“Jesus
said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.” (Joh 14:6)
John 14:6 is used by many as what I call a clobber verse. It
is used as a proof text that states that Jesus and Christianity is the only way
to God. I have posted it above and I’m quite sure most people would say, well
isn’t that what it clearly says? My answer is a resounding no! First of all it
is important to point out that it is an answer to a question and not statement
of teaching initiated by Jesus to inform everyone. Thomas had asked him how
they would know the way, and if Thomas had not asked the question, no one would
have ever heard of John 14:6. While there are many examples of Jesus standing
or sitting before crowds and proclaiming a truth he wanted to teach, this is
not one of them. John’s gospel was written well after all the others. John is
recalling some of the teachings of Jesus that other gospel writers did not
include. It is a very esoteric gospel and far more spiritual in nature than the
others. If this was meant to be the clobber verse that so many have made it
become, he would have proclaimed it in the Sermon on the Mount but he did not.
What was John’s message in this gospel? Well, he began the
gospel with what he deemed most important. John chapter one begins with the
Logos. It is actually a creation story that describes events that precede those
in Genesis chapter one. Genesis chapter one speaks of creation and John chapter
one speaks of before creation. When one defines Logos, John chapter one would read…
“In the beginning was consciousness, and consciousness was with God, and
consciousness was God.” Jesus understood that he was the incarnation of God Consciousness.
That was/is the source of the “I AM.” When Jesus referred to I AM, he was
referring to God Consciousness incarnated in human flesh. In fact, if one
believes that John wrote about what Jesus had taught him while with him, (and I
do believe that) he was taught that God Consciousness was in the world before
his incarnation, but not very many recognized it. However, to all that
recognized it he gave the power to understand that they were indeed children of
God. You may say, where do you get that? Here, John 1:10-12 “He
was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognize him. (11) He came to that which was his own, but his own
did not receive him. (12) Yet to all who did receive him, to those
who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— “ What was in the world? Jesus? No, God consciousness. How
do we know this? John answers that in verse fourteen by telling us that in
Jesus, God Conscious became flesh and dwelt among humanity. It was not that God
Conscious was not in the world prior to Jesus, but that not many recognized it.
So then, if we go back to John 14:6, it is saying. “God Consciousness
is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to an understanding of God
being the parent except through God Consciousness.” Paul sheds some light on the
universal aspect of Jesus mission in Galatians 2:16. Gal 2:16 “yet we know that no one is
justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And
we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the
faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of
the law no one will be justified.” It is the faith OF Christ that
justifies everyone. It is an act that was done by God and does not need anyone
to add to it. It is just a fact. Paul further explains this universal mission
of Jesus in Romans. Rom 5:18
“Consequently,
just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too
through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all
people.” Eternal life is a fact. Jesus came to show humanity that it
has eternal life, and actually had it before Jesus came into the world. The writer
of Hebrews explains that one of the major missions of Jesus was to die, be
resurrected so that humanity could overcome its fear of death. John states that the purpose of him writing
his gospel was twofold. First it was to believe that God Consciousness became flesh,
and in believing one would be awakened to the reality that therein was life,
eternal life. If we are created in God’s
image, that would mean two things. We are first and foremost consciousness
which is spirit, and we are eternal.
So then, when Jesus said I AM the way, the truth, and the
life he was simply saying that if one grasps the teaching that humanity is God
Consciousness incarnate, the knowledge came THROUGH him!
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