John 14:6-10

 

John 14:6 (KJB)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

This verse is the most revealing, exclusive, and the most hated by world religions. Thomas just told Jesus that they did not know where He was going and therefore they could not know the way. Jesus had stated that He was going back to His Father. Now He gives the statement of the ages concerning Himself and His relationship to His Father. It must be noted and to the chagrin of Christ rejecting world religions, that there is a definite article before way, truth, and life. This means that there is no other way to come to the Father. Jesus is not A way, A truth, or A life. It must also be noted that the Greek word “hê ” which is the definite article translated “the” is in the singular in all three cases, pointing to one way, one truth, and one life. Outside of Christ there is nothing. You can be a church member all your life but without Christ you have nothing. You can be a member of the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, New Age, Emerging Church, or whatever, but if you are not born again in Christ, you are awaiting the second death, no matter how many good deeds you think you have done.

 

First, Jesus tells them that He is the way. Thomas wanted to know the way and Jesus is telling him that He is the only way to the Father and to Heaven. There is no other way and that includes the dead religion of Judaism which was responsible for the hatred toward Christ who faced it for the past three years and will face the full fury of it very shortly.

 

Secondly, just as the Jews thought that they had the truth because they claimed to be children of Abraham, they were living a false dream. Jesus tells His disciples that He is the truth. The Truth which brings the true Gospel and opens the portals of paradise which is the Father’s home. (John 18:38 KJV) Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. Pilate asked Jesus “what is truth” because he had lived under false gods all his life and an emperor who thought he was god. Jesus came to reveal the Father and to bring the real way of salvation which is becoming born again in Christ by the grace of God, which is the only true way one can become saved and be given eternal life.

 

Thirdly, Jesus tells them that He is the life. The life that He is, is eternal life in Heaven with the Father. Eternal life which starts at the moment of salvation and continues in Heaven for eternity. This is the true life and false world religions like to create a utopia for their followers such as the New Age which speaks about planes of consciousness which is nothing more than another form of Satanism that leads to eternal damnation. Life in Christ is life eternal. Life without Christ is life in eternal damnation. Eternal life is in Christ alone, period!

 

John 14:7 (KJB)

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

 

(Heb 1:3 KJV) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Jesus was the direct image of God the Father and those who saw the miracles of Jesus, such as the raising of Lazarus, was also seeing the glory of the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. Soon the disciples will know the Father even more intimately by reason of the indwelling Holy Spirit which they will receive in 53 days. The relationship between the disciples and the Father will now become a greater reality. There is one other way that we see the Father. When we look at the creation after becoming born again, we look at it in a new light. We see how beautiful the colors are like the blue skies against the green trees and we also see the wisdom found in the creation. The way the animals are and the wisdom God placed in them. There is the Grand Canyon, Old faithful Geyser which erupts every 90 minutes, and many other wonders God has placed here. So we see the Father in a new light after we become born again.

 

John 14:8 (KJB)

Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

 

Philip still did not understand and it is good thing Jesus did not answer that request because if Philip ever saw the Father, without being qualified to do so, he would be consumed in a second. What they were looking for was the Father to appear in the same form as Jesus did but what they did not know was that God the Father could not look upon sin and the world was sin cursed. Maybe Philip also had in mind some type of demonstration from the Father which would alleviate their fears a little. The truth is that even a miracle does not engender faith as we saw in the many miracles Christ did, even some who were present did not believe and after the raising of Lazarus, they wanted to put Jesus to death. Philip did not understand at this point that faith was the strength of the true believer and not seeing a miracle. (2 Cor 5:7 KJV) (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

 

John 14:9 (KJB)

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

 

Philip was one of the earliest disciples that Jesus walked with which means about 3 ½ years and yet Philip did not understand that Jesus was the express image of the Father. Philip saw all the miracles which Jesus did and no one could do those miracles unless they are of God. If you have seen Jesus, then you have seen the Father and this Philip did not understand so Jesus asks him why would you want me to show you the Father? Jesus was sent by the Father to this world and both of them worked in harmony during the entire ministry of Jesus and therefore if one saw the ministry of Jesus, they were seeing the ministry of the Father. Philip was showing that at this point that there was not yet full understanding. Jesus was about to go to the cross and here Philip wanted some type of sign concerning the Father.

 

John 14:10 (KJB)

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

 

Philip was basically making an implication that he did not believe the fact that when you saw Jesus, you saw the Father. So here Jesus asks him if he believes that Jesus is in the Father and that the Father is in Jesus? Jesus also tells him that the words which He speaks, are the words which the Father gave Him plus the works which Jesus did, was done by the Father. This is a great mystery, just like the Holy Spirit indwelling every true believer. At the raising of Lazarus, Jesus had thanked His Father that He heard Him. (John 10:38 KJV) But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Jesus had previously taught that the Father was in Him and He in the Father. These truths would not become a reality in the life of Philip until the time he receives the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Right now, he is trying to understand the relationship between the Father and Son in a fleshly perspective and that is why he wanted to physically see God the Father, not knowing the consequences of that action without qualification. The teachings and works of Jesus were manifestations of the Father, so for three years they were seeing the works of the Father. Jesus was never independent of His Father which they saw repeatedly during the earthly ministry.

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