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Can there be greater confirmation of this teaching than by our Lord's quotation from
the O.T.?:
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God" (Matt. 4: 4).
Our Lord was quoting from God's words recorded by Moses:
". . . . . the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and
to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His
commandments, or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee
with manna . . . . . that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live"
(Deuteronomy 8: 2, 3).
The manna for Israel in the wilderness prefigures the part our Lord and the Bible play
in the world today. God does not now force on us supernatural demonstrations of His
presence and existence. We see no angels with additional revelations from our Creator.
Rather He is suffering us to be without human proof of His presence but is trying our
faith by letting the complete Bible be His sole tangible witness. God's Son has
completely accomplished the Father's will in making a righteous way back into
reconciliation and unity with Him. The Lord Jesus Christ has instructed His servant Paul
to explain to us this gospel and to announce to us the abiding presence of His Spirit that
can empower and guide the life of a believer in His Name. This is the Bread of life that
we have figuratively to eat so that in spiritual growth such knowledge of God and His
Son become part of us. Herein is full life, health of mind and body, peace and unity not
only in the believer but in his relationship to God and his neighbour.
Many of those that first heard the doctrine of eating the Lord's flesh (John 6:) were
offended, finding it a hard saying to accept and walked no more with the Lord. Today
many also misunderstand the words of the Lord. They miss this pointer to the channel of
life, the Word of God, and allow instead this chapter to be linked with and to anticipate
the church's ordinance of Holy Communion, thus diverting attention from such a vital
lesson from God.