Bread of Life
In John 6:31-35, Jesus makes this connection explicitly when He says:
“Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’… I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus is drawing a parallel between the manna that sustained the physical lives of the Israelites in the wilderness and Himself, who sustains the spiritual lives of those who believe in Him.
The manna was a provision from God to meet the physical needs of His people, but Jesus is the provision from God to meet the spiritual needs of His people. Both are essential for life, and both come from God’s gracious provision.
Just as the Israelites had to collect manna every day to sustain their physical lives, so too must believers come to Jesus daily to sustain their spiritual lives.
This analogy helps to underscore the importance of daily communion with Christ and reliance on Him for our sustenance and well-being.
The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is one God who eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
Each person is fully God, yet distinct from one another.
We can see the relationship between Jesus as the bread of life and God providing manna for the Israelites in the wilderness.
God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit work together in providing for the needs of His people.
In the Old Testament, God the Father provided manna for the physical needs of the Israelites. In the New Testament, Jesus (who is fully God) provided spiritual sustenance for believers.
The Holy Spirit also works in the lives of believers to guide, comfort, and empower them.
What we see here is the unity and harmony of God’s work in providing for the needs of His people throughout history, including through the different persons in the Triune relationship.