Limitless Word
The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
John 6:56 · New American 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.
  • BSB Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
  • NKJV He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides 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 3:24He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
  • John 15:4–5Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
  • Rev 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.
  • John 14:20In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
  • John 17:21–23that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
  • Ps 91:9Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
  • John 14:23Jesus answered him, “If a man 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 4:15–16Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.
  • 2 Cor 6:16What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
  • Lam 3:24“Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
  • 1 Jn 4:12No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
  • Ps 91:1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
  • Eph 3:17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
  • Ps 90:1A Prayer by Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place for 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.