Then why did you say it, and how are you determining "necessary?"
...but that which isn’t mentioned should never be exalted above those things which are.
Where does Holy Writ authorize that rule? Furthermore, who determines "born again" is essential, but "eat my flesh" is figurative?
JESUS *IS* the BREAD OF LIFE. We eat his flesh by relying on Jesus Christ for sustenance day by day. Jesus talks about being the bread of life because HE is the only One that can truly satisfy us and fill us and give us eternal life. He fulfills our every need. That’s what makes him our bread!
*~*
“Publicly, he was saying: I am the bread of heaven. Just like God sent you manna in the wilderness to sustain your life, he has sent me into the world to give life—eternal life. And personally, he was saying to the apostles: Serve me faithfully, and you will never lack what you need. I will be for you everything you need, even in the hour of suffering and death.” ~ John Piper
* TASTE AND SEE *
“Here they are standing in front of the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ—the infinitely valuable, infinitely beautiful, all-satisfying, everlasting Food that endures to eternal life—who gives eternal life. And they ask: What kind of works does God want us to do so that we can have the Bread of Life? And Jesus says, in essence: If you don’t see the person standing in front of you for who he is, no amount of work is going to make him your Treasure. You don’t need to do any works, you need to taste and see. Eat. Believe.
“To all who did receive him, who believed in his name,” is part of what John said in John 1:12. Believing is receiving. Believing is seeing him for the Food that he is, and eating. That is, taking him into your soul, your life, as the all-satisfying, life-giving Treasure that he is.
*~*
IT’S ALL ABOUT CHRIST! THAT’S WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT! GOD gave us HIMSELF! Jesus said HE is the way, HE is the truth, HE is the life. Christianity is not supposed to be like every religion where you can remove the founder and still be left with the rules and traditions.
Because in the same passage Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
So if you have ever hungered or been thirsty, either you haven’t come to Jesus OR He was using a metaphor.
He also said, 63”It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
As for ‘born again’ being essential, that is determined by Jesus Christ. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Sounds pretty essential to me. “Cannot” is used, not “might not”.