“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)
I have used John 14:6 on many occasions and would like to make some observations concerning both verses six and seven.
1: “JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY,”
To say that Jesus is the only way to God these days, really angers those who do not know Him. We hear things along the line of:
“You’re mean, close-minded, arrogant, and stupid.”
“Christians are intolerant of other religions and think Christianity is the only way to God.”
“Christians are haters.”
And of course since Oprah Winfrey, and others of like kind, believe there are many ways to God, it must be true, right? Not hardly.
Have you ever noticed that the root word for “Christian” is “Christ,” and the root word for “Christianity” is also “Christ?” Hmmmmm, is there a pattern here? Could this be a clue? Of course! Christians are called “CHRISTians” because we believe in Jesus CHRIST, who is God in the flesh, the Creator, and the Author of His Holy Word, the Bible. The same holds true for the word, “CHRISTianity.”
As a Christian, Jesus Christ is our Savior and He is our Lord. He is our God and His Word is final. He is our Savior because of our faith and His grace. He is our Lord because we bow the knee to no other.
If your faith is not in Jesus Christ, you are not a CHRISTian. If you bow the knee to other gods, Jesus is not your Lord, and you are not a CHRISTian.
Several well-known Christians have been confronted about Christianity’s insistence that Jesus is the only way to God. Only a few (very few) have replied with something like, “It doesn’t matter what I believe. What matters is what God says.” That is the correct answer, and God (Jesus) says He is the only way to the Father (God).
To repeat, Jesus Christ is God. The Bible is His Word, and He says in His Word, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
Your argument is not with me or any other Christian. It is with God.
2: “JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE TRUTH,”
Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38) The sad thing is that this elite class, wealthy politician was looking right at “Truth” and didn’t see it. His carnal mind was so full of Satan’s delusion; he walked away from “Truth.”
Pilate said he found no fault in Him, but he only meant that he found no guilt of a crime committed. He did not see the guiltless, sinless, holy Son of God standing before Him. He could have bowed his knees before the only Way to God and sought His forgiveness. He could have been saved and become a Christian that very day, but ignorance and pride doomed his soul to hell.
Pilate thought he was the one with all the power, but if only he had known that the One standing before him held his soul in His hand. One day Pilate will stand before the very One who stood before him, Jesus Christ, and be judged. There will not be a beating with the cat-of-nine tails and a cross, but the eternal fires of an everlasting hell in the Lake of Fire.
Are you like Pilate? The Truth is right in front of your face, and you don’t see it? Don’t let the Truth pass you by as it did Pilate, or you will stand in line with him to be judged by the very One you both ignored.
3: “JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE LIFE,”
Jesus is referring to life that is eternal, such as in John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Not only that, all things exists because of Him. Without Him, there would be no life in anything, human or otherwise. When we look at the trees around us, the garden vegetables that grow, the flowers that bloom, birth of a newborn, there is life. None of this would be possible without Jesus Christ, because all life is through Him.
The opposite of life is death, and therefore the opposite of eternal life is eternal death. Notice the following verse”
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
When Jesus uses the terminology “destroy both soul and body in hell,” the word “destroy” means “to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell.” Jesus gives all mankind life, some will spend their life in Heaven for all eternity and others will spend their life in hell for all eternity. Someone said, “We are not a body with a soul, but a soul with a body.”
We all have a soul. Our soul is the real us, not our body. Therefore, we all have life. We spend the temporary portion of our life on earth. Where we spend the eternal portion of our life depends on what we do with Jesus.
Jesus provides us an earthly body (perishable) to live in while we are on earth. It will only last a few years. For those of us who are Christians, He will provide us with a heavenly (imperishable) body for Heaven that will last forever. For those who are not Christians, I believe He will provide an imperishable body designed for the Lake of Fire that will last forever.
Jesus has stated thus far that He is (1) the way, (2) the truth, and (3) the life. Reminder … He is God. He says this. So don’t argue with me or another Christian about whether or not Jesus is the only way to God.
“Oh but all the other religions can’t be wrong. They have such beautiful rites and they believe so firmly in their religion. You can’t be the only one with the truth and everyone else wrong. And besides that, there are just too many intelligent people, who are very religious, who believe there are many ways to God, so it must be so.”
Your problem isn’t with the messenger. If you won’t listen to the messenger, then you need to speak with the One who wrote the message. The messenger only repeats what he/she has been told to say.
4: “IF YE HAD KNOWN ME, YE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MY FATHER ALSO:”
We often think of the Father as God, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also part of the Godhead … one God, three manifestations. The three are one God; i.e. the Trinity.
So we say there is one way to God. Jesus says that if we know Him, we also know God (Father). Jesus says they are one (John 10:30). They are the same. There is no difference. Therefore, from simple common sense, Jesus is the only way to God, because He is God. If you want to know God, you must know Jesus Christ. He is the only way. There is no other.
5. “NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME.”
There you have it. It isn’t what Christians say. It isn’t what the Church says. It is what Jesus Christ the Son of God says about the path of salvation.
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14)
Directly from God we are told that few will believe that it is only through the Son of God that anyone can come to God the Father, and they are One. Only a few will follow that narrow path and obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ, because their narrow minds will keep them from the narrow path.
Grant Phillips