak.

As you point out Jesus never once told us to confess our desires. But He did tell us this:

1 John 1

The Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
Walking in the Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

John points out that he has seen Jesus with his eyes, heard Jesus with his ears, and touched Jesus with his hands. Which of these preachers that preach these lies have done the same - NONE.

John then condenses the whole message that Jesus gave them in the next few sentences that are verses that start with God is light and goes to the end of the paragraph. The part highlighted in blue is the gospel in the nutshell.

This is what should be being preached instead of the garbage that is being preached by so many to gather men after themselves.

WE HAVE TO WALK IN THE LIGHT AS JESUS IS IN THE LIGHT

How can any man, and all men are liars as the scriptures tell us, walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light ?

Jesus could not tell a lie, He is the Truth.

So how can we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light ? We being the liars we are.

There is one and only one way for us to do this. There is only one way for a total lair to tell the truth, for everything a liar says is usually at least part lie. And that is not the truth as Jesus is The Truth.

There is only one way for a lair to tell the complete truth; or the truth with not one bit of lie in it.

THAT IS TO CONFESS THAT HE IS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL LAIR THAT HAS NEVER ONCE TOLD THE TRUTH

With that confession he has just stepped into the light where Jesus dwells and then Jesus will walk with him.

Lou Newton

[Baruch]

Hi Linda,

It is so good to hear from you. Thanks for the reply.

This error is one of the errors that keep the church in this nation so weak.

As you point out Jesus never once told us to confess our desires. But He did tell us this:



John points out that he has seen Jesus with his eyes, heard Jesus with his ears, and touched Jesus with his hands. Which of these preachers that preach these lies have done the same - NONE.

John then condenses the whole message that Jesus gave them in the next few sentences that are verses that start with God is light and goes to the end of the paragraph. The part highlighted in blue is the gospel in the nutshell.

This is what should be being preached instead of the garbage that is being preached by so many to gather men after themselves.

WE HAVE TO WALK IN THE LIGHT AS JESUS IS IN THE LIGHT

How can any man, and all men are liars as the scriptures tell us, walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light ?

Jesus could not tell a lie, He is the Truth.

So how can we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light ? We being the liars we are.

There is one and only one way for us to do this. There is only one way for a total lair to tell the truth, for everything a liar says is usually at least part lie. And that is not the truth as Jesus is The Truth.

There is only one way for a lair to tell the complete truth; or the truth with not one bit of lie in it.

THAT IS TO CONFESS THAT HE IS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL LAIR THAT HAS NEVER ONCE TOLD THE TRUTH

With that confession he has just stepped into the light where Jesus dwells and then Jesus will walk with him.

Lou Newton

Hi, Lou,

This appears to be a very simple way of looking at this passage. I don't deny it. It is true that out my flesh no good thing emerges, only evil continually. But I would like to ask for clarification and supporting scriptures, please.

Confessing that we are liars may be a fundamental truth, and an important realization to hold. However, I wish personally to avoid oversimplifying God's truths: they are as deep as they are true. This passage directs us to confess our sins: not just that we are liars. See also such passages as

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

How do we follow the Son of God? By confessing our sin and turning from them to God, putting God first. Not just once, but walking in it, as 1Jn 1 seems to instruct.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

We see here that when we follow the prince of lies, whether we're aware of our state or not--there is no truth in us.

1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

All unrighteousness is sin. Earlier, in 1Jn 9, is shown if we confess our sins He will cleanse us of all unrighteousness: that we may know that He is true, and we are in him that is true. Another scripture (I cannot find or remember, and I'm pressed for time--sorry) expresses that in proper communion He is in us, and we in Him: then the truth, the light, is in us and that part of us which is born of God, the reborn spirit, cannot lie.

But we are part flesh, and the flesh lies.

If I've mashed up anything, please help us frame this properly.

Thank you.

[Lou Newton]

Hi, Lou,

This appears to be a very simple way of looking at this passage. I don't deny it. It is true that out my flesh no good thing emerges, only evil continually. But I would like to ask for clarification and supporting scriptures, please.

Confessing that we are liars may be a fundamental truth, and an important realization to hold. However, I wish personally to avoid oversimplifying God's truths: they are as deep as they are true. This passage directs us to confess our sins: not just that we are liars. See also such passages as

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

How do we follow the Son of God? By confessing our sin and turning from them to God, putting God first. Not just once, but walking in it, as 1Jn 1 seems to instruct.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

We see here that when we follow the prince of lies, whether we're aware of our state or not--there is no truth in us.

1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

All unrighteousness is sin. Earlier, in 1Jn 9, is shown if we confess our sins He will cleanse us of all unrighteousness: that we may know that He is true, and we are in him that is true. Another scripture (I cannot find or remember, and I'm pressed for time--sorry) expresses that in proper communion He is in us, and we in Him: then the truth, the light, is in us and that part of us which is born of God, the reborn spirit, cannot lie.

But we are part flesh, and the flesh lies.

If I've mashed up anything, please help us frame this properly.

Thank you.

Hi Barry,

I was addressing one part of this scripture. That is the part that tells us that we must walk in the light, as Jesus walks in the light. Jesus is TRUTH and there is no lie or any part of a lie within Him. We are liars and liars can not tell the whole truth, and only the whole truth is the truth.

Ponder that for a while. How can you walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light. Does that not seem impossible for us total sinners.

So I simply write what The Holy Spirit of The Lord Jesus revealed to me, how we CAN walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light. This seems like an impossible requirement to walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light.

There is one and only one way to do this:

This error is one of the errors that keep the church in this nation so weak.

As you point out Jesus never once told us to confess our desires. But He did tell us this:

1 John 1

The Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
Walking in the Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

John points out that he has seen Jesus with his eyes, heard Jesus with his ears, and touched Jesus with his hands. Which of these preachers that preach these lies have done the same - NONE.

John then condenses the whole message that Jesus gave them in the next few sentences that are verses that start with God is light and goes to the end of the paragraph. The part highlighted in blue is the gospel in the nutshell.

This is what should be being preached instead of the garbage that is being preached by so many to gather men after themselves.

WE HAVE TO WALK IN THE LIGHT AS JESUS IS IN THE LIGHT

How can any man, and all men are liars as the scriptures tell us, walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light ?

Jesus could not tell a lie, He is the Truth.

So how can we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light ? We being the liars we are.

There is one and only one way for us to do this. There is only one way for a total lair to tell the truth, for everything a liar says is usually at least part lie. And that is not the truth as Jesus is The Truth.

There is only one way for a lair to tell the complete truth; or the truth with not one bit of lie in it.

THAT IS TO CONFESS THAT HE IS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL LAIR THAT HAS NEVER ONCE TOLD THE TRUTH

With that confession he has just stepped into the light where Jesus dwells and then Jesus will walk with him.

This is NOT a one time requirement. For the scripture above tells us that anytime we say we are truthful ( or without sin) that we do not even know Jesus.

This goes beyond admitting that we have sinned. It even goes beyond admitting that we are sinners. For it is a confession that we have never once told the truth, or that everything we have ever said or even thought is a lie. For we do not even know the truth, let alone believe it or follow it.

Even if I would declare that Jesus is Lord. I am not being totally truthful within myself, for I have no idea how totally Jesus is The Lord. How can I proclaim the truth when I do not know the whole truth, for we see through a foggy window.

The only way that Truth can come from my lips, is for me to surrender totally to Jesus and confess that I am a total liar, and then to have Jesus speak though my lips IF He desires to do so.

We are totally undone and our only hope is to fall down and throw ourselves on the mercy and grace of The Lord Jesus.

This confession is a confession of who we are in the flesh. We will be that until the Lord returns and we receive new bodies that are not flesh.

Lou Newton

[Baruch]

I have not forgotten this. I am studying 1 John. Wow, what a book.

[Lou Newton]

I have not forgotten this. I am studying 1 John. Wow, what a book.

Amen to that Barry.....................Lou

[Baruch]

Hi Barry,

I was addressing one part of this scripture. That is the part that tells us that we must walk in the light, as Jesus walks in the light. Jesus is TRUTH and there is no lie or any part of a lie within Him. We are liars and liars can not tell the whole truth, and only the whole truth is the truth.

Ponder that for a while. How can you walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light. Does that not seem impossible for us total sinners.

So I simply write what The Holy Spirit of The Lord Jesus revealed to me, how we CAN walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light. This seems like an impossible requirement to walk in the light as Jesus walks in the light.

There is one and only one way to do this:



This is NOT a one time requirement. For the scripture above tells us that anytime we say we are truthful ( or without sin) that we do not even know Jesus.

This goes beyond admitting that we have sinned. It even goes beyond admitting that we are sinners. For it is a confession that we have never once told the truth, or that everything we have ever said or even thought is a lie. For we do not even know the truth, let alone believe it or follow it.

Even if I would declare that Jesus is Lord. I am not being totally truthful within myself, for I have no idea how totally Jesus is The Lord. How can I proclaim the truth when I do not know the whole truth, for we see through a foggy window.

The only way that Truth can come from my lips, is for me to surrender totally to Jesus and confess that I am a total liar, and then to have Jesus speak though my lips IF He desires to do so.

We are totally undone and our only hope is to fall down and throw ourselves on the mercy and grace of The Lord Jesus.

This confession is a confession of who we are in the flesh. We will be that until the Lord returns and we receive new bodies that are not flesh.

Lou Newton

Hi, brother Lou,

Thank you for this further explanation. I think I understand where you are coming from, even if everything we say is a lie.

I put it that way because I was initially concerned that anyone reading that might stumble.

But if I understand, it is a statement that when we walk as men--either as unrepentant clay vessels dispossessed of spiritual life, or as God's children falling as we're ever learning to walk--we see/hear/understand nothing (foggy window, as you say), and in such a state we can think nothing, speak nothing, do nothing of eternal value. Only "in Jesus Christ" can we achieve anything of eternal value. And understanding this precept--God is true and every man a liar--is a big step towards reconciling our relationship with God: quite accurately, He is and has everything and we are and have nothing. His goodness is exceedingly rich, we are desperately wicked and abysmally destitute. He is true, and we are not; even our struggles to learn His ways and emulate Him are feeble and crooked.

While this is an unsavory truth that stabs our pride, it's an important and very humbling discovery. There is nothing wrong with that. It is truth; and He has abundant grace towards us.

I find it an elusive thing, though, this idiom "in Jesus Christ". It speaks volumes, but reveals no details of itself. How can we know we are "in Him", "walking in the light", "as He is"?

Thanks to Him, He tells us precisely how! In fact, as a teaser to further reading and discussion of this book, the phrase "as he is" occurs five times in 1 John. Once He tells us we will be as He is. Four times He tells us under the conditions that because He is, so are we in this world. (Important: not of ourselves, but whoever is born of God.)

Our Lord knows how to build our faith, despite the infinite gulf between His stature and ours. Not only can we find grace for our lying existence, but He tells us in 1 John that we can know Him, and know that we have eternal life, and in that sure knowledge our joy may be full. How is that? It's all in 1 John. =)

I'm confident that all of 1 John specifically answers your original question, Blane: How do we walk in this passage (Joh 6:47-71)? But it is not a nutshell-style answer.

[Baruch]

The following may be a valuable insight to 1 John. This was the key for me. I did not have this key prior to reading 1 John yesterday evening. What a revelation, I had no idea what was really in it.

Mysteriously, I was drawn to look under the hood of 1Jn 1:5 at the word rendered "message" in modern translations. It was, oh, I dunno, like a Holy Ghostly thing: I knew not from whence it came.

This word's root G1860 appears 53 times in the New Testament Greek. 52 times it is rendered "promise" or "promises". One time only is it rendered "message".

Though "message" fits well here to our thinking, I felt it loses the full flavor in the translation: a message that's a promise. It was peculiar to me that in so many verses this was the only one in which it was so rendered.

While mildly studying this word in the concordance, I noticed that it occurs once more in 1 John. When I saw them side by side I saw this:

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message [i.e. promise] which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1Jn 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

When I saw that, it struck me as a frame for an argument and I was prompted to read 1Jn 1:1 - 1Jn 2:27 in a new mind. Then the Spirit began answering questions: why do walk; how should we walk; why is John called the apostle of love; what's love and why is it so...paramount; how can we know we're doing it right; what is the source of faith and how does it work?

God bless you, more and more, in His Son Jesus Christ.