The Only Way?
In John 14:6, Jesus makes one of the most important statements in Christian history. Jesus is talking to his disciples and Thomas asks him a question about how the disciples can get to where Jesus is going. Jesus responds by saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Next week we will talk about the second part of this; verse 7. Verse 7 contains another important statement from Jesus that is key to understanding theology and who Jesus is, but for now, we will focus on verse 6.
Jesus says that He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life. He states that no one will ever go to the Father except through Him. So, what does this all mean?
To begin with, Jesus is saying that He is the way to be saved. You can only be saved through Jesus and what Jesus did! Without Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, we could never be saved. Jesus is the way.
Second, Jesus is the truth. Without Jesus, there is no truth. Jesus is the ultimate truth. Jesus is how we know what truth is. Everything that Jesus said is truth and in fact, truth is in His innermost being. Jesus is the ultimate truth.
Thirdly, Jesus is life. Jesus is the source of salvation and that means that Jesus is the source of life. Without salvation, there is no life. Without salvation, there would be no hope. But Jesus saved us and gave us life.
Finally, Jesus says that no one will go to the Father, that is God the Father, except through Him. Jesus is saying that the only way you can be saved is through Him! Without Jesus, salvation is impossible. Jesus is making clear to the disciples that being a good person cannot save them, sacrifices on the altar cannot save them; only faith in Jesus can save them. The same is true for us today.
At Cornerstone we affirm this statement that Jesus is the only way to be saved. There is no plurality of ways to be saved; there is no other option; there is no other god who can save. Only Jesus can save. this verse has major implications for us. If we affirm John 14:6, then we are affirming the importance of reaching the world with the truth of the Gospel! By affirming that salvation only comes through Jesus, or affirming the exclusivity of the Gospel, we are saying, “God we believe that what you say is true. That includes our belief that you have a mission for us to do.” The practical application of this verse is found in that statement. If we really believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved, then we have to tell the world about Jesus!
Pastor Daniel