"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." — 2 Corinthians 9:6
"He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness." — 2 Corinthians 9:10
All four Gospels record the story of Jesus feeding a multitude with just five loaves and two fish. On the surface, it’s a miracle of provision. But in the language of Neville Goddard, it is a pattern for imaginative abundance — the principle that the world responds not to what we lack, but to what we assume.
This is about the bread of consciousness — the feeding of the multitude within, rather physical bread. It.
Elisha: The Pattern Before Jesus
Long before the feeding stories appear in the Gospels, the same principle is enacted through Elisha. This is continuity rather than coincidence. Elisha functions as a precursor — an earlier expression of the same inner law that later finds fuller articulation in Jesus.
In 2 Kings 4, the servant’s objection mirrors the disciples’ later doubt: how can so little meet such great need? The response is not logistical, but psychological — a command rooted in assumption rather than evidence.
But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”
So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the LORD. — 2 Kings 4:43–44
Here, abundance does not come from adding resources, but from accepting fulfilment in advance. The “word of the LORD” is not an external decree — it is the inner conviction that precedes experience. Once the assumption is fixed, the outcome follows naturally: they eat, and there is surplus.
This places Elisha between Joseph opening storehouses during famine and Jesus feeding thousands in the wilderness. In each case, provision flows from consciousness, not circumstance. What is given from within multiplies when it is no longer questioned.
The Setting: The Wilderness of Thought
(Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:31–32, Luke 9:10, John 6:3)
Each Gospel places the event in a remote place — a wilderness, far from towns or markets. This isn’t geographical; it’s psychological. The wilderness represents the seeming emptiness when we turn away from the world of facts and appearances. It’s the inner space where nothing “material” seems to support our desire.
“And Jesus went away from there in a boat to a lonely place by himself.”
(Matthew 14:13)
To feed the five thousand here is to bring fulfilment to a barren state — not by importing external resources, but by drawing from inner substance. Imagination, not logic, sustains.
The Problem: “We Have Only…”
(Matthew 14:17, Mark 6:38, Luke 9:13, John 6:9)
In each account, the disciples see lack. They say, “We have only five loaves and two fish.” To the rational mind, this is insufficiency. But to Jesus — the awakened I AM — this is more than enough, once assumed rightly.
Neville Goddard taught that every state already contains within it the means of its expression. The five loaves and two fish are symbolic elements:
- Five loaves: the five senses, through which limitation is perceived.
- Two fish: feeling and imagination — the hidden creative forces beneath conscious awareness.
“They said to him, We have only five loaves and two fish.”
(Matthew 14:17)
What you perceive and what you imagine are the building blocks of your world. Though they appear meagre, when offered to the I AM in faith, they multiply.
The Miracle: Looking Up and Giving Thanks
(Matthew 14:19, Mark 6:41, Luke 9:16, John 6:11)
Only John notes that the loaves come from a boy — symbolising the childlike capacity within that still believes.
“There is a boy here, who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many?”
(John 6:9)
The sequence mirrors Neville’s method:
- Look up: shift from appearance to assumption.
- Bless: recognise completion.
- Break: emotionally experience fulfilment.
- Give: persist in the assumption.
“He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowd.”
(Luke 9:16)
The miracle occurs in consciousness. The moment “I only have…” becomes “I AM…”, the loaves multiply.
Twelve Baskets Left Over
(Matthew 14:20, Mark 6:43, Luke 9:17, John 6:13)
The twelve baskets symbolise the twelve faculties of mind. Fed by imagination, they expand beyond former limits.
“And the people ate, and were filled; and they took up twelve baskets of broken pieces left over.”
(Matthew 14:20)
You do not lose by assuming abundance — you expand.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
Seven loaves indicate completion; four thousand, manifestation into the created order.
“How many loaves have you?” And they said, “Seven.”
(Mark 8:5)
This feeding nourishes the broader subconscious structure — Elohim, the manifold aspects of mind.
Joseph Opens the Storehouses
“And Joseph opened all the storehouses…”
(Genesis 41:56–57)
Joseph represents imaginative mastery during famine — the opening of inner storehouses when appearances deny supply.
The Last Supper: The Final Feed
“Take, eat; this is my body.”
(Mark 14:22)
The body is fixed assumption. The bread is consciousness. To break it is to dissolve limitation.
Conclusion: Feeding the Elohim Within
God is not a single faculty, but the totality of mind. Every aspect must be fed by the assumption of “I AM.”
- Nothing is lacking except belief.
- What you bless, multiplies.
- What you imagine, feeds the world within.
You are not waiting for God.
You are the one breaking the bread.