The Battle: The Enemy

When we talk about God, we use terms like Almighty, Omnipresent, Holy, Loving, All-knowing and Sovereign. 

These are what we call attributes of God.  They describe different characteristics that are true of Him.

In Isaiah 40:12-18 God says this about Himself:

12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?

Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?

Who else knows the weight of the earth

or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?

Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?

Does he need instruction about what is good?

Did someone teach him what is right

or show him the path of justice?

15 No, for all the nations of the world

are but a drop in the bucket.

They are nothing more

than dust on the scales.

He picks up the whole earth

as though it were a grain of sand.

16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests

and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough

to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.

17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.

In his eyes they count for less than nothing—

mere emptiness and froth.

18 To whom can you compare God?

What image can you find to resemble him?[i]

There is no one like our God.

When we say Sovereign we point to the fact that He rules.  He rules everything.  There is nothing outside the authority of His rule. 

When we say Almighty we point to the fact that all power comes from Him, is under His control and there is no limit to His power.

This is the God who is on our side. 

The enemy is not even remotely able to overcome, overpower, outsmart, trick, surprise, capture, harm, frustrate, confuse or in any way approach the greatness of God.

The enemy is a creature.

He was made by God.

This is what God says to Satan:

12 “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. 14 I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. 15 You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. 16 Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings. 18 You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you. (Ezekiel 28:12, 13, 14-18, NLT)

This passage explains the origin of the devil. 

He was a mighty angelic guardian.  He had access the mountain of God. Then his heart was filled with pride and his wisdom was corrupted because of his love of splendor. 

We know that God will expose him to ridicule.  

We know that God will seat Jesus on the throne of David in spite of the devil’s best efforts to keep it from happening. 

Why does God even allow a fallen creature like the devil to continue to exist?  I do not think that I know all the answers.  However, I want you to think with me.

In the book of Revelation, chapter 20 tells about a thousand years when Jesus will reign on the earth.  For this period of time the devil is chained and locked in a dungeon.  At the end of the thousand years, he is let out of the dungeon.  True to his nature the devil immediately sets about deceiving the nations.  He gathers a great army to fight against the Lord. 

Why would God do this?  

He has the devil captive.  

The earth is full of peace and prosperity.  Why would God turn the devil loose? 

We could ask the same question about why God let Job suffer.  

God does not answer all the questions.  But, if we look at Revelation and at Job, we see that God wanted Job to love and serve Him because He is God, not for the things He gives. 

God will turn the devil loose knowing the devil will deceive, and this has to be the point.  

Will people stand fast?  

Will people love God and not just love His gifts? 

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that the way to please God is faith.  

Abraham pleased God because of his faith.  

Hebrews 10:38 says, “And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” (NLT)

From this I take it that part of God’s purpose in letting the devil exist is so we have to make a choice.  

I do not think that this is the whole story, and I believe when God wipes away all tears and does away with all suffering we will understand more of why He has done what He has done.  

However, in the present there will always be those who hate God and those that love God.

The point is that the devil is a creature and is therefore limited.  

He is not like God. 

He cannot be in all places at once.  He does not know everything.  He is not all-powerful.

We do know that the devil is organized. 

Ephesians 6:12 tells us: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (ESV)[ii] The rulers, authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces listed here are grades or ranks of demons.

In Daniel 10 there is recorded an interaction between an angelic messenger and Daniel.  Verse 20 says, “He replied, "Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come.” (NLT)

There is a spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia and there is a spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece.  Here we see organizational structure and planning on the part of the devil. 

He also has helpers. 

In Revelation 12:9 we are told the devil and his angels are cast down to the earth.  In verse 4 of chapter 12 in describing the dragon we are told, “Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.” In combination with Daniel 8:10 we understand that possibly one third of the angels of heaven followed the devil when he fell.

In Matthew 25:41, Jesus tells us that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, alluding to the fact that the devil has helpers.

While the devil is not all-powerful and present everywhere, his organization and large numbers of helpers make his presence felt everywhere and his power great by force of numbers.

1 John 5:19 tells us, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” This is not because he is like God in any way.  

He controls the world by force of numbers, organizational structure and evil intelligence, in much the same way as humans might seek to gain control of the world.

The devil’s main tools are deceit and temptation.  

He works in our thoughts. He and his helpers are somehow able to whisper to us in our own voice so that we think the thoughts are our own. 

Along with this trickery, there is the fact that the devil and his helpers were originally angels. Therefore, they come to us acting like they are angels.

The Apostle Paul tells us this in the book of 2 Corinthians.  In the church at Corinth, there were men who entered in boasting of their own greatness so as to preach and teach for profit and to gain a following.  The Church in Corinth was soon in a mess.  

In writing to correct the problems, Paul says:

13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.” 

Here we see the fact that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  And, we also see that his servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.

Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of darkness.

No matter how great, powerful, clever and devious the devil is; he is not worth comparing to our God.

He is a creature. 

His rebellion has failed. 

Jesus rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High. 

Our victory is complete. 

The Bible in all truth says, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4, ESV)

One final thought:

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Our faith in Jesus is the victory.  No matter what trap the devil has you in, God can deliver you today.  

Cry out to Jesus.

Talk to Jesus right now.  Where the battle has gotten too close to home ask Jesus to come in and take over.

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[i] Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved

[ii] The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles

The Battle: The Conflict

I get up in the morning and make coffee. 

Every morning I get up, let the dog out and make coffee.

Actually, I do not make coffee every morning, but letting the dog out is not optional. 

I like to have cereal for breakfast.  Another member of the family likes eggs.  Yet another prefers pancakes.  So, we have eggs or cereal or pancakes for breakfast. It does not seem like much of a battle does it.

Why talk about a battle?

Last week Robin Williams made the headlines by taking his own life. According to the World Health Organization 3,000 people commit suicide each day, and for every 1 that succeeds approximately 20 more attempt it. 

Even among those that do not attempt suicide there are many who succumb to drug and substance abuse.

Causalities also include marriages that end in divorce, children who run away from home and broken relationships of all sorts.

While I was enjoying my breakfast, rockets were being fired from Gaza into Israel, and ISIS was continuing its reign of terror. 

I believe that the suicides, social problems, murders, and wars are related.  These things all point to a battle that rages first in the hearts of people.

The Bible offers an explanation and the way to understand the tremendous battle that rages around us.

It is in the Bible that we learn that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Understanding this gives us a foundation for understanding life. 

The Bible tells us, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1, ESV)[i]

God, and His part in His creation, is essential to our understanding of creation, the battle, sin, evil, sickness and also all the good things we encounter.

 In Genesis 2:8-9 it says:

8 “Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.  9 The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (NLT)[ii] 

This garden was an ideal place.  There was only one rule that was:

the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (Genesis 2:16, NLT)

This is a brief description of what the world was like before the battle began.  God had placed a man and a woman into a garden that He had created just for them. 

Then in Genesis 3 we find the opening of the battle, and the foundation for our understanding of it. Genesis 3:1-6 says:

 1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

In this passage, we are introduced to our enemy.

Here we are also introduced to the cause of the battle. 

Of our enemy, the devil or serpent in this passage, we learn in 1 Peter 5:8:

 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

There are plenty of movies and TV shows that depict wild and fanciful things about our enemy. 

Stories and myths exist in abundance and even we Christians get caught up in these. 

It is of greatest importance in considering the battle that we do not go beyond what is written in Scripture.

The first thing we learn about our enemy is that he is a deceiver.

The second is that he is a tempter. 

He lied to the woman in the garden and then he tempted her.

Look throughout the Bible and you will find that the devil consistently uses these same tactics. 

He deceives people and then he tempts them.  By doing this he gains control and/or power.

1 Chronicles 21:1 tells us, “Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel.” (NLT) This ended up being a tragedy in Israel and 70,000 people died as a result of it. By the way, these were 70,000 innocent people who had not been complicit in David’s sin.

This is how the devil works. 

He has no pity.

A lion about to eat a Zebra does not stop to think about how the Zebra might feel. The devil also does not care how you and I might suffer.

What thoughts, what doubts, what fears will cause a person to commit suicide or murder for that matter? The devil plays on those doubts, fears and thoughts without pity or remorse.  People die as a result.

In Acts 5, we are told that Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property. They brought part of the money as a gift to the apostles but claimed it was the whole amount.  In Acts 5:3 Peter asks, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart?” (NLT) 

This illustrates how the devil works in the thoughts of a person to deceive and tempt him or her.

In this way, the battle can be taking place inside the head and heart of a person while he is enjoying his breakfast. 

He may not even be aware that he is in a battle.

To Ananias and Sapphira it probably did not seem like a big deal.  Whatever they thought, it ended up being a big deal.

Jesus said, “I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” (Matthew 5:22, NLT)

How lightly do we call people idiots and how easily do we get angry with people?

These things do not seem like a big deal to us, but apparently they are a big deal. 

Dare I talk about life choices that we make that God has warned us not to do. 

This includes things like sex before marriage, sex outside of marriage, lying, stealing, cheating, coveting and anything against God’s law.  

These things characterize the life controlled by the flesh or the appetites of the body, and the Bible tells us that being controlled by the flesh leads to death.

The devil is still in the business of saying, “You surely will not die.”

He deceives and he tempts.

David’s thought to number the people did not originate with him, but he thought it did. 

Ananias and Sapphira’s thought to lie about the proceeds of the sale did not originate with them, but they thought it did.

Your thought to be critical of your wife’s scrambled eggs may not originate with you.  However, like David and like Ananias you will be held responsible for your actions.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says:

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (ESV)

In this statement, we get a glimpse of what it means to be in a spiritual battle.  If we look at verse 5 we see that there are arguments and lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God.  We also see that the battle takes place chiefly in the thoughts.  Thoughts have to be taken captive to obey Christ.

One human being listens to the wrong thoughts and ends up having revelations that he thinks are from God, and we have Islam.  How many have died and suffered as a result? 

One human being listens to the wrong thoughts and writes a book, and we have Nazi Germany taking over Europe and North Africa. 

How many millions died?

These are large scale examples of what happens on a small scale in our daily lives when we do not take our thoughts captive to Christ.

Sin and the fall have brought death, disease, weeds, thorns, thistles, deformities and the like. 

We have all been affected. 

My eyes have been affected by the fall. Therefore, I have to wear glasses. 

It is not that I committed a particular sin and so my eyes went bad. Rather, the fall has affected all of nature and all of our bodies.

I started out talking about Robin Williams and suicide as casualties of the battle, and they are.  But please do not think clinical depression is just about thoughts.  We know that there are physical, chemical imbalances that contribute to clinical depression and medications have been developed to help.

Medicine is imperfect and a lot of mistakes are made.  Even so, the Apostle Paul took along the physician Luke in his travels. Medicine has advanced considerably since that day.

I believe that clinical depression is something that requires medical intervention.  The insulin dependent diabetic should not feel guilty about using insulin, and neither should a person whose body does not maintain a proper chemical balance feel guilty about using antidepressants.

However, just because there is a physical component to depression does not mean it is not a spiritual battle. 

The devil has no mercy. 

If he sees a weakness, he attacks. We are all involved in the battle.  The conflict exists even when we are going about something as routine as getting our breakfast. 

This is why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

There is much to be learned about the battle, but there is a simple foundation that needs to be laid.   2 Corinthians 10:5 “5We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (ESV)

This requires that we examine our hearts.  The Psalmist gives us an example when he asks of God, “23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24, NLT)

We are not on our own. 

The Bible tells us, “the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” (1 John 4:4, NLT)

The good news is that Jesus has defeated the devil. 

The victory is already ours. 

We can live in that victory. 

I find that worshipping daily, spending time with God daily and asking God to examine my heart like the Psalmist makes a huge difference on my attitude and in my spirit. 

I highly recommend some sort of devotional mediation and worship program to strengthen yourself in the inner man.

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[i] The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles

[ii] Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved

What happens if I reject God?

God is a God of love.

We know from what He says through Peter that He does not want anyone to be destroyed. (2 Peter 3:9: The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.)

I was reading this morning and came across this in Deuteronomy 7.

7“The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! 8Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 9Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. 10But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. NLT

This passage affirms that God chooses to save people because of His love, but contains the chilling statement that He does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject Him.  This is consistent with John 3:18:  “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” (NLT)  Two verses earlier in John 3:16 God tells us that He loved the world so much that He gave His one and only son so that anyone who believes will not perish. 

The chilling fact remains that those who reject this offer of salvation will perish.

The Incredible Greatness of God's Power

Look at what the Apostle Paul prays for at the end of Ephesians chapter 1.

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.  21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.[i] (Ephesians 1:19-22, NLT)

Paul could have prayed for riches.  He could have prayed for political power, that slavery would be stopped or for any number of good, important things.  He could have prayed for anything at all, and he chose to pray for understanding, understanding of the incredible greatness of God’s power.

This is where the gospel starts.

It is all about Christ, “who fills all things everywhere with himself." (Ephesians 1:23, NLT)

If we do not understand the incredible greatness of our God, we cannot begin to understand the greatness of the salvation He has given us. 

Look at verse 21.  Jesus is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else.  This kind of greatness is beyond our ability to comprehend.  

He fills all things.  

In his letter to the Colossians Paul tells us that Christ holds all things together.  Picture with me the most distant star that you can imagine.  He holds that star together, and at the same time he is here and is holding every cell in your body together.

How can we even begin to describe someone who brought the universe into existence just by speaking?  He did not have bricks, dust, rocks, sand or any raw materials whatsoever.  He started with nothing, and then spoke into existence what He wanted. 

When speaking about the great things God has done on our behalf the Apostle Paul says: 

 "31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?"  (Romans 8:31-32, NLT)

Because of the incredible greatness of God's power, we can have absolute confidence in Him.

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[i] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

Verses for Encouragement

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.

We have left God’s paths to follow our own.

Yet the Lord laid on him

the sins of us all.

Isaiah 53:6, NLT                     

I know the Lord is always with me.

I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

Psalms 16:8, NLT                   

. . . he offers his friendship to the godly.

Proverbs 3:32b, NLT              

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21, NLT        

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11, NLT              

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

I can’t even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,

you are still with me!

Psalms 139:17-18, NLT           

Who is Jesus Christ?

The first Album I bought as a child was Bill Cosby. 

In the Album Bill says that although his father was a brilliant man, he confused Bill.  His story was that from the age of 1 to 7 he thought his name was “Jesus Christ”.  

He would walk into a room and trip over the carpet and his dad would say, “Jesus Christ, can’t you walk.” He would be sitting at the table and reach for some bread.  The water glass would be in the way so Bill would just knock it over.  His father would say, “Jesus Christ, clean the water up.”

 This illustrates how loosely we  use the name of Jesus.  

Compared to the language many of us hear in the work place every day, this is very mild.  However, it begs the question, “Who is Jesus Christ?”  Why is his name so common? What do we mean by using it as a swear word?

I hear interesting theories concerning this question.  Some say He was a great teacher, others say He was a prophet, and others that He was the Son of God.  Some do not know much about Him beyond the use of His name as a swear word.

There are many teachers, and a couple of names that are well recognized.  The names Buddha and Mohammad are two names that are recognized around the world.  These, of course, are names of two individuals who are recognized as founders of major world religions.  There are a number of different religions.  There are Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.  And, there are Islam and Judaism that have come from the same roots as Christianity.

 

The United States was started by those who wished to worship God as they saw fit and as a result all these religions are welcome and free to worship as they see fit in our country today.  I have friends that practice these different religions and definitely believe in the need to be tolerant of others with beliefs that differ from my own.

My purpose is not to compare or to try and argue against these other religions.  My purpose here is to consider who Jesus Christ is.  Rather than considering who others say he is, I think the best place to start is with who he said he was.  I guess I am changing the question to: "Who did Jesus claim he was?" 

John was a close friend and follower of Jesus.  He wrote an account of the life of Jesus.  In his account, the book of John, in chapter 14 John tells of the events surrounding the night that Jesus was arrested and tried.  When Jesus is calming the fears of His closest friends, he tells them not to be troubled but to believe in God and to believe in Him.   He makes the statement that in His Father’s home is more than enough room and that He is going to prepare a place for them.  Then He makes the statement, “you know the way to where I am going.” One of these close friends who was listening was named Thomas.  Thomas was a practical man and tended to look at the facts of the situation.  So when Jesus said, “You know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:4, NLT) Thomas was the one who jumped in and said, “No, we don’t know, Lord. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5, NLT)

Jesus’ response to Thomas is a cornerstone of Christian thought and teaching.  He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NLT) 

What exactly was Jesus saying?

First, He says, “I am the way.” What did He mean by saying this? 

John was a Hebrew but he was writing in Greek.  Here in this place our English translators have chosen to use the word way.  The original word was the word road.  Jesus uses a definite article, “the road.”  The definite article means that Jesus was not claiming to be a road, as in one among many but the road as in the only road.

He follows this by saying, “I am the Truth.” Now truth is admittedly a bit trickier to define than road.  According to the dictionary I used, in ancient Greek culture, truth was synonymous with reality as opposed to illusion.[i]  Jesus was in effect saying, “I am reality.”

There is a tendency to say in our present day that what is true for you may not necessarily be true for me.  This kind of relativity works in some situations, but in the real world it is best not to cross the street in front of a moving bus.  If you will allow the analogy Jesus is saying, “I am the bus. I am what is real.”

To make the point even more clear Jesus says, “I am the life.” 

Here, again, the word used for life is unique and important.   It points to all life, whether physical or spiritual throughout the universe.  Jesus is claiming to be the source of all life.

Having made three astounding claims in one sentence Jesus gives the conclusion.  He says, “No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NLT)

We understand Jesus to be referring to God when He says “the Father.” And here he is very direct and very exclusive.  He says, “No one can come to the Father except through me.”

I have heard much about inclusive thinking.  It is said that in the west we like to think of either/or.  If one thing is true, a contradicting statement cannot be true at the same time.  You cannot be both up and down at the same time.  I have also heard it explained that in an Eastern way of thinking there is a both/and approach, an ability to embrace to seemingly opposed truths at the same time.  In the up and down illustration, there may be some sense in which both may be true at the same time.

Jesus and John were both Hebrews, which means they came from an eastern culture. I lived in Japan for over 10 years, and became proficient in the language, but I do not make any claims to be an authority on Eastern philosophy or the mindset.  However, I do know that in the East as well as the West, we do not call anybody who makes such outrageous claims as Jesus made a great teacher.  No need to be nice to me and say He was a great teacher and then tell me that all roads lead to God.  If all roads lead to God then Jesus was either a great liar, a complete lunatic or at the very least sorely misled.

Let me ask you a question.  Why is it that no other religious leader's name is used as a swear word?

Who do you think Jesus is?

 

If what He said is true, this is the most important question you will ever be asked.  Because He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NLT)

Do you wonder what path you should be on?  Jesus says He is the path.  Do you ever wonder what truth is?  Jesus says He is the truth.  Do you want to be alive, truly alive?  Jesus says He is life.

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[i]Web. 24 Sep 2013. <http://helpsbible.com>.