The I Am’s of John “WAY/TRUTH/LIFE”

“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:5-6 (ESV)

The sixth metaphorical “I am” that we find in the Gospel of John ( John 14:5) comes to us trinity style. It comes at time in this Gospel where Jesus is comforting His disciples. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” He goes on by giving them the lay out of the mansion and letting them know that He is preparing a room for each of them. I am sure that the disciples are hanging on to every word. Hanging on so dearly that Thomas has to ask where is The Master going and how can they know the way. And then here it comes, probably the clearest cut “I am” in this Gospel…”I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

So since this comes at us in three parts lets break it down…

The Way—and not merely the way, as if He were going before people as an example. Or maybe as a prophet who would point out the way by some doctrinal teaching of salvation. Nope not any of these, Jesus IS the way of salvation itself by His obedience and sacrifice. He is the way of all the blessings of the covenant of grace, the way into a Gospel church and most importantly, THE way to heaven.

The Truth—this has many layers to it. Jesus is the truth of all types, shadows, promises and prophecies of the Old Testament. All of them had been accomplished in Him. He is not only true but truth itself regarding His person and character. He taught and still teaches the way of God in truth. The King of kings is the sum and substances of all the truths of the Gospels for they are full in Him. Pilate was looking at TRUTH when he asked Jesus Christ what is truth.

The Life—how about we rephrase this to say “the living way”? Jesus Christ is the author and giver of natural, spiritual and eternal life. All who come onto His path to live in His ways are never the same again. Being in this way of life no longer allows the burden of law to bring on its condemnation and death. The believer/follower or doer of His way are truly set free to live life and to have it abundantly.

If we have these three aspects of this passage to our understanding we truly realize that no one can go to the Father unless it is through Him. Jesus is clear in this in that He is the only way of access to the Father. You cannot go into the presence of a holy and absolute God with covenant of works…not without the Mediator. Even then, those works have to stand their test of fire to see what are precious metals and true gems anyway so don’t count on those good deeds. We might spend a lot of time feeding the homeless but if we aren’t pointing them to The Way, The Truth and the life we are denying these people the very bread of life that Jesus says he is. It would be a shame for those works to burn up just because we think we are doing good and showing them the why we are doing the good. Amen? Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular blogger on Freedom Fighter 

Team YOU: Isaiah 9-10; Proverbs 21; 2 Corinthians 13

Motivations: “When we quietly consider and meditate upon the life of the Lord Jesus during the three and half years of His walk in the midst of men, there are certain things about Him which are quite evident and quite impressive. Those things are the things which must be carried over into our own lives if others are to have indicated to them the way to God.”—T. Austin-Sparks

Practice to Remember: Level 1:Philippians 4:8; Level 2: Philippians 4:25-23

Powered Up:  ‘Asking’ in prayer is at once the test of three things – simplicity, stupidity, and certainty of God. – Oswald Chambers