The
Way ... The Truth ... The Life
John 14:4 “And whither I go ye know, and
the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith
unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and
how can we know the way?
6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should
have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye
know him, and have seen him.
8
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and
it sufficeth us.
9 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, Shew
us the Father?
10 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.
11 Believe me that I
am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else
believe me for the very works' sake.
12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do
also; and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father.
13
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I
do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my
name, I will do it.”
1. The Way
2. The V.I.P.
3. Show Us
The Father
4. Works for Signs
1. The Way
Verses four through six: “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Thomas is heading the right way. He is asking the right questions. Thomas did not even know where Jesus was going, yet he wanted to go with HIM. We can see this desire in verse five. All Thomas knows at this point is that he wants to go to the same place as Jesus. Where this place was is unknown.
[Incidentally, this place … called HEAVEN … is located in the sides of the NORTH beyond the UNIVERSE of stars that we live in.]
How do I know this? I know this because of the prophet Isaiah. Turn to Isaiah chapter fourteen, verse thirteen: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” [Isaiah 14:13].
That is the way it was for my children. Long before they could understand where their daddy was going, they had only one thing figured out, and that one thing was this: they wanted to go with daddy. They wanted to be with daddy. It did not matter where daddy was going. The children desired to be with him. Amen!
Now, Thomas is little more advanced than that. Even though he didn’t know where Jesus was going, he wanted to at least know the WAY to go. Thomas asks: “How can we know the way?”
Oh, what a place to be! Only if more folks could be like Thomas, then maybe more people would get saved. Amen!
Thomas wants to go with Jesus Christ into an endless future called ETERNAL LIFE. Can you see that?
He just needs to KNOW THE WAY! “How can we know the way?”
Jesus answers Thomas in verse six: “I am the way.”
Jesus Christ is THE WAY.
It turns out that the way to heaven is a PERSON and it is not some set of directions [rules] involving methods or practices [called works].
So knowing THE WAY involves
knowing a person in a personal way. This particular
person is a very important person, because:
• He is the WAY! [Psalm 119:30]
David said: “I have chosen the way of truth:
thy judgments have I laid before me.”
• He is the TRUTH! [John 17:17]
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word
is truth.”
• He is the LIFE!
[1 John 2:25] “And this is the promise that
he hath promised us, even eternal life.” [Psalm
119:30] “I have chosen the way of truth: thy
judgments have I laid before me.”
Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Amen!
2. The V.I.P.
Verse seven: “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
The “very important person” [V.I.P.] WHO is THE WAY is Jesus Christ. When you see GOD, [and we will all see God] whether it be in Heaven [the saved], or at the White Throne judgment seat [the unsaved], what you will see is the IMAGE of the invisible GOD. [Colossians 1:15] “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.”
When those who refuse Jesus Christ [as being very DEITY] realize [too late] that HE is THE JEHOVAH GOD, it will be too late for them to get saved.
KNOWING Jesus Christ as your personal SAVIOR is absolutely critical to KNOWING THE WAY.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
3. Show Us The Father
Now, Philip wants to enter into this discussion between Thomas and The Lord Jesus concerning the FATHER in verse eight: “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
Now, I want you to notice something. The human mind and heart can only take in so much concerning the nature of the almighty God of the Bible. GOD is AWSOME! [Psalm 33:8] “Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”
A mere man trying to comprehend an awesome God is futile unless God Himself intervenes by the inner work of the HOLY SPIRIT inside of a man. The HOLY GHOST is the ONE WHO enables Philip [or any one of us who are IN CHRIST] to comprehend some aspect [or piece] of the nature of a TRI-UNE GOD.
In verse nine: “Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?”
In other words, “Philip you have been around me [the Son Of God] for forty-two months, do you not recognize the FATHER?
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father!”
[Wow, does not this once and for all totally DEBUNK the Arians [the Jehovah Witnesses and all their company] of their “created God” invention for Jesus Christ.
For the umpteenth time the Spirit of God has shown that THE FATHER is in THE SON and that THE SON is in THE FATHER.
Verse ten says it [and I believe it]. “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?”
Now do you see it?
It is all about BELIEVING the BIBLE! Amen! Amen! Amen!
4. Works for Signs
Verse twelve: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Read, my friend, the Acts of the Apostles. It is replete with these works that were done as signs and as wonders and as miracles to Israel. Why all these signs? Well, remember what the Scripture says in First Corinthians chapter one, verse twenty-two: “For the Jews require a sign … .” [1 Corinthians 1:22].
When Peter said to the lame man in Acts 3:6: [“Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”], it is in exact performance in fulfillment of this verse here in John fourteen [verse twelve in John fourteen].
In Acts chapter five, verse twelve we have even more light given to us on the use of these signs. “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.” [Acts 5:12]
Let’s move one to verses thirteen and fourteen: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
The whole purpose of asking “any thing” in HIS NAME was so that the FATHER could be glorified in the SON. “God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” [Hebrews 2:4]
These believers asked for things in Jesus Christ’s NAME which became the works of verse twelve here [which were the signs, wonders and miracles] and these works figuratively “turned the world upside down” [see Acts 17:6].
These signs, wonders and miracles were for an enablement of a transition from a visible temple in Jerusalem and from a theocratic kingdom of Israel to an invisible and spiritual kingdom of GOD [of Christ in you] and the church.
The Old Testament Temple is now been put aside, and in it’s place is the temple of the New Testament believer. [1 Corinthians 3:16] “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
This invisible Kingdom of God [in the church age] was a mystery to the Old Testament saints until it was revealed to them in the New Testament.
We will now finish by reading from the book of Colossians chapter one, verse twenty-seven through twenty-nine.
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Whereunto I also labour, striving
according to his working, which worketh in me
mightily.” [Colossians 1:27-29]