For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
- KJV For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
- NKJV For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- NASB For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”
- NLT The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Jesus describes Himself as God's life-giving provision for all peoples.
Overview
The bread of God is defined not as a thing but as a person who descends from heaven. Unlike manna, which sustained only Israel briefly, this bread gives life to the whole world. The universal scope anticipates the gospel reaching beyond Israel to all who believe.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- John 8:42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
- John 17:8For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
- John 3:13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- John 6:50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.
- 1 Jn 1:1–2That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
- John 6:48I am the bread of life.
- John 6:38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
- John 13:3Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.
- 1 Tim 1:15This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
- John 16:28I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 6:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.