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The oft-cited declaration of John 14:6 puts plainly the reality that Jesus is God incarnate and the sole pathway by which humanity may enter His holy kingdom. The setting for the passage is the night before the crucifixion; Jesus is preparing the disciples for the fact that He will be leaving them, and as chapter 14 begins He offers them arguably the most comforting words to be found in the scriptures. Thomas interrupts, asking how they will find their way to rejoin Him, not fully grasping that the Lord is talking about the transcendent kingdom of God. Jesus responds to him by stating that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the path they are to follow, He is the certainty of God’s holy standard, and He is the testimony of His infinite, everlasting existence.

One of the more widely used terms used to label the early church in the time of the apostles was The Way because during His earthly ministry, the Lord repeatedly identified Himself as such; He is the means through which man may enter the kingdom of God. He is the only way; there are not several. This is a hard concept to accept in a culture that recoils at absolutes, particularly in matters of faith. Yet it was only Jesus, by virtue of God’s mercy, who made atonement for us and improved our unredeemed condition—the necessary act to reconcile imperfect, unholy man to his perfect, holy Creator. It was only Jesus, God in the flesh, who entered human history to personally reveal the way of salvation, secure it with His sacrifice, and set the example of discipleship that ultimately testifies to a believer’s saving faith. Jesus is the only Way.

He is also the standard of Truth, the embodiment of scripture and the authentication of its message. Once again it is specific and may seem exclusive from our standpoint. Today no one seems to believe in absolute truth. Our culture instead embraces relativistic perceptions of fact, consisting of myriad truth claims designed to accommodate the personal preferences and flawed, finite perspectives of wretched humanity. But this is what people today naturally do, mix black and white and dwell in the gray area where there are no hard edges, no moral or intellectual absolutes and they can remain free of responsibility.

Nevertheless, there is such a thing as absolute truth. It is established by the God of the universe through the very essence of His being and is plainly revealed to us through His Word. That Word defines man’s actual reality and his true place in the order of things. It convicts him as sinful, by imputation and his own behaviors, and therefore unworthy of his holy Maker. It shows him the error of his ways but presents him with a standard for Godly living. It outlines the solution to his biggest problem, the unavoidable and eternal condemnation at the hands of the one, living God. That solution, and that truth, is Jesus Christ—the Word incarnate, the Redeemer of man, the only Mediator between heaven and earth, and the singular, infinite and eternal Life.

When we consider scripture’s concept of the eternal Life (He. chayei olam; Gk. zoe), we understand that it is a state of living not bound by physical constraints or even the natural universe, but instead reflects God’s blessed, self-sustained, infinite and everlasting existence. This is the ultimate state of being and one that the believer will partake of—a perpetual, conscious fellowship with God through faith in Christ. Eternal life is the Person of Jesus, because He is the source.

After responding to Thomas, Jesus goes on to confirm His oneness with God the Father. Philip is the next one to miss the point, asking to be shown the Father so that their faith may be validated. Never mind that they have had a front row seat for numerous signs and miracles and have heard authoritative truth for three years running, they still don’t recognize Jesus for who He is. It is just another example of man’s fallibility and struggles with spiritual discernment. Faith isn’t easy, apparently even when the Almighty is sitting right there in front of you.

The Way, the Truth and the Life is probably the most comprehensive of the I AMs in its stated claim. It is extremely succinct, yet expresses key attributes of Jesus as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world. May the powerful clarity of this verse continue to resonate and lead people to the narrow gate of salvation.

Next: The True Vine

Sola scriptura • Sola Fide • Sola Gratia • Solus Christus • Soli Deo Gloria
Most scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB)

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