Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:8-9).

The Bible speaks a lot about food. That is because humans have bodies to maintain, and need to eat continually. Eating has become the center of our life, and even the purpose of it. Therefore, using it metaphorically, the Bible teaches us about the way of living. The above scripture in Genesis mentions two different trees—one from which man can eat freely, and the other from which he cannot. God said to Adam who had eaten from the tree that he was commanded not to eat from:

Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of it,” … through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. … and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground (3:17-19), …

Note, here, that the verb “to eat” is used so many times. The sin that came from eating from a wrong kind of tree resulted in another way of eating. This is the world we see today—how people eat and die, not live. Satan said to Jesus who had fasted forty days and forty nights, and was hungry:

If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread (Mat 4:3).

But Jesus answered:

It is written: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (v. 4).”

Here, you see two kinds of food—one that fills your physical stomach, and the other that is your spiritual food, the word of God. But this spiritual food is not only for your spiritual satisfaction, nourishment or growth. The disciples who had gone to a town to get some bread came back and urged him to eat, saying, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said:

I have food to eat that you know nothing about. … My food … is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work (John 4:32-34).

As when he was tempted by Satan, he refused to eat the food that the disciples brought. For him, the real food is to do the will of the Father, and finish his work—the fulfillment of the Scripture. These two kinds of food represent two different ways of lifestyle. Jesus said to the crowd who came to follow him after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand:

I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval (6:26-27).

Food is something that you “work for.” Humans after the Fall came to work for food that spoils: this food, you eat, and die. It is the way you live by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But the food that Jesus gives endures to eternal life. Where is really the difference? Jesus said:

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life (v. 63).