We have been sharing a series based upon the seven “I AM” statements in John’s gospel. Jesus made these statements so that He could identify with God the Father to His listeners. I have discussed the first five “I AM” statements in previous episodes; today, we will look at the sixth “I AM” statement which is found in John 14:6. Show More
When Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus was revealing several important things about Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. This statement came with deep and powerful significance; Jesus was describing a new and vital relationship between humankind and the creator of the universe.
Among Christians, this verse is probably well known; however, it is more than a slogan or memory verse. Jesus’ statement, “I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.“, is a profound theological declaration of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Trinity, three persons in one, is impossible for the human mind to comprehend and therefore is a matter of faith. When we cannot understand, we must trust God and walk by faith, not by sight or our natural understanding.
The priesthood of all Believers
Keep in mind, up until this time in human history, no one could see Yahweh or Jehovah and live. (Exodus 33:20, John 1:18, 1Timothy 6:14-16, and 1John 4:12). Now Jesus, God incarnate, came to live among us, and now to see Him is to see life everlasting. Jesus changes everything!
When Jesus gave up His Spirit on the Cross in Matthew 27:51, the scriptures say, “Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.” When the veil was split in two, traditions and rituals gave way to relationships.
In the Temple behind the veil was the “Holy of Holies,” which could only be accessed by the High Priest. The Holy of Holies was the place where the presence of God was! Now because the veil was torn in two, every Believer is a priest and has full access to God.
- 1Peter 2:4, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
- 1Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
John 14, The Way, the Truth, The Life
In John 14, the Apostle John describes the turmoil that the Disciples felt when they heard that Jesus would be leaving them in John 13:31-38. Jesus makes a promise in John 14:1-4, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
There are three important and encouraging points to make. First, Jesus promises that He has prepared a place for all believers, and second, He will return for all those who believe in Him. That should be very encouraging for every Believer of Christ. The third point is that Jesus says that we should know the way!
The disciples Thomas and Philip state that everyone, at some time or another, considers what “must I do to get to heaven!” Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Now, we arrive at the central point of this message, John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” Jesus makes it clear that there is a way, a truth, and a life. Let’s look at each one of these three realities.
Jesus is the Way
Within the same verse, Jesus proclaims that He is the way! Jesus then says that He and the Father are one, and Jesus is God the Father in the flesh.
John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.”
Jesus then goes on to say to Philip, if you can’t believe that the Father and I are one, then believe for the sake of the signs and wonders I performed, and you have witnessed. For only God could do these things. 11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”
Jesus is the only way. There are those who believe that “all roads lead to God,” but the scriptures say that there is only one way, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” It can’t be any clearer than that. You may wish there was another way for the sake of those who are on the wrong path; nevertheless, Jesus is the only way to the Father.
Jesus is the Truth
In the natural, it is almost impossible for us to know the truth, but as born-again Believers of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God lives in us, and He is the Spirit of Truth. This means that we have the capacity to know the truth. The next step is to do the truth. It is only then that the truth sets us free! You can’t do it without the Holy Spirit, who is the Helper.
John 14;16, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Jesus promises that He will not leave us alone. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Jesus, came down to live in us.
When we think of the word Truth from God’s perspective, it means that whatever God says will never change. I heard somewhere three things that God can’t do, God can not lie, He cannot change, and He cannot let a sinner into Heaven. The following verse speaks to those ideas:
- Malachi 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I do not change….”
- James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
- Additional verses: Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18
The importance of the spiritual nature of the born-again Believer cannot be overstated because worshipping God is done in spirit and truth. When Jesus was speaking to the woman at the Well, He said to her in John 4;23, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as our Helper, our Comforter, our Advocate, and our Guide. We need to learn how to hear the Spirit of God to fulfill His purpose and plan for our lives. John 16:13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
Jesus is the Life
John 14:19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Because Jesus rose from the dead and lives, you are promised a resurrection too.
Life in this context means life in the Spirit, new life in Jesus Christ. Spiritually speaking, you died and rose with Christ, and the Spirit of God lives in you. There are two kinds of people in the world: people living in the flesh and people living in the Spirit. All of us are in one of these two categories. With Jesus, you have life on this earth and one day in Heaven, and it will be forever. However, without Jesus, you may have life on earth, but there is no life in Hell separated from God, and that is also forever.
The Meaning of Life
All of us are looking for meaning in life, and it is one of the fundamental questions mankind has wrestled with since the beginning of time. Here are the questions we struggle with, that is, until we come to Jesus.
- Where Do I Come From? You are God’s creation; God knew you before you were “knitted” in your mother’s womb. Listen to what the prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you….” Where do you come from? You come from God!
- What Is My Purpose? For the righteous Believer, the meaning (or purpose) of life is to bring glory to God our creator and enjoy him forever through Jesus Christ.
- Where Am I Going? You are going home to your eternal reward; remember the earth is not your true home. Regardless of the life, you have lived on earth, whether difficult or easy, this is what Jesus promises in Heaven, Revelation 21:4, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Conclusion
Let me close with what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The meaning here is clear, Paul was saying, no matter what I face in this life, I will survive, and I will thrive because of Christ in me.
The next time you read John 14:6, be thankful that you know the way, Jesus is the way, Jesus is the truth, and Jesus is the life. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus. Be strengthened and encouraged by that knowledge.
