"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,"
etc. (John 6:51-58).

Combining this passage with other scriptures, we see that we are to feed upon Christ in three
characters:as the Passover Lamb, as the Manna, and as the Old Com of the land; it need scarcely
be said that all these things are types of Christ. In the scripture cited from John’s Gospel, we have
Christ especially as the Manna (verses 32,33, 48-50), with a reference also to Him as the Passover
Lamb (compare verses 4 and 53). But we shall have to turn to the Epistles to find Him in the
character which answers to the Old Corn of the land (Joshua 5:11).

Christ as the Passover Lamb

If we go back to the history of Israel, we shall find that they kept the passover in Egypt (Exod.
12), in the wilderness (Num. 9), and in the land (Josh. 5). The question then arises, When do we
feed, upon Christ as the Passover Lamb? It is sometimes said that we only do this at the outset
when, convicted of sin, we fear the approach of God as a Judge; and that as soon as we have
deliverance, we thereafter cease to feed upon Him in this character. If this be so, why does Israel
keep the passover both in the wilderness and in the land? I think, therefore, that it will be seen that
we never cease to keep the passover; and, moreover, that the place in which we thus feed upon
Christ depends upon our state of soul.

Every believer knows what it is to feed upon the roast lamb in Egypt. Awakened by the Spirit of
God, alarmed by the impending judgment, brought under the shelter of the precious blood, how
eagerly we fed upon the Lamb that had passed through the fires of God’s holiness when bearing
our sins on the tree! True, it was with bitter herbs that we ate it, for we then had a sight of our
sins. And it was with girded loins, and shoes on our feet, and our staff in our hand, for already
Egypt had become morally a desert, and we were only waiting for the word of the Lord to
commence our pilgrim journey. It was a time much to be remembered, for it was the beginning
of months_the first month of the year of our spiritual life.

Passing now from Egypt, the next place in which Israel kept the passover was the wilderness
(Num. 9:1-5). The wilderness is the place of every believer when viewed as a pilgrim. The world
has become a desert to him, and he is passing through (as not of) it, because he is waiting for the
return of his Lord. How then does he feed upon Christ as the slain Lamb in the wilderness? It is
participation by grace in the power of the death and resurrection of Christ, by which we have been
brought out of the enemy’s territory _delivered from the power of Satan and redeemed unto God.
In the wilderness we feed upon the passover as the memorial of our deliverance from Egypt; and
in it we see Christ going down into death, and not only bearing all the judgment that was our
due_going through and exhausting it, but also as meeting and conquering all the power of the
enemy_destroying him that had the power of death, and thereby bringing us out from the house
of bondage, and setting us free as the children, and for the service, of God.

In the land the passover assumed another character still, and one, too, which should also find its
correspondence with the believer now. It is very evident that to the Israelite it would have a much
fuller significance when he was across the Jordan than when he was in the desert. It would be to
him now the memorial, not simply of deliverance from Egypt and Egypt’s thralldom and power,
but of accomplished salvation.

So now, for we have a position which agrees entirely with being in the land. Not only have we
been quickened together with Christ, but we are also raised up together, and made to sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). This is the place before God of every believer; but
whether we are occupying it depends upon whether we know death and resurrection with, as well
as in and through, Christ; whether we have crossed the Jordan as well as the Red Sea. It is our
privilege to do so; indeed, we ought never to be content until, by the grace of God, we do know
what it is to be seated in spirit in the heavenly places. But if we are there, we cannot dispense with
the passover. Rather, the more fully we apprehend the character of the place into which we are
brought, the more the riches of the grace of God are unfolded to us, the more delightedly, and
with enlarged understanding, we shall look back to the cross and feast upon the death of Him
whose precious blood alone has made our place in the heavenlies possible for us. But our feeding
upon Him now will partake more of the character of communion with God in the death of His
Son. Our eyes will then be opened to discover, not so much the blessings which have thereby been
secured to us, but more the fact that God in every attribute of His character has been fully
glorified in that death. We shall thus feast with God when we keep the passover in the heavenly
places; and the effect on our souls will be adoration and praise. In a word, worship of the highest
character will be the result of our feeding upon the slain Lamb when we are seated in the
heavenlies.

Christ as the Manna

The manna differs from the roast lamb in that it was confined to the wilderness. It was not until
Israel had been brought through the Red Sea that the manna was given (see Exod. 16); and it
"ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children
of Israel manna anymore; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year" (Josh.
5:12). It was, therefore, the wilderness food of Israel; and in like manner Christ, as the Manna,
is the wilderness food for the believer.

What, then, is the Manna for the believer? It is Christ in incarnation_a humbled Christ. We see
in John 6 that Christ is the Manna in all that He was in the flesh_in the expression of what He
was both as the revealer of the Father and as the perfect man. His grace, compassion, sympathy,
tenderness, and love; His meekness and lowliness of heart; His patience, forbearance, and long-
suffering; His example _all these things are found in the Manna which God has given to us for
food during our sojourn in the wilderness.

Christ is continually presented to us in the Manna-character in those epistles which especially deal
with the desert path of the saint. We are exhorted to feed upon Christ as the Manna to sustain us
amid the trials, difficulties, and persecutions incident to the desert (see Heb. 12:1-3). In like
manner Peter continually leads us to Christ in this aspect. "What glory is it, if when ye be buffeted

for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it
patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps," etc. (1 Peter 2:20-24;
see also chap. 3:17,18). The apostle Paul, too, feeds the saints with manna. For example, we have
in Philippians 2:5-9 manna of the most precious character. "Being found in fashion as a man, He
humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." But it is in the
gospels that the manna lies gleaming round us on every side, and where it is to be gathered for
use as the needs of each day may require. For there it is that we have the unfoldings of that
wondrous life_the life of Him who was the Perfect Man, and, at the same time, God manifest in
flesh.

A remark must be made as to the collecting and use of the manna, namely, that it cannot be stored
for use. Every one must gather it every day according to his eating (Exod. 16:16); and if he gather
more_unless it be for the Sabbath it will surely become corrupt. Beloved friends, there must be
the constant feeding upon Christ, day by day, and hour by hour; and we can never receive more
than our need for the time requires. Thereby we are kept in continual dependence, and our eyes
are ever directed to Christ.

Christ as the Old Corn of the Land

In the passage already referred to (Josh. 5:10-12), we have the passover, the manna, and the old
corn mentioned together, and this fact makes the interpretation the more manifest. If therefore the
manna is Christ in incarnation, the old corn, inasmuch as the land typifies the heavenly places,
of necessity points to Christ in glory. And we shall find that He is so presented to us in the epistles
as the sustenance and strength of our souls, and so presented as our proper nourishment, even
though believers may be regarded in the epistles not, as in the Ephesians, as seated in the
heavenlies in Christ, but, as in Colossians and Philippians (and indeed in 2 Corinthians), as down
here upon the earth; for though still down here, they are united to Him where He is.

Take Colossians first. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection [have your mind] on things above, not
on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:1-3).
Here it is true we have "the things which are above"; but it is evident that by this term is meant
the whole sphere of blessing, of which Christ in glory is the center_the spiritual blessings in
heavenly places into the possession of which we are brought. These therefore are "the old corn
of the land," "the fruit of the land of Canaan," the proper food and sustenance for those who have
died and are risen with Christ.

In Philippians 3 we have the same truth brought before us. For what have we there but a glorified
Christ as filling the vision of the apostle’s soul, and as the satisfying portion of his heart? Thus
if we have the manna in chapter 2, we most surely have the old corn of the land in chapter 3. One
more instance may be cited:"We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).
Hence, too, the value of the constant expectation of Christ. It attracts us to the person of the
glorified Christ, engages our hearts with Him, and fills our souls with longing desires for that time
when we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

All these passages, and many more of a kindred character, direct us to Christ in glory as the Old
Corn of the land; but this is food with which we cannot dispense:no other will so nourish or
impart such strength to the saint. It is heavenly food for heavenly people; and it is only when we
are feeding upon it that we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might; that we can
make war with the enemy for the possession of our inheritance; that we are made willing to
undergo anything and everything_having fellowship with the sufferings of Christ, being made
conformable unto His death, if in any way we may arrive at the resurrection from among the dead
(Phil. 3).

It is thus by occupation with, feeding upon, contemplating Christ, that we are brought, in the
power of the Spirit, into fellowship with God, enabled to enter into His own thoughts
concerning_and even to share His own affections for_that blessed One who is now seated at His
own right hand. Surely here is the source of all growth, strength, and blessing! Satan knows this,
and hence he is incessantly engaged in seeking to occupy us with other things, to turn us aside to
earthly sources and objects. It behooves us, therefore, to be watchful, to maintain exercised hearts
and consciences, that we may at once detect, and unsparingly judge, everything which would

decoy our souls from the contemplation of Christ.

(From Unsearchable Riches.)