Jesus: The Way, Truth, Life, Light, and Word
It is not possible in this short exhortation to teach the depth of the knowledge of Jesus that God wants us to have. The apostle John wrote the following;
John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, If they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
Therefore, we are only endeavoring to start you out on the path, and help you to desire, and begin receiving, the understanding of the truth as God gives it to you. God wants you to have the knowledge of Jesus in your heart, as the apostle Paul wrote;
II Corinthians 3:2, 3 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
To be His epistle, we must dig deeper into the scriptures about Jesus than just the foundation of the knowledge of salvation. We must also receive the knowledge of Jesus in our heart, not just in mind; this is only through … the Spirit of the living God. Let us begin by deeper consideration of the following scripture;
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
We recognize this scripture of salvation in Jesus, but have we fully considered its parts? What is your depth of knowledge that He is the way? Do you fully know Him as the truth? Do you understand the life that is in Him, the light of men? Let the Spirit open your heart as you lightly explore each of these, to start you on the path of knowing Jesus in a greater depth.
The Way
Our flesh and sin separated us from God, as noted in numerous scriptures (Isaiah 59:1, 2, Romans 8:8, I Corinthians 1:29, Galatians 5:19 – 21). There was no path, no road, no bridge, or no good deed that could atone for our sin and bring us to God. Jesus reconciled us and made the way;
II Corinthians 5:17, 18 Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
With no means for us to reach God, Jesus became the way of reconciliation to God. Beyond reconciliation, we need to understand that Jesus is the way to a closer walk with God. Jesus also has made the way into the holiest;
Mark 15:37, 38 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
Hebrews 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Hebrews 10:19 – 22 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
The holiest place represents the holy habitation of God, and Jesus made the way into it. He has prepared for us a mansion with God, why would we live as though we are homeless? He will lead and guide you in His mercy, as in the example of the Israelites leaving Egypt;
Exodus 15:13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Jesus has redeemed us, and will lead and guide us to His holy habitation, for He knows, and is, the way. By this Jesus also gives us the way to the throne of grace;
Hebrews 4:15, 16 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
If you desire to be perfect, look to Jesus as the way to everything spiritual. How many knew that even the truth is a way? Peter speaks of false prophets speaking evil of that way;
II Peter 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
To know the way of truth, let us look at Jesus, the truth.
The Truth
As with the way being tied to the truth, each of these items in Jesus statement tie to other items. We know that He is the truth. He also stated that the Word is truth;
John 8:31, 32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Knowing that Jesus is the truth, and the Word is truth, should be easy to relate if we consider that Jesus is the Word;
John 1:1 – 3 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. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:14 And 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.
We have come full circle back to the truth, and can now consider that the truth came by Jesus;
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Have you read this and wondered where grace and truth were at prior to His coming? He created grace and truth with everything else, as noted above in John 1:3! Prior to His coming in the flesh grace and truth could be seen in His creation;
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Sin causes a blindness that prevents us from seeing or perceiving the things of God, but they are clearly there! Although we were physically alive, we were spiritually dead, needing spiritual food;
Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
Jesus, the Word, the truth, is our spiritual food that brings us to life;
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
This brings us to consider the need we have to receive and to know the life that is in Him.
The Life
John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 1:4, 5 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
As we now consider the life, we see in the above scripture that it also relates to spiritual light. John tells us that God is light;
I John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Jesus tells us again that He is the light, and also the light of life;
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Following Jesus will keep us in the light, His light! If we fail to follow Him we will get further from the light, and darkness and condemnation will begin returning;
John 3:19 – 21 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Jesus is the truth, and the light; it is Jesus that we come to as we receive and do the truth. How much do you let the light shine into your darkness? It is not an all or none level, but the light is variable as we allow it. While it is imperative to stay on topic, in the Word, the consideration of Jesus, we will stray for a moment to consider an object lesson God gave in an apartment in Topeka. The partially open door of a room had “stripes” of light, or shadow, on it. God led to consider this. Just inside the door, and adjoining the connecting wall was a strip light with four bulbs. All four bulbs shone on the first stripe on the door, and it was bright white. In a very short distance the wall blocked the light from the first bulb, and less light hit the door, leaving a slightly darker appearance, or shadow. As each additional light was blocked or obscured by the wall, each succeeding stripe became correspondingly darker. This is similar to our spiritual walk; the walls of sin, the walls of iniquity, the walls of flesh, the walls of complacency, or the walls of unbelief that we build up or leave in our heart will obscure the light we can see or receive. In our flesh we loved darkness rather than light. Consider yourself; what walls have you left or built that are preventing your spiritual vision, the light of life? Have you given your flesh, to die daily? The strength of our spiritual vision depends on our removing the walls. If we do the truth, we will come to the light, as noted in John 3:21 above. It is in the fullness of His light that the blessings and gifts of God are then available;
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
God then brought further consideration of the shadows on the door; there were actually five: the fifth and least level of light was the reflection of the light from the walls of the room. This is where God wants us to return His blessings, in reflecting His light to others. We did not provide the light ourselves, but reflect His light – give Him the glory for it! There are many levels of this reflection, but God’s desire is that we progress to become a mirror, not a wall, that we might be a perfect reflection, or in His image! In the fullness of this, God wants to establish His kingdom within you, and be the light source from His throne on your heart. Without Jesus this was never possible, for He is … the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father except by me. They should not see you, but the Jesus in you, and the God you serve;
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Your light does not come from your source, but from God, and it should only glorify Him. As God commanded the light to appear in the creation, let Him shine the light, Jesus, in your spiritual creation, and grow in the knowledge of Him;
II Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
After God brings you to a greater knowledge of Jesus as … the way, the truth, and the life, begin to let Him lead you to other knowledge of Jesus. Perhaps His love;
Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
We pray this exhortation has brought you to consider Him in a greater way. We will never have the full knowledge of Him in this life, as evidenced by the apostle John’s declaration… the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Get on the path of knowing and yielding your all unto Him; the blessing and multiplying and gifts will be great unto you.