Psalm 16:5 reads “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup.” He is our enjoyment. For many people in the world, their “cup” is alcohol. This is so miserable. Things that people are fond of and enjoy are their “portion and cup”. Even if it’s not alcohol, these are mostly things that gratify their lust. However, it’s so precious that God Himself is our chosen portion! God is so good! He’s our enjoyment. Right in the beginning of the Song of Solomon, it says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” (Song 1:2) Moreover, it mentions our embrace with Him many times. Isn’t it precious? This is Jehovah, the infinite One, my Abba and the Lord, in whom we believe.
Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” It’s very good that here it tells us to taste the Lord: Tasting means we chew, savour, and realize the flavour of His goodness. It doesn’t tell us to “gobble up”. When we gobble up food, we can’t appreciate its taste. You must be familiar with Psalm 73, which says, “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Ps. 73:26) God is my portion in the land of the living.
John 6 is also very important. The Lord at that time fed many with five loaves and two fish. Verse 35 reads, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’” It’s so precious that He said He’s the bread of life. We all have to eat every day, but here the Lord was talking about Himself. On one hand, He began to explain that He is the “I AM” mentioned in the Old Testament. This “I AM” already came to the earth to provide for us all that we need. In this passage, the Lord said, “I AM the bread of life”, meaning that our spirit needs to feed on Him and enjoy Him.
The Lord further explained in John 6:54, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Let’s also read verse 47, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” Here it says that whoever believes has eternal life. Just now in verse 54, it says whoever feeds on His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life. They both result in gaining eternal life. Therefore, feeding on Him and drinking His blood actually means believing in Him and receiving Him.
The Lord said in verses 55-57, “‘‘For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father’”: as a Man, the Lord lived by the Father. “‘So whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.’” Pay attention that in verse 57, it says “feeds on me”. The original text doesn’t have the word “flesh” after this phrase, which makes it even clearer. People at that time had trouble understanding this saying from the Lord. They found it hard to accept feeding on Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood. Actually, they were foolish and they didn’t understand what the Lord really meant. In fact, He already explained what He meant.
Verse 51 reads, “‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.’” You will live forever once you eat this bread from heaven. It is unlike any food on earth. “‘And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’” Here the Lord told us He would give His life for the world. He was telling us that He would one day die for our sins on the cross. He gave His body for us. That’s how we gain eternal life. After listening to the gospel, we knew that Jesus died for us and solved the problems of our sins. When we accepted Him as our Saviour, we gained eternal life. So, we can’t be mistaken in interpreting this Bible passage. It’s very clear that the Lord was talking about believing in Him, relying on Him and the effect of His cross.
I’d like to draw your attention to verse 57. “‘As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.’” How can your spirit become alive? To live as a normal person should, we must feed on Him. Simply put, we must experience Him and take pleasure in Him so that our spirit can live. He is also our delight.