I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE 

John 6:22-71 is so rich in the non-trinitarian understanding of the Holy Spirit. A comparison with the writings of Paul and Ellen White and the Psalms sheds light on the identity of the Spirit. 

Read John 6:27  "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father SEALED."

Compare with Eph 1:13,14 "In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were SEALED WITH THAT HOLY SPIRIT of promise, Which is the earnest [guarantee] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

Compare also 2 Cor 1:22 "Who [God] hath also SEALED us, and given the earnest [guarantee] of the SPIRIT in our hearts."

Comparing John 6:27 with Eph 1:13,14 and 2Cor 1:22, we find an indication that the meat that Christ gives us that will spring up to eternal life is His Holy Spirit, for God has sealed us with Christ's Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee for our future inheritance. 

Read John 6:33 "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world."

The Bread here is synonymous with the Meat in verse 27 above. If the meat that Christ gives us is His Spirit, then we can expect that the Bread from God that gives life to the world would also be Christ's Spirit. 

Read John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

The Bread of Life is Jesus Himself, although in verse 33 Jesus used the 3rd person to refer to Himself, as He also did in John 14:16 when speaking of the Comforter or Spirit of truth. 

Read John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

When Christ said to eat this bread, He could not have meant His physical body. The only other possibility is His Spirit, for we can take or receive His Spirit into our heart. 

The following quote from the Spirit of Prophecy reveals that it is the Holy Spirit that comes to our soul and transforms our heart to reproduce the image or character of God in us when the Bread of Life is assimilated into our life. So the Bread of Life is Christ's Spirit, which is received into our heart, with which we are sealed for eternal life.

"The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven." {Desire of Ages 391}

Read John 6:56 "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."

Compare with John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

Compare also with Gal 4:6 "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."

When we take Christ's Spirit (represented by His flesh/meat/bread), Christ will dwell in us by His Spirit, as He promised in John 14:17, that the Spirit of truth will be in us, and as Paul said in Gal 4:6, the Spirit of God's Son has been sent into our hearts. 

The following SOP quote also confirms that eating the Bread of Life is the assimilation of Christ's mind and character into our life. In other words, when we receive His Spirit into our heart, we have His mind and character. So the Holy Spirit is also Christ's mind and character. 

"We are living in times full of importance to each one. Light is shining in clear, steady rays around us. If this light is rightly received and appreciated, it will be a blessing to us and to others; but if we trust in our own wisdom and strength, or in the wisdom and strength of our fellowmen, it will be turned into a poison. In the struggle for eternal life, we cannot lean upon one another. The BREAD OF LIFE must be eaten by each one. Individually we must partake of it, that soul, body, and mind may be revived and strengthened by its transforming power, thus becoming assimilated to the MIND and CHARACTER of JESUS CHRIST. God must be made first and last and best in everything." {Testimonies to Ministers 385.1}

Read John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

In John 5:21, Christ said He quickens [gives life to] the dead. "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will."

Psa 119:50 "Thy word hath quickened me."

Christ's flesh also represents the words that He speaks, and His words are spirit and life. In Psa 33:6 we see a parallel between His Word and His breath. "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." In John 20:22, He breathed upon them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." So word and breath are both synonymous with the Spirit.

Both His flesh and His words refer to His Spirit that quickens. In other words, when we take in Christ's words, or His Spirit, He makes us alive forever. 

Compare with 1 Cor 15:45 "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." 

Christ is the last Adam. After His ascension, He was made a quickening Spirit, which means a Spirit that gives us eternal life. This is the same Spirit of truth, the Comforter, that He promised to send, and which He fulfilled when He came to the disciples again on the day of Pentecost as a quickening Spirit. And by receiving the Spirit of Christ into our heart, we are sealed for eternal life.   

2 Cor 3:17 "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

John 6:64-66 "But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."

Just as many of Christ's disciples in His day did not want to believe in the Bread of Life, so today many who profess to follow Christ do not want to believe in the Spirit of Christ. They were offended when Christ offers them His own Spirit to dwell in their heart, for they believe in another spirit other than Christ. So in the end they walk no more with Christ, even though they may think they are serving God actively. These are the ones who will shockingly hear Christ say, "I never knew you." (Matt 7:23) How terrible that will be! May we ever receive Christ's Spirit into our heart so that we reflect His character fully and be sealed unto eternal life.