Jesus declared: "I am the Way because I Am the truth"

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We know John 14:6 as one of the tremendous I AM statements Jesus made.
  1. Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
  2. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
  3. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
  4. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
  5. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
  6. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
  7. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
alí̱theia, the Greek word for Truth
In focusing on the Way, the Truth, and the Life statement from John 14:6, we learn from Greg Matte in his book, I AM Changes Who i Am:
More than any other I AM statement, John 14:6 stops us in our tracks. Jesus claims without exception to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In the original language of the New Testament, this statement has more going on than in English. The countless times I read the verse, I thought it was just a 1, 2, 3 listing. However, the Greek language’s richness is shown in the cyclical statement in which the previous word is the foundation of the next.

Matte goes on to quote Pastor RC Sproul, who taught in his book "John" that
I am the Way BECAUSE I am the Truth and Life. The structure of this statement is such that Jesus was not giving a string of descriptive terms. He was not saying I am (A) the way, (B) the truth, and (C) the life. Rather, this statement is in an elliptical form, so Jesus was saying, “I am the way because I am the truth and because I am the life. I am the way to the Father because I am the true manifestation or revelation of the Father. I am the way to the Father because I alone have the power of eternal life.”

The 'because' makes such a difference, don't you think? :)

What a balm and the solace to ponder our Savior as the first cause of everything good.


Fairest Lord Jesus

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son:
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou my soul's glory, joy, and crown.




Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 9, 2014 at 9:11 PM

    Amen to the truth (great post) and great hymn!

    -Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jean-LouisNovember 10, 2014 at 5:03 PM

    Thank you Elizabeth for emphasizing the importance of these essential statements from our Lord.

    I would like to share with you some of the devious and clever ways the devil masquerades and attracts blind leaders who in turn leads the blind as you described in one of your previous posts.

    Mr. Rob Bell is one of those leaders who at some point will betray himself with some of his clever baits disguised as seemingly profound statements. If we are not aware of the esoteric meaning of some statements, like the one I point out in a rebuttal to one of his declarations, we could be easily sucked in the wisdom of the occult. Maybe you could do some of investigating on his teachings. I have read several articles on Apologetics and Discernment sites.

    If you go to the links indicated below, you can find the essays that I wrote along the same vein as your post. Unfortunately, not a lot of Christians I talk to will heed the message of warning about the dangers of New Age teachings and Eastern Mysticism.
    I am grateful and glad for the Internet which we can use to propagate the Good News and warn people of the danger of false prophets and false teachers and share what he Lord has taught us to encourage, exhort and comfort our brothers and hopefully lead unbelievers to the Lord.

    We have come a long way since the 60s when these false teachings started infiltrating the Christian church. It started with the music. The bookstore of the Baptist college I attended for my undergrad studies in the 60s was full of Beatles, Crosby, Steel, Nash and Young, the Doors, Joni Mitchell and others who were in contact with spiritual guides who inspired them to write lyrics and compose music.

    http://lightnseed.blogspot.com.br/2014/04/about-mr-rob-bell-kriya-kundalini-yoga.html

    http://lightnseed.blogspot.com.br/2014/05/who-is -this-jesus.html

    To conclude, here is the invitation extended to my readers at the end of a parable/short story I wrote about a blind man lost in the desert in search of himself and the way out. I really appreciate the fact that you almost always include an invitation to receive the Lord at the end of your articles. We never know who reads us and who will be touched and prompted by the Holy Spirit to come and find the Savior who alone can give us the eternal rest that we need.
    “Dear reader, if you have been touched by this parable and can identify in some way with Theophilus, I invite you to meet the Lord Jesus, the Savior of fallen humanity, the One who has the keys to the Kingdom of God, the One who is the Door that leads to true freedom, to the knowledge of the Truth, to Life abundant and eternal and the only Way to the Heavenly Father. Because without Truth we cannot know the Way to the Door of the kingdom and to the Life in Jesus without whom we are reduced to a mere existence without hope.

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  3. Hakam AdamNovember 11, 2014 at 3:50 PM

    Koine Greek has much more complex grammar than English, which makes discoveries like these a fascinating and endless source of further knowledge to be gained from Biblical study.

    ReplyDelete

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