He who eateth my flesh. This is a repetition, but is not superfluous; for it confirms what was difficult to be believed, That souls feed on his flesh and blood, in precisely the same manner that the body is sustained by eating and drinking Accordingly, as he lately testified that nothing but death remains for all who seek life anywhere else than in his flesh, so now he excites all believers [1] to cherish good hope, while he promises to them life in the same flesh. And I will raise him up at the last day. It ought to be observed, that Christ so frequently connects the resurrection with eternal life, because our salvation will be hidden till that day. No man, therefore, can perceive what Christ bestows on us, unless, rising above the world, he places before his eyes the last resurrection From these words, it plainly appears that the whole of this passage is improperly explained, as applied to the Lord's Supper. For if it were true that all who present themselves at the holy table of the Lord are made partakers of his flesh and blood, all will, in like manner, obtain life; but we know that there are many who partake of it to their condemnation. And indeed it would have been foolish and unreasonable to discourse about the Lord's Supper, before he had instituted it. It is certain, then, that he now speaks of the perpetual and ordinary manner of eating the flesh of Christ, which is done by faith only. [2] And yet, at the same time, I acknowledge that there is nothing said here that is not figuratively represented, and actually bestowed on believers, in the Lord's Supper; and Christ even intended that the holy Supper should be, as it were, a seal and confirmation [3] of this sermon. This is also the reason why the Evangelist John makes no mention of the Lord's Supper; and therefore Augustine follows the natural order, when, in explaining this chapter, he does not touch on the Lord's Supper till he comes to the conclusion; and then he shows that this mystery is symbolically represented, whenever the Churches celebrate the Lord's Supper, in some places daily, and in other places only on the Lord's day.

Footnotes

1 - "Tous les fideles."

2 - "De la maniere perpetuelle et ordinaire de manger la chair de Christ, qui se fait par la foy seulement."

3 - "Comme nn seau et confirmation."

Hath eternal life - This can never be understood of the sacrament of the Lord's supper.
1. Because this was not instituted till a year after; at the last Passover.
2. It cannot be said that those who do not receive that sacrament must perish everlastingly.
3. Nor can it be supposed that all those who do receive it are necessarily and eternally saved.
On the contrary, St. Paul intimates that many who received it at Corinth perished, because they received it unworthily, not discerning the Lord's body: not distinguishing between it and a common meal; and not properly considering that sacrifice for sin, of which the sacrament of the Lord's super was a type: see 1-Corinthians 11:30.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,.... Spiritually by faith, as explained in the preceding verse:
hath eternal life; the principle of spiritual life, which is evidently implanted in him, as appears from his eating and drinking; and is a durable and lasting principle: grace is an incorruptible seed; every part of it is abiding and permanent; and it is itself the beginning, pledge, and earnest of everlasting life, and is inseparably connected with it: moreover, such have eternal life itself, not only in Christ their head, but in themselves: they have a right unto it, and a meetness for it: and may be assured of it, as if they were personally possessed of it, from their election to it; the security of it in Christ; from the grace they have received, which is the beginning of glory; and the earnest of it in themselves:
and I will raise him up at the last day; to enjoy it in soul and body; See Gill on John 6:39, See Gill on John 6:40.

Whoso eateth . . . hath, &c.--The former verse said that unless they partook of Him they had no life; this adds, that whoever does so "hath eternal life."
and I will raise him up at the last day--For the fourth time this is repeated (see John 6:39-40, John 6:44) --showing most clearly that the "eternal life" which such a man "hath" cannot be the same with the future resurrection life from which it is carefully distinguished each time, but a life communicated here below immediately on believing (John 3:36; John 5:24-25); and giving to the resurrection of the body as that which consummates the redemption of the entire man, a prominence which in the current theology, it is to be feared, it has seldom had. (See Romans 8:23; 1Co. 15:1-58, throughout).