I AM...The Way, The Truth, and The Life
Notes
Transcript
Good morning Church!
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Biblical Text: John 14:6
We are nearing the end of our series. We have today and two more messages to get us there. So far, we have discussed that Jesus is:
The Great I AM, The Door of the Sheep, The Bread of Life, The Resurrection and the Life, and The Light of the World.
Today, we are going to continue with the next I AM statement of Christ, and it is, “I AM…The Way, The Truth, and The Life.”
31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.
32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.
33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”
37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”
38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Context
Context
Christ is nearing the end of His time here on earth, and is trying to explain to His disciples that His departure will be soon. He tells them that He will soon be leaving them and the way He will leave.
He tells them that one of them will betray Him, and through this betrayal, He will be killed by the religious leaders.
Peter speaks up and says, “Lord, I want to go with You. Why can’t I go with You now? I will go with You to prison and even to death! Please.....let me come.”
Jesus humbles Peter by telling him that before the morning comes Peter will have denied Him three times.
Many times these verses are preached or taught from in solitude, but having this context really helps us to understand more fully the verses at hand today.
After revealing this to Peter, Jesus goes on in vs. 1 saying:
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
In other words, Jesus is saying to Peter, “Peter, I know you love Me. I know you want to go with Me, but do not worry. I am not going away forever. I have to go take care of some things and then I will be back. Stop getting so worked up. It’s going to be ok.”
This brings us to the text at hand today in John 14.5-6
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
In making this statement, Jesus answered the three greatest questions of the human heart:
How can I be saved?
How can I be sure?
How can I be satisfied?
That is the outline that we are going to use for the message today.
Content
Content
How Can I Be Saved?
How Can I Be Saved?
Exploring the Gospel of John: An Expository Commentary 3. The Highway Home Revealed (14:4–6)
A pioneer missionary in Africa tells how he was taking the gospel to a new tribe, far to the north. With his bearers, he arrived at a village, a point beyond which his porters refused to go. The missionary appealed to the local chief. Was there someone in his village who could act as his guide to the distant northern tribe? The chief summoned a man, tall, battle scarred, carrying a large axe. A bargain was made and the next morning the missionary set off through the bush, following his new guide. The way became increasingly rough and the path had all but disappeared. There was an occasional mark blazed on a tree, occasionally a narrow path. Finally the missionary called a halt. He asked the guide if he was sure he knew the way. The man pulled himself up to his full height. “White man,” he said, “you see this axe in my hand? You see these scars on my body? With this axe I blazed the trail to the tribal village to which we go. I came from there. These scars I received when I made the way. You ask me if I know the way? Before I came, there was no way. I am the way.”
Exploring the Gospel of John: An Expository Commentary 3. The Highway Home Revealed (14:4–6)
The Lord Jesus came from glory. Now he was on his way back to glory, by way of the cross. Before he came, there was no way. The scars of Calvary on his body attest to the price he paid to blaze that trail for us back to God. He points to his scars and says, “I am the way.”
How can I be saved?
I must first admit that I am lost.
No one in this world purposefully sets themselves up for failure. We are simply not wired that way. We love ourselves more than we do anything else. That statement is proved by the amount of time, energy, and money we spend on ourselves. Most of everything we do in life comes of the source of love that we have for us.
With that fact established, it goes without saying that we will naturally do those things that we think give us the best shot in life at being successful.
In terms of spirituality, many people come to the table with different thoughts of being “good” people.
Some look at it from a moral standard. Others look at it from a works-based platform. Others come to it from a strictly belief-based ideology.
Regardless of the many ideas out there concerning what is acceptable to God, Jesus summed it up in one very simple sentence.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Despite out best efforts to be good, we must realize at some point that we can never make ourselves “Good Enough” to meet the righteous standard that God has put in place: perfection. That is the standard: perfection.
Some come to this realization before others do, but I think we all come to it at some point in our lives. We all come to the realization of knowing that we are not what we should be. Spiritually speaking, we are lost to the darkness of sin and have no hope of finding our way out of that darkness by ourselves!!!
We must admit that we are lost.
After admitting that I am lost, I must realize that it is not within my power to save myself and cease from trying to do so.
If I did everything within my power to set myself up for victory, only to find that I ended up in total darkness, then what is there left for me to do. Nothing!!!
There is nothing left for me to do. I have already done all that is within my power to do and I came up short. The only thing left for me to do is admit that it is not within my power to save me. I cannot save myself.
If I am going to be saved from my sin, someone/something else is going to have to do it. The only thing left for me to determine is who/what this Savior could be and decide whether or not I am willing to let them save me.
We must note here, that in order for this to happen, I have to be willing to submit myself unto them. In other words, I must be willing to relinquish authority of my own life to them. I must be willing to trust them with the eternal security of my soul.
Illustration of man on top of building in a flood.
After admitting that I am lost and that I cannot save myself, the only logical thing left to do is appeal to the one person who can save me.
Jesus has already stated that “He is the way”. But if we are to play the devil’s advocate for a moment and put stipulations on this person who is to bring us the victory, what would those stipulations be?
They must be able to do what I was not able to do.
Jesus lived an entire life on this earth without committing one single sin. He never made a mistake. He never did anything wrong. He was perfect.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
This means that Christ knows how to do what we are unable to do. We were not able to be perfect but He was. He knows what it will take to get us there. He knows the perfect expectation of God and how to live it out in His life. Who better to lead us than Him?
They must love me and want what’s best for me.
God has proven His love for you. He sent His only Son to die in your place, which is the greatest love we could ever know. Even if you don’t fully understand that sacrifice, it does not change the fact the God’s love for you has been proven.
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Knowing that God loves you unconditionally, means that you can trust Him to do what is best for you. He will operate out of love for you.
We must be able to agree with the words of Jesus here. No man can come to Father except through Him. He is the only one who was able to do it.
As I believe this, put my trust in this, and then surrender myself to Him as Lord of my life, He cleanses me from all sin and makes a way where there was no way!!!
Jesus is the way!!!
Not only does He answer the question, “How can I be saved?”, He also answers the question:
How Can I Be Sure?
How Can I Be Sure?
Jesus not only claims to be the way of salvation, He also claims to be the truth of it.
Truth is absolutely vital to the health, nourishment, and sustaining of all things good.
If we boil down the essence of truth to its core, it is one of the only absolutes we have. Truth is concrete. It does not waver; it is does not falter; it does not fail. Truth is solid and unchanging. Truth is eternal.
For any Christian to be successful in their spiritual walk with God, they must lean in and learn the truths of God. It is that baseline of truth that we build upon. The truths of God formulate a solid foundation on which we base everything in our life. Without it, we could not operate efficiently and effectively.
We started this series by going back and looking at the statement, “I AM”. We discussed the eternal nature of God in that statement and how when He spoke it, He was pointing to the truth of His unchanging nature. He always was and always will be God.
That eternal nature also passes into every one of these “I AM” statements as well. He always has been and always will be “The Door of the Sheep, The Bread of Life, The Light of the World, The Resurrection and the Life.”
The “truths” of God will never change for God is truth and truth is unchanging.
Therefore, the way unto God has always been through Jesus and the way will always be through Jesus. It will never change. The fact that it will never change means that we can take heart that we can trust in Jesus.
How does this give me a sense of security in my salvation?
God has always been and always will be love. God has always desired for mankind to be saved and come unto Him and He always will.
The way to God has always been through Christ and it always will be. “No man comes to the Father except through me” Christ said.
That is the way it was always meant to be. God made so sure that we understood His desire for us to be saved that He then sent Jesus unto us, to live among us, so that we might “behold His glory as of the only begotten of the Father” John said.
Not only did He live among us, He showed His love unto us. He demonstrated it over and over. He performed miracles unto thousands. He taught them the truths of God. He lifted up the humble and tore down the haughty and high-minded.
He showed us God. He showed us the heart of God. He showed us the mind of God. He showed us the will of God. He showed us who God was by living out God’s will perfectly in His life. We are now able to see how we might relate to our heavenly Father through Christ.
God would not have done this if He did not desire for us to come unto Him. God wants us to be saved.
He made sure of it by sacrificing His own Son at Calvary. His sacrifice was for our salvation. He became the propitiation of our sins. Nor for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
These verses tell us that His blood was so valuable, so priceless, that it satisfies the payment for all sin. Not just past sin, but present sin as well. This means that through His blood we have forgiveness of sin, all sin: past, present, and future.
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
God loved us even before we came to Him. He loved us even while we were considered His enemies. If God loved us in spite of our sin before we came to know Him, how could we ever think He would stop loving us now, as His own children, even though we may make some mistakes along the way. God loved us through the sin before and He will continue to love us through the sin now. Why? Because He is love. He always has been and always will be.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God has always loved you just as much as He loves you right now. After coming into the fold of God, the only way for you to be taken out of it would be if someone came and snatched you away.
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
Jesus said, “I am the way” He is the way unto salvation.
Jesus said, “I am the truth”. He is the way of eternal security.
Jesus then said, “I am the life.”
How Can I Be Satisfied?
How Can I Be Satisfied?
Jesus has claimed to be the answer of salvation and the security of it, but now He moves on to say that He is also the satisfaction of our souls.
How does having a relationship with Jesus bring ultimate satisfaction?
8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
My soul purpose as a Christian is to please my Heavenly Father. Whatever His will is, should be my will. Whatever He is passionate about, should be my passion. Whatever He despises, I should despise. Whatever breaks His heart, should break my heart.
As the Holy Spirit comes into my life, it brings my heart in tune with God’s heart. It teaches me His will, so that I can live it out in my life and do so knowing that I am pleasing my Heavenly Father.
Following God will sometimes mean that the world does not accept me, but that is ok because God is happy with me. I no longer have to be bound to the expectations of this world. I am longer looking for the world to fill my cup. I am now being filled from the well that never runs dry.
He is the source of my joy, peace and love. As long as I remain tapped into the well, my cup will always be overflowing.
Are you the cup or the saucer?
If you are saved, this means whether you are in a series of blessing where God is pouring more in than you can withstand or you are in a season where the world is shaking you up to where water is spilling out, you are being a blessing to others regardless.
If you are not saved, this means that the only time you get to experience peace, joy, and love is when some spills out on you from somewhere else. You do not get to consistently walk in those things, because you are only receiving the overflow.
Commitment
Commitment
Which one are you? Maybe you need to simply thank God for constantly filling your cup.
Maybe you need to surrender yourself to God fully so that you might be able to tap into the well that never runs dry.