Below is a very useful chart included in the ESV Study Bible, (which I'm finding is the most helpful resource I own), which serves to provide a great summary of the focus of Bryant's current sermon series from the book of John:
Physical Items Used by Jesus to Teach Spiritual Truths
Though often misunderstood by Jesus' hearers, the use of these tangible metaphors helps readers of John's Gospel understand its message as they meditate on the analogies between these physical realities and spiritual truths.
| Physical Item | Spiritual Truth | References |
|---|---|---|
| Light | true knowledge and presence of God; moral purity | 1:4–5, 7–9; 3:19–21; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9–10; 12:35–36, 46; cf. 1 John 2:8–10 |
| Jerusalem temple | Christ's physical body | 2:19–22 |
| Physical birth | spiritual birth: being “born again” | 1:13; 3:3–8; cf. 6:63; 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 18 |
| Wind | the Holy Spirit | 3:8 |
| Water | the Holy Spirit within believers | 4:7–15; 7:37–39; cf. 1 John 5:6, 8 |
| Food | doing the will of God | 4:31–34 |
| Bread | Jesus himself, his life and death | 6:32–51, 58 |
| Flesh and blood | Jesus' death | 6:53–56; cf. 1 John 1:7; 5:6, 8 |
| Door | path to eternal life in Jesus | 10:1–9 |
| Shepherd | Jesus' sacrifice and care for his people | 10:11–18, 26–28; 21:15–17 |
| Vine | Jesus in relationship to his followers | 15:1–11 |
| Cup | God's wrath toward sin | 18:11 |
| Breath | the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples | 20:22 |
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