For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
- BSB For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to 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 unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
- John 17:8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
- John 3:13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
- John 6:50This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
- 1 Jn 1:1–2That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
- John 6:48I am that bread of life.
- John 6:38For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
- John 13:3Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
- 1 Tim 1:15This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
- John 16:28I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I 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.