Limitless Word
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
John 6:56 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.
  • KJV He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
  • NKJV He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
  • NASB The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
  • NLT Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

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 one who eats His flesh and drinks His blood abides in Jesus, and He in them. Receiving Christ by faith brings deep, mutual union with Him.

Overview

Jesus introduces the language of abiding, a key theme later in John (ch. 15). To feed on Christ is to be united to Him in a living, abiding relationship. This communion, secured by His death and received by faith, is the heart of the believer's life and the ground of eternal hope.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • 1 Jn 3:24Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
  • John 15:4–5Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
  • Rev 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
  • John 14:20On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
  • John 17:21–23that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
  • Ps 91:9Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High—
  • John 14:23Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
  • 1 Jn 4:15–16If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
  • 2 Cor 6:16What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
  • Lam 3:24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
  • 1 Jn 4:12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
  • Ps 91:1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
  • Eph 3:17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
  • Ps 90:1A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 6:56YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 6:56 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.