The Way, The Truth and The Life

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

The Way

Throughout the Gospels, Christ makes many claims about who He is. We see Him call Himself the light of the world, the bread of life, and the good shepherd. However, I don’t believe any of those come close to the claim He makes in John 14.

“Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:1

We see immediately that Christ seeks to comfort us and steer our hearts in the right direction. While doing so, He also makes subtle parallels to Himself and God, calling for belief in both, which is necessary for peace. How else would our hearts not be troubled besides believing in He who made them? He knows all the ins and outs of our hearts; He knows what they need and they yearn for Him.

“No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Another way that He brings us peace is His claim to be The Way, the only way to God. This is a very scary text for those who have never heard the name of Christ and even scarier for those who reject Him after knowing of Him. If we truly believe that He is the way, that belief condemns every other religion and all those found outside of Christ. It makes Christianity an exclusive path to God and eternal life in Christ. By nature, we have no way to the Father. But for a Christian, we find our hope in the security that He is the way and that there is no other way. To us, it means that Christ has come to make a way for us and to become our way to the Father. Nothing else can surpass the gift that Christ provides, which is to have a relationship with God. To be restored to our Creator, this is the reason for which Christ came and died. This is what gives an enormous amount of hope and peace to Christians all around the globe.

One of the great challenges for Christianity in our day is the exclusive claims of Christ. It’s true that most Americans believe in God. Still, 85% or more in all the surveys claim to believe in God in this country, but most people who believe in God in this country, includ-ing most Christians, hold pretty confusing and often contradictory views about God, es-pecially when it comes to heaven and hell. According to research from Lifeway a few years ago, 54% of Americans agree with this statement: “Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their savior receive God’s gift of eternal life.” That was higher than I thought—54%. But at the same time, 64% of Americans agree with this statement: “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.” So which is it? In addition, 77% of Americans agree that people must contribute their own effort for their personal salvation. So Americans by and large hold a lot of confusing and contradictory views about God.

The Truth

This message of comfort to His people continues in the very nature that He is Truth. What can be more reassuring than truth in a world full of lies? Christians hold tightly to the truth in all matters because the truth is found in Christ. Ever since mankind fell into sin, we have lost all grasp on truth. Yet it is the truth that has redeemed us and set us free once again. Our culture has done its very best to try to twist and distort truth, exchanging truth for lies. But our Lord has come to reverse that and to place truth at the very center of His people. We should be known as truth seekers and truth protectors. We should be seen as the most trustworthy people on Earth for how we value the truth.

“grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

Because Christ is The Truth, we can trust Him in all that He says. We never have to worry about testing any of His words because we know Him to be fully true in all that He does. This implies His Word is trustworthy and without error because it is True, because He is Truth.

“But that is not the way you learned Christ! assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.” Eph 4:20-21

The very idea that He is “The Truth” should expose those who masquerade as so-called “truth.” We should be used to this now; the Bible opens with Satan trying to twist the words of God into his own “truth,” which is nothing more than a lie. Our world is pretty good at trying to cover the lies with a few small truths or just twisting the lies in a way that sounds true. Always be testing everything with the Bible, for it will expose what is true and what is false.

The constant refrain in the Old Testament, “I am God and there is no other.” That’s why Isaiah and Jeremiah rejected the syncretism of the people. There was only one God. Why did Elijah challenge the prophets at Baal? On Mount Carmel? If Baal and Ashra were good options? No, He says you need to decide which one. Why did Joshua say, “Choose for yourselves whom this day you will serve, whether the gods beyond the river or Yahweh, our God. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Why did God begin the 10 commandments by saying “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other gods before Me”?

True worship and true religion is not measured by the sincerity of the worshiper. You will hardly find a more counter-cultural statement. Most people really think truth is measured by sincerity. If you really believe it, you really feel it, you’re really sincere about it, it really matters to your life, therefore it must be true. The testimony of the Scriptures from start to finish is quite the contrary. Remember what Paul says in Philippians? He says just the opposite. He’s in jail, he said there’s some people preaching Christ out of rivalry, ambition, envy. He says in whatever way Christ is preached, I give thanks. He said they’re not sincere, but what they’re actually saying is true, and I’m thankful for that.

Our culture says the opposite. We can’t really know what’s true religiously, but as long as you’re sincere, then it must be true for you. That’s a different universe from the universe of the Bible. You see, this is not simply about getting some theology right, though we want our theology right. It’s about getting the glory of Christ. – Clearly Reformed

The Life

During our limited time on Earth, we might want to think more about the meaning and value of life. We live busy lives and rarely find the time to invest in the thoughts of what comes next. Least this become true, we will soon forget our purpose here on Earth. Our value comes from above, from the One who gives us life. This life’s purpose is summed up in the simple act of knowing God and Jesus Christ.

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. – John 17:3

This life is filled with joys and trials for Christians who find themselves as exiles and sojourners in a foreign land. Amidst the struggles and adversity we face, we often discover profound strength and resilience, drawing closer to our faith and each other. The support from fellow believers and the comfort of the spirit provide us with the guidance needed to persevere, instilling a deep sense of belonging even in the most unfamiliar places. Through both the highs and lows, they come to understand the value of their journey, cherishing every lesson learned along the way and fostering a sense of anticipation for the eternal home that awaits them.

Jesus does not just show us the way to the Father; He is the way to the Father, the only way. Access to the Father’s house in heaven will only be through Jesus and no other person. He is the only one who can lead us to the place He has prepared for us. The way and the truth, and the life come to a focus in the one phrase, “through Me.” Jesus is the means. – Wil Pounds

Final Thoughts

I hope in the future to write many more of these short and brief expository thoughts. May our thoughts always be wrapped up in the Word of God.