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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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February 9, 2014
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Contents:
1) I Am The Way, The Truth, and The Life (John 14:6) (Irvin Himmel)
2) News & Notes
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I Am The Way, The Truth, and The Life
John 14:6
by Irvin Himmel
Many thoughts, some deeply disturbing, flooded the minds of the
disciples on the night of their Master's betrayal. They ate
the passover in a large upper room in Jerusalem (Matt. 26:17-20;
Mark 14:12-17). Jesus surprised them by taking a basin of
water and washing their feet (John 13:2-17). It was not until
later that they fully understood why this was done. He
startled them by announcing that "one of you shall betray me" (John
13:21-30). Judas was identified as the traitor.
Repeatedly, Jesus had forewarned that he would be killed in
Jerusalem (Matt. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-34).
Then he talked about leaving them, adding, "Whither I go, thou canst
not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards" (John 13:33,
36). Furthermore, he informed them that Peter would deny him
three times before the crowing of the cock (John 13:38).
Mention of their Master's death filled their minds with dread.
How could he reign as the Messiah if he was put to death? Talk
of his going away distressed them. It seemed incredible that
they would be offended because of him or that Peter would deny him
three times. The disciples were perplexed and disquieted.
Jesus consoled them by saying, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye
believe in God, believe also in me." Their trust in God and in
Jesus the Son of God was assurance that the divine plan would work
for their good. All who follow Jesus must learn to walk by
faith (2 Cor. 5:7).
"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."
Although the Father's house includes many mansions (dwelling places
or abiding places), Jesus was going to prepare (make ready) a place
for his disciples. The separation resulting from his going
away would not be permanent.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be
also." It was by means of his death, resurrection, and
ascension that he went back to the Father. At his second
coming those who are in Christ, both the resurrected dead and the
living, will be caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air, "and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess.
4:13-17). "And whither I go ye know, and the way ye
know." As often as Jesus had spoken of these matters the
disciples should have known where he was going and the way or
path. But, "Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither
thou goest; and how can we know the way?" These first five
verses of John 14 give the backdrop for our Lord's bold, profound,
and forceful proclamation, "I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Jesus Is The Way
It is Jesus Christ who gives us access to the Father in
heaven. He taught, ". . . If ye believe not that I am he, ye
shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). "Whither I go, ye cannot
come," said Jesus to those who would die in their sins (John
8:21). Justification is by faith, giving us "peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith
into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God" (Rom. 5:1-2). Through Christ, both Jews and Gentiles
"have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Eph. 2:18).
It is Jesus who provides salvation for the lost. "Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
To despise Jesus is to despise the Father who sent him (Luke 10:16).
It is Jesus who is our mediator with the Father. "For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Who gave himself a ransom for all" (1 Tim. 2:5-6). That same
Jesus is our "advocate with the Father" (1 John 2:1). He "ever
liveth to make intercession" for us (Heb. 7:25). He is "the
Apostle and High Priest of our profession" (Heb. 3:1). It is
through him that we are reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-19).
Jesus Christ has an exclusive place in the plan of redemption.
The Pope of Rome is not the way. Mohammed is not the way.
Guatama Buddha is not the way. Mani is not the way. The
Dalai Lama is not the way. Baha'u'llah is not the way.
Emanuel Swedenborg is not the way. Anyone who desires to come
to the Father must come through Jesus Christ. He is "the way";
all other ways are false. "There is a way which seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Prov.
14:12).
Jesus Is The Truth
The book of John opens with this informative declaration: "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. The same was in the beginning with God." John
explains in the same chapter that "the Word was made 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" (1:14).
Christ is the Word which dwelt in the flesh. He is Deity
appearing in a visible and tangible form. He is Emmanuel, "God
with us" (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). In him is the fulness of
divine grace and truth. In him "dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9).
John points out that "the law was given by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). What the law made
known was true, but the types and shadows of the law gave no more
than a faint outline. "No man hath seen God at any time, the
only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him" (John 1:18). Because of his unique relationship
with the Father, Jesus could make known, declare, reveal, or explain
the Father to mankind. The revelation of God in Christ is
truth in contrast to Old Testament teaching, not because the Old
Testament system was false, but it was only a shadow and incomplete
in comparison with the fulness of New Testament teaching.
The truth is "summed up and impersonated" in Christ (Thayer).
"All truth centers in him, and radiates from him" (Whiteside).
If he were not the fulness and embodiment of truth, he could not be
the way to the Father. Jesus taught that "the truth shall make
you free" (John 8:32). "If the Son therefore shall make you
free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Jesus spoke the
truth. He came into the world to bear witness to the truth
(John 18:37). More than that, he is the truth.
Jesus Is The Life
The desire for eternal life has challenged men through the
ages. Is there life beyond this temporal realm? If so,
how is that life obtained?
Returning to the prologue of the book of John, it is stated in verse
4, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." In
the Word which dwelt in the flesh, Jesus Christ, is life that
enlightens. This is explained in John 5:26: "For as the Father
hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in
himself." Jesus said in John 10:10, ". . . I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
Jesus offers to mankind a higher life than physical; he offers
spiritual life, even eternal life. "He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John
3:36). One cannot have this life if he refuses to come to the
Savior. Carefully consider what Christ said in John 5:39-40:
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to
me that ye might have life."
To Martha, Jesus said, "I am the resurrection, and the life" (John
11:25). He called her dead brother Lazarus from the grave to
demonstrate that he had power over life and over death. His
own resurrection from the dead is the crowning proof of his having
life in himself (John 10:18).
Paul reminded Timothy that Christ abolished death, and brought life
and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Tim. 1:10). In
Christ there is freedom from sin, and those who become servants to
God have their fruit unto holiness, "and the end everlasting life"
(Rom. 6:22). The next verse says, "For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord."
Jesus is the life. What a marvelous revelation! John
wrote, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal
life, and this life is in the Son. He that hath the Son hath
life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John
5:11-12). "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we
are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is
the true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).
Since Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one can
come to the Father but by him, we must believe and obey him to reach
the destination of being with the Father. The words of Jesus
are "the words of life" (John 6:68). To enter into Christ and
to put on Christ, one must be baptized (Gal. 3:26-27). To be
in Christ is to be a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). God provides
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph.
1:3). Through Christ we are given "exceeding great and
precious promises" (2 Pet. 1:4). One of those promises is
eternal life (1 John 2:25).
"Without the Way, there is no going; without the Truth, there is no
knowing; without the Life, there is no living . . . I am the Way
inviolable, the Truth infallible, the Life unending" (Thomas a'
Kempis).
The words of John 14:6 are clear, forceful, meaningful, and
unmistakable. They offer comfort, hope, and assurance.
At the same time, they restrict and warn. What does Jesus tell
us about himself? He is the way, the truth, and the
life. Do we really need Jesus? No man cometh unto the
Father but by him.
-- Via Truth Magazine, November 17, 2005, Volume XLIX, Number 22:
http:// www.truthmagazine.com/archives/ volume49/22-november-17.pdf
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News & Notes
Elizabeth
Jachym (Abbie's sister) picked up a bad case of the
flu. Though getting better, she was still not able to
eat. So let those of us who are Christians continue praying
for her to soon be completely better.
And let us also be praying for the following to be well: Virginia
Fontenot, Shirley Young, Cheryl Crews, Peggy Lefort, and Terry
and Pam MacDonald.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom.
10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet.
3:21).
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can
be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)