Christ Himself is the Tree of Life. The fruit of the Tree of Life gives us eternal life and the leaves of the tree are for our healing. As Christ is created in the Church, the members of the Body of Christ also become part of the Tree of Life itself. They become "life-giving spirits."

The righteous person is a tree of life bringing forth fruit in season (compare Psalms 1:3).

No person can live by natural food alone. If we do not partake of the Life of God there is no enduring life in us. We are as an animal that is born on the earth, exists on the earth, and returns to the dust of the ground.

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. (John 6:27)

God the Father has authorized and endorsed His Son Jesus as the only One who can provide the food by which people are to live.

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. (John 6:35)

Many of the Jews began to follow the Lord Jesus when they realized He possessed the power to multiply loaves and fish. It was not the fact of the miracle that attracted them but the desire to have a ready supply of food. Jesus reproved them for their shortsightedness and presented Himself as the food and drink a person must receive if he is to have eternal life.

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53,54)

Christ Himself is the Word of God made flesh. He is the Substance of God Almighty. When we by faith partake of the body and blood of Christ we are partaking of the Life of God. The Life Substance of God nourishes our entire being.

The Life of God creates eternal life in our spirit, our soul, and—at the coming of the Lord—our body. The revealing of the eternal Divine Life that is in us will take place with the appearing of our Lord and Savior, Christ.

There is no true life apart from Christ. Whoever has not received the body and blood of the Lord Jesus is spiritually dead. He may possess a beating heart and walk in conscious existence on the earth. He may be highly educated, talented, wealthy, handsome, personable and athletic. But he is dead. His life proceeds from vegetables, grains, animal flesh, and dairy products.

He is as the grass of the field—a fine show for a brief period but destined soon to wither and pass away, just as grass is seen today and tomorrow withers and fades away (Isaiah 40:6-8).

The combined efforts of the nations of the earth to perfect human beings are vain and useless. People apart from Christ are little more than highly intelligent animals. Human history is a pitiful spectacle of the helpless groping of mankind for light and peace.

To be continued.