Tag Archives: The Way

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE PATH TO THE FATHER – 24

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There followed, after His reassurance that His departure was not forever, Jesus’ next profound statement. After Thomas’ plaintive question, “How can we know the way when we don’t know where you are going?”, Jesus responded with these immortal words…

John 14:6 NIV
[6] “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus’ words were always both all-exclusives and all-inclusive. How could that be? The great divide that excluded many and included many was only one condition…faith!

Those who cannot understand the significance of faith, accuse Jesus and, by association, His followers, of “hate speech”! How could He insist that He is the only way to attain heaven? Yet, truth is narrow since, as one preacher declared, “Truth is a knife edge and error a wide, flat land.”

If it is true that there can only be one way to the Father, how can this be “hate speech” to speak the truth. Yes, this excludes all who are foolish enough to deny the truth but it includes everyone who believes.

According to Scripture, Jesus came from heaven for more than one purpose. He came to reveal the true nature of God and to introduce Him to His own people as Father. He came to remove the barrier of sin and open the way to the Father. He came to escourt those who believe in Him, to the Father.

Therefore, in summary, He declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life!”

In this statement, Jesus was not saying, “I will show you the way. I will teach you the truth. I will give you life.” He is much more than what He does. He is, in Himself, everything we need. Apart for Jesus, we can never be on the way, know the truth, or have the life He came to give us. It all depends on one profound truth that we are” in Christ”.

Paul’s favourite expression, “in Christ”, is much more than that, just an expression. It is the key to the full basket of benefits we have through our faith in Jesus. Paul sets out this truth in Ephesians 1 where he describes every blessing we have “in Christ”.

Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV
[3] “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing IN CHRIST. [4] For he chose us IN HIM before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, in accordance with his pleasure and will— [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us IN THE ONE he loves. [7] IN HIM we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace [8] that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, [9] he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed IN CHRIST, [10] to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth UNDER CHRIST. [11] IN HIM we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, [12] in order that we, who were the first to put our hope IN CHRIST, might be for the praise of his glory. [13] And you also were included IN CHRIST when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked IN HIM with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

What more could Paul have written to convince us that only in union with Jesus can we have access to the blessings and benefits of the salvation He accomplished through the cross. We owe Him, not only our very existence but our access to the Father and to eternal life.

This must have been a foreign idea to His disciples, who were schooled in a religion of rules, ritual, and sacrifice to gain access to God and then only at a distance since a great, heavy curtain separated them from His presence. To be in a personal relationship with the God whom they feared because of His awesome holiness, was foreign and unthinkable…yet Jesus was declaring that the only way to the Father was to be in union with Him.

Even more radical are the words of the writer to the Hebrews…

Hebrews 10:19-22 NIV
[19] “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, [20] by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

His body, His blood, a high priest…these are all terms that linked them to their understanding of what God required to access Him, but so much more.. All the pictures and types of the Old Covenant finally came together in Jesus.

In His words,” I am…Yahweh, I am who I am…”, Jesus was placing Himself in their understanding, in the shoes of the God of the Old Covenant. He was the Yahweh they worshipped and, only in Jesus, who is in fact, Yahweh Himself, could they reach their goal of everlasting life with Yahweh.

Was it beginning to dawn on them, in these intimate moments before His death, that this man Jesus, with whom they had kept company for a number of years, was much more than a man. He was God and man in one person and personally assigned to take them, through union with Himself, to realm where in three persons, the Godhead reigned in power and glory and invited them to join in that union.

It’s no wonder He said to them…

John 16:12 NIV
[12] “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”

He had told them enough set their minds spinning.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE WAY TO THE FATHER – 23

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Imagine the uncertainty, the anxiety, the fear, like a threatening storm cloud hanging in the air above them, when the disciples gathered in the Upper Room. Jesus was saying strange things, doing strange things, as though He were preparing them for some disaster about to happen. They had learned that He never said or did anything without a purpose.

What now?

First, words of reassurance…

John 14:1 NLT
[1] “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. “

“Guys, I know you are upset and disturbed. You need to trust me in this as much as you trust God.” How important that they heed His words when their world began to shake… was shattered when events took a turn for the worst.

Then followed some of the most profound promises ever made…

John 14:2-4 NLT
[2] “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [3] When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. [4] And you know the way to where I am going.”

This was wedding talk! After the betrothal, and the drawing up of the marriage contract, a Jewish groom-to-be would make this announcement to his finacee, “I am returning to my father’s house to build the bridal chamber. When it is complete, and at my father’s instruction, I will come for you.”

Jesus added, on another occasion, when He was speaking of the end of the age…

Matthew 24:36 NLT
[36] “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

… exactly as the groom would speak to reassure his bride of his return for her.

When the bridal chamber was ready, the father would give the signal, the son would return for his bride, the wedding would take place, and then, the groom would carry his bride (rapture her) over the threshold into the bridal chamber to consummate the marriage. Blood would be the evidence that they had become one!

What a perfect picture of the completion of our salvation…our eternal union with our bridegroom. Among the many beautiful symbols of the Father’s dealings with His wayward children is the theme of marriage which reoccurrs throughout Scripture, the courtship and marriage of the Son of God to His chosen and perfected bride.

The story is completed in the graphic prediction of the great wedding of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:7-9 NLT
[7] “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. [8] She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. [9] And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

After all the trials and tests of this life, the Bride of Christ, the composite woman, the church, made up of every faithful believer, made spotless and blameless in preparation for her wedding day by the blood of her own bridegroom, the wedding will take place at the end of time.

Paul gives us the pattern for an earthly marriage which is to reflect the union between Jesus and His church.

Ephesians 5:25-27 NLT
[25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. [27] He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

This promise sums up everything that Jesus did for His church, and provides an unshakable reassurance that He will finish what He started.

When their world began to shake out of control, did these words steady their hearts? Perhaps only in hindsight would the disciples have remembered with gratitude what He had spoken to reassure them. When this shaking was all over, under them was the rock of solid truth that could never be shaken. No matter what happened in this life, no matter how bad the world would became, no matter how much they were called to endure, He promised that He would return to complete His mission and to take them home to Father’s house to live in union with Him forever.

And for us who follow in their footsteps, no matter what our lot in this life, we have the same promise that Jesus is coming to finish what He started. Each one of us has been wooed and won by the love of our Bridegroom. We all have His promise that He is coming again to take us home to Father’s house, whether by death or by transformation, to live with Him forever in a union so deep and profound that no one on earth can imagine what it will be.

So, as for the disciples in that moment in the Upper Room, so you may be standing where they stood, on the edge of a precipice so frightening that you dare not look ahead, you dare not imagine what may happen in the next moment. So, He says to you…

John 14:1-3 NLT
[1] “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. [2] There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [3] When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

A LIGHT ON OUR WAY

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John 1:4-5 NIV
[4] “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The New Living Translation renders these verses…

John 1:4-5 NLT
[4] “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

Life and death, light and darkness… these are two of the great themes in John’s gospel.

In what sense is light used in these verses? Physical light reveals what our eyes can see. Spiritual light enlightens our understanding to see sprituaal truth.

The living Word, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, enlightens God’s truth to our understanding to enable us to “see” into the unseen realm.

Before the Holy Spirit could reveal spiritual truth to us, we were in “darkness”. What was this darkness? Darkness is the inability to perceive truth because sin produces unbelief which blinds and hardens the mind.

2 Corinthians 3:14-15 NLT
[14] “But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. [15] Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.”

Paul wrote that the Jews were unable to understand the gospel because a veil of unbelief kept the from” seeing” the truth. Only faith in Jesus can remove the veil.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NLT
[3] “If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. [4] Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Unbelief is a veil of darkness that prevents people who are perishing from seeing God’s glory shining through Jesus.

How can we see the light?

Psalms 36:9 NLT
[9]”For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.”

Psalms 36:9 NIV
[9] “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

God is the only one who can illuminate our spiritual darkness to give us understanding about who He is and what He has done for us.

Paul speaks of the “natural man”, the person who has no contact with the Holy Spirit, and who, therefore, cannot understand spiritual truth.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV
[14] “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV
[18] “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

What blinds their minds?

1 Corinthians 1:22-23 NIV
[22] “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, [23] but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…”

It was the death of Jesus on a cross that blinds the minds of the Jews, and a crucified “god” that the Gentiles reject as foolish…and yet, it is the death of Jesus on a cross that saves those who are perishing!

It is this very truth that demands supernatural enlightenment from the Spirit of God to believe and receive.

We can only, ever understand what is going on in the world when we “see” God’s place in the world and what He has done through Jesus to bring us back to Himself. The world is in chaos because of unbelief. Every form of sin is the fruit of unbelief. Darkness rules. Unbelievers are blind and deaf to God and His Word.

Jesus came as the Light to bring the light of truth and understanding to light up the darkness, and show us the way to the Father.

John 8:12 NLT
[12] “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Everyone hopes to go to heaven, even thinks they will go to heaven even if they ignore God’s way. All religions try to end up at some delightful “eternal bliss” conjured up by human imagination.

However, John connects three imperatives if we are to reach our desired haven, not a figment of our imagination but a declaration of God’s promise of eternal life with Him in His kingdom.

John 14:6 NLT
[6]”Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

The Way…this was the name given to the Christian faith in the early days of the church.

Acts of the Apostles 19:23 NLT
[23] “About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.”

“Way” has a multiplicity of dictionary definitions and applications, for example,

“the course traveled from one place to another : route,
“…asked the way to the museum”…

A “way” implies a road or path one follows to reach a destination.

First, John connects Jesus, light, life, and the Word.

John 1:1, 4-5, 14 NLT
[1] In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God….
[4] The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it….
[14] So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

So, when David declares,

Psalms 119:105 NLT
[105]”Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”….

…what is he saying?

Jesus is the path, and the light that illuminates the way to the Father. No one can access the Father and eternal life because of the barrier of sin. Jesus alone could remove the barrier because His perfect human life qualified Him to take our place in death.

Jesus rose from the dead to secure our forgiveness and restoration to the Father. Without the cross, distasteful as it is to Jew and Gentile, no one will access the Father.

Hebrews 7:24-25 NLT
[24] “But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. [25] Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. [21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

THE BOOK OF ACTS – WHY CAN’T I BE BAPTISED?

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WHY CAN’T I BE BAPTIZED?

“As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, ‘Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?’ He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. He had what he’d come for and went off down the road as happy as he could be.   

“Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea.” Acts 8:36-40 (The Message).

Mission accomplished! The seed of God’s word was sown in the heart of an African man who came to Jerusalem seeking the Lord. He was on his way home, with his feet firmly planted on “The Way” and the joy of the Lord spilling out of him.

Although Philip did not mention baptism, why did the eunuch seem to know what to do to seal his new-found faith in the Lord Jesus? If he was one of people the Book of Acts called “God-fearers”, he would have understood the ritual of baptism in the Jewish faith.

Baptism was a common practice in Judaism. It was a ritual washing (mikvah) in running or “living” water to initiate someone into a new office, e.g., into the priestly office, or into a new phase of his life or identity with a new leader, e.g., the baptism of John or as ritual cleansing. Both John the Baptist and Jesus’ disciples baptized people regularly, according to John 4:1. No doubt this man, being a Gentile, had been baptized into Judaism at some time in his life as a sign that he had embraced the Jewish faith.

Just as He had done with the Passover meal, i.e. revealed its fulfillment in Himself as the Passover Lamb, so Jesus had also infused baptism with a new meaning – His resurrection.

When we eat the bread and drink the wine which symbolize His broken body and shed blood, we are expressing our faith in His sacrifice which redeemed us from slavery in “Egypt”. Likewise, when we are “baptized”, we are immersed in a watery grave as a symbol of our identity with Him in His death and we “rise” to a new life with and in Him. This is a clear and visible statement that we have died to our old way and have risen to a new life of identity with Jesus.

“We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:2-4 (NIV)

The implication of baptism is much more than a ritual initiation into Christianity. It is a public confession of our identity with Jesus in His death and resurrection and a symbol of our cleansing from sin and embracing our new life in him.

“Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV).

Perhaps at this stage the eunuch did not understand all the implications of his baptism, but at least he knew that his life had changed direction. He was now on course to follow Jesus and be identified with Him and with all those who had become a part of “The Way”.