“…My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” John 4:34
Dear Ones:
When we read the words, “Heavenly Food,” we almost always think of the manna mentioned in the Old Testament. However, the words of Christ, “….I have meat(food) to eat that you know not of,” lift the meaning of the words “Heavenly Food” beyond the physical to that which is spiritual and eternal. We know from the “Lord’s Prayer,” that we are to pray, “…Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matt. 6:11) This is vital, for we live by physical food, and this on a daily basis. However, the Lord Jesus lifts us higher again than our physical existence by declaring, “…Man shall NOT live by bread alone, but by every WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4) Yes, there is a necessity for daily physical bread. But there is an essential daily, heavenly bread, given by God, and it is the word of God. Why is this subject so vital? Because the word of God leads us to the “Bread of God …(which) is come down from heaven,” (Jn. 6:33) the Lord Jesus. Our souls need spiritual bread, the objective word of God, to direct us in the partaking, or appropriation, of the Life of Christ, our eternal, living Bread from heaven. How does this work out? How do we live it? We always begin with Christ as our example, and enabler, in order to get an understanding of His ways.
When Jesus began his ministry, and this by being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, he would reveal to the world that His priority, above all else, was to live by the word of His Father. In the book of Hebrews, He would declare: “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me), to DO Thy will, O God.” (10:7) This He would reiterate to the disciples by declaring, “…My meat is to DO the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” That which we learn by Christ’s example here is that He was entirely focused on, and completely committed to, His objective. He would live to believe and obey His Father, and thus, accomplish His work.
There is another element to this example of Christ, as the living Bread, that we need to understand if we would “follow in His steps.” The Spirit of God came upon Christ when He was baptized, when He embraced His mission and purpose. That Spirit of God anointed Him in a definite, specific way, to empower and enable Him, providing for His every need, to accomplish the will of His Father. And this He would do. Thus, it is clear that He lived BY the word of His Father, and this in deliberate, specific dependence upon the Spirit for everything, and at all times. The result is that He finished His work…to save us all.
Dear Father, we thank You for the example of Your Son, whose focus was singular, even in the face of temptation and opposition. We thank You for the love that He demonstrated by that singular devotion, and dependence upon the Spirit of God. Grant us by Your Spirit to be strengthened in our hearts to believe You for such love and devotion, as we trust You for grace to accomplish that which You have called us to be and to do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad