The Epiousios Diet

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There are too many diets to keep track of. Most become passing fads. Some are supported by medical data. Others are not. Each unique diet puts forth its own unique claim. One promises to reduce cholesterol levels. Another says it lowers blood pressure. Yet another one purports to reduce the chance of Alzheimer’s disease. Only one, the Epiousios Diet, claims to have eternal benefits. Have you heard of it? Have you tried it?  Please read more.

The Keto Diet is the recent rage.  It is a short duration, low carb, high fat diet focused on weight loss. The Paleo Diet was based on the principle of returning to what early humans ate during the Paleolithic era. Vegetarian diets cut out all animal protein. Vegan Diets are strictly plant-based diet and avoid any food that comes from an animal. The Mind Diet is high in fruits, vegetables and healthy fats from fish, nuts, and olive oil.

Almost every diet claims to either extend a person’s life span or at least improve the quality of life. Only one diet promises ETERNAL LIFE. That diet is the Epiousios Diet. What exactly is the EPIOUSIOS DIET? Where did it come from?

The epiousios diet is not a fad. It has been around for over 2,000 years. It was put forth by the world’s greatest physician. The author of this diet is none other than Jesus Christ.  His diet is the only diet that promises eternal life. We should all take this diet very seriously.

The Epiousios Diet comes to us from the Bible. The word epiousios (ἐπιούσιος) is only found in two places in the New Testament. The early Greek version of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:11 and Luke 11:3 used the word epiousios. Traditionally the word epiousios, as written in the Lord’s Prayer, has been translated in the English language. It is known to most of us as the word “daily” and used as an adjective to modify the word bread.

We recite the Lord’s Prayer with these words: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that anyone should change the way they recite the Lord’s Prayer. I am, however, strongly suggesting that we all need to try hard to understand what exactly Jesus was saying, if we want to receive the eternal benefits of His unique diet plan.

Many modern Biblical scholars reject the translation of “epiousios” bread to “daily” bread.  So what exactly did Jesus mean when He taught us to pray “Give us this day our epiousios bread?”  St. Jerome’s Latin translation, dating back to AD 382, when translated into English gives us the word super-substantial or super-essential. Theologian Brant Pitre, believes a more precise and accurate translation of epiousios is the word supernatural, and yet others believe it means necessary. Dr. William Barclay, professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow, sums things up when he writes, “Although we need not agree that any one of these explanations is the main meaning of the petition, we need not reject any of them as false. They all have their own truth and their own relevance.”

This brings me to my main point. Jesus gave us a prayer, and in this prayer He taught us to say, “Give us this day our epiousios bread.”  What exactly was Jesus telling us to pray for? I personally believe that Jesus wanted us to feast on HIM every day in order to have proper spiritual nutrition.

During the time of Moses, the Jews gathered new manna every day. Manna could not be stored up for a later day. Jesus tells us to pray each and every day for this epiousios bread. We can’t go to church on Sunday and expect it to sustain us all week. We need spiritual food daily. Some Catholic theologians believe Jesus was talking about the Eucharist when He was using the word epiousios. As I’ve pointed out, other Christians interpret this differently. No matter what the nutritional value of epiousios means to our spiritual diet, we should all agree that Jesus told us we need it daily.

There is only one diet plan that promises eternal life. Jesus gave us that diet. We must feast on Him! Some feast on Him in their Eucharistic meal, while others feast on Him when they consume the Words of Scripture. To be clear, no diet is spiritually nutritious unless Jesus is the main ingredient. If we seek eternal life, we should all be on the Epiousios Diet.  I will close with a thought provoking question. What does it mean to you to feast on Jesus every day?  

Dear Heavenly Father, too often we start new diets only to stop them soon afterwards. Help me to make the Epiousios Diet part of my life. I need Jesus as the main source of my nutritional needs every day. Amen.

As always, I love to read your comments below as well as hear from you personally by clicking here.

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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