Compelling Love

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me. – John 14:6 (NKJV)

The context for this verse is that Jesus has just promised to prepare a place for His followers in His Father’s house, and to bring them there in due time.  They will not need to find the way there, because He Himself is the way!

John 14 (NKJV)
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.

In this passage, Jesus was declaring that eternal life comes through Him. 

He is the truth, because He reveals the Father: He and the Father are one.

⁷ “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

⁸ Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

Jesus declares in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.”

John 1 helps bring understanding of the statement that the Son of God is “the way, the truth and the life”, and why is it that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Here we see the Son of God described as being Creator with the Father, and giver of life and light to all men. He took on flesh to reveal the Father, and to bring grace, truth, and life everlasting to those who receive and follow Him.

John 1 (NKJV)
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

⁹ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 ¹⁶ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

“I am the way” means Jesus is our only access to eternal life and salvation. There is no other way to be saved. Our good deeds cannot save us; neither can our positions in the church or among men can save us. As followers of Christ, we don’t have to search for the way to heaven or a deeply fulfilling life here; He is the way.

“I am the truth” means Jesus is the word of God personified. He is God’s revealer as John writes in John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Jesus reveals the truth and He is the source of all truth. He is, as declared in John 1:9, “the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”

“I am the life” means Jesus Christ is the source of eternal life and abundantly meaningful life here. He gives eternal life to those who believe in Him for salvation. God’s covenant of grace covers everyone who has faith in Christ. Jesus also makes our lives wonderfully meaningful as God intends.

He declares in John 10:10 “… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” He instructs His followers in John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. “… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

This is a Biblical prayer for salvation, and for His glory to reign in your life:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much for giving Your Son Jesus Christ, who died for me so that I can receive forgiveness and freedom from sins in His name. He died on the cross, was buried and rose again on the third day, ministered for forty days, and then ascended to Heaven where He is seated with you, still interceding for all who come to Him. He sent the Holy Spirit to live right inside us, to teach and guide us, giving us power to live free from sin, and to give you all the glory in our lives.

Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you now. Come into my heart, fill me with your Holy Spirit, lead me to walk with you, and to live for your glory from this day on.

David Krause, dhkrause2@gmail.com, https://compellinglove.net/