Let me welcome you as well as
Winston. It's good to see you out today
in the house of the Lord where the gospel is preached. Let's
try to look at the gospel in the gospel of John here today,
John chapter 14. We'll look at the first six verses
and maybe a few others here, but we'll concentrate on those
six. The title, as you can see, is The Way to the Father. This
is a familiar verse. I imagine y'all all have this
memorized probably, but see if we can see the gospel here. Our
focus is going to be on Christ's declaration here in verse six. So look at John 14 in verse six
first. Jesus saith unto him, he's speaking
to Thomas, one of the disciples here, he saith unto him, I am
the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father,
but by me. Now we'll see how the way, the
truth, and life are all connected to that last phrase right there.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me. In Christ's final
days before he goes to the cross here, he speaks to his disciples
about spiritual things. That's what this is about. It's
not about physical, but spiritual things. And here he's declaring
himself to be the way to the Father, the truth about the father
and the life that is of the father. As I said, those three words
are connected to that last phrase, no man cometh unto the father,
but by me. So that's what we're going to
look at in this lesson. So let's first start out as Christ,
the way to the father, Jesus sayeth unto Thomas, I am the
way no man cometh unto the father, but by me. Christ declares to be the only
means, in other words, the only way of access to the Father. If any sinner would worship the
Father, if any sinner would fellowship with the Father, if any sinner
would honor the Father, it will be, it must be through Christ. He's the way. He's the only way.
There's no other way but Him. Look at John 14.1 and we'll start
down through these verses here. He said, let not your heart be
troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. Now, as a little background on
this passage here, Christ has told his disciples repeatedly,
really, that he's going away. He's told them that he has to
go to Jerusalem. He's going to be taken by the leaders in Jerusalem,
and he's going to be killed. He's going to be put on the cross.
And the disciples, as you would well know, were necessarily concerned
about that. They don't understand all they
think they need to know about that, and we would be concerned
in that situation. We have the New Testament to
tell us why Christ had to go to the cross. They didn't have
that. And his words here are intended to teach them, to help
them understand, to settle their minds a little more about his
impending departure. Now, you see in that verse, I've
underlined two phrases there. They're really two imperatives,
two commands. Believe in God, believe also
in me. That's what he's telling them.
Now, in reality, you can't do one here without the other. You
can't believe in God and not believe in the Christ that God
sent. Now, all of us by nature thought
we could do We thought we could believe in God when we didn't
really know the Christ God sent. But when we learned of the Christ
God sent, we realized, no, that wasn't God I was believing in.
That was an idol of my imagination. Before any sinners believing
in God, that sinner must be believing in the Christ that came by command
of and by the direction of the Father. He came to do a work.
His Father sent him to do it. He finished it. And we've got
to be seeing that Christ. We've got to be understanding
who He is. Now, the reason that's so is because Christ is the way
of the Father. He's the only way there is. Jesus
answered some who asked Him, what shall we do? that we might
work the works of God. Well, what can we do? We want
to work the works of God. What shall we do? Here's what
Christ answered in John 6 and verse 29. He answered and said
unto them, this is the work of God that you believe on him whom
he has sent. In other words, it's not your
work. This is the work of the father. And we'll see this more
clearly as we go through this message, but It's not something
men come up with on their own. This is a miracle from God if
you believe on him whom God has sent. Believing on the one sent
is the only way to acknowledge the one who sent him. Seeking
salvation in the one sent is the beginning of seeking after
the one who sent him, a just God and a savior. And as I said,
believing on Christ is not something that sinners come up with on
their own. This is not something you study
and learn about by nature. This is not something you just
become obsessed with and finally get it. It's not like that. Look
at John 6 in verse 44. Christ says here, no man can
come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him,
and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore
that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me.
Not that any man has seen the Father, save he which is of God. He has seen the Father. Believing
on Christ is not something we do by nature. It's a miracle
of God. In fact, it's the greatest miracle
you and I have ever witnessed from God, probably. I mean, he
might have healed someone in your family, but this is a great
miracle. It's an amazing miracle that
we believe on the one God has sent. Men don't believe on Christ
until God makes him known in the gospel. in the declaration
of who he is and what he's done for his people, and until the
Spirit of God makes him known in the heart through regeneration.
Before then, just like the God of our minds was an idol, the
Christ of our minds was a counterfeit until he makes Christ known through
the gospel and known in the heart by the Spirit. Now, I can back
those words up with scripture that no man knows him until he's
revealed. Look at Matthew 11 and verse
27. He says, all things are delivered
unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father. No man knoweth the son by nature
but the father. Neither knoweth any man the father
save the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. In other
words, in order to know the father, The only way you can do that
is to know the Son, and the only way to know the Son is for the
Father to sit you down under the gospel and have a preacher
who's been taught of Him reveal Him to you. That's the only way
to do it. He's got to send you a preacher, and He's got to send
the Spirit of God with convicting and convincing power where that
message is preached. That's the only way you'll know
it. You can sit under what men call Bible preaching. There aren't
many preachers this morning standing in pulpits without a Bible. You
might notice I don't bring mine up here, but I've got it right
here in front of me. I've got it all laid out here.
I can verify everything I'm saying by the Word of God. But it doesn't
matter if you're sitting under what men call Bible preaching.
If that preaching is not identifying and distinguishing the Christ
of the scriptures, it's not only not helping you, in fact, it
is a hindrance to you believing in God's way of salvation. See,
we have a way of salvation in our minds, but it's not God's
way of salvation. What has the son done that makes
it right for the father to bring sinners to himself? What has
the son done that makes it right for God? to be just and yet justify
the ungodly. And that's the focus of the scriptures.
What Christ has done to make it right for God to show mercy
to sinners like us. That's the focus of Genesis to
Revelation. That's what it's all about. Let's
look on in our text here, John 14 in verse 2, because we're
going to be looking down through here at what Christ has done.
He says, 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.
Now Christ is speaking here of his going to the cross. He's
going there as a representative and a substitute of those he
was given. His work on the cross would,
in fact it did, prepare a place in glory for every sinner he
represented. He came to fulfill the law on
behalf of those He was given. He came to satisfy justice on
their behalf. He came to put away their sin.
He came to establish the one righteousness by which God is
just, to justify them, to declare them eternally righteous in His
sight. Christ's work on the cross would,
it did guarantee the way He went to prepare that way and His work
guarantees that every sinner He died for has a place in heaven. It's already there. He's already
gone and prepared it. It's just waiting on Him to come
back and get us and take us to it. Christ's work on the cross,
well let's read verse 3. John 16 verse 3. He said, and
if I go and prepare a place I will come again and receive you unto
myself that where I am there you may be also. Christ's work
on the cross prepared a place for every sinner and his work
on the cross is what guarantees his return for those sinners
to receive them unto himself. They will be in heaven because
he has prepared them a place, and for that reason alone, it's
not based on anything found in us, but based on what Christ
alone has done on our behalf. He fulfilled all the law's requirements,
satisfied all its demands, bore all the wrath God has against
the sins of his people, and established that righteousness by which God
justifies them. These sinners, given to Christ,
chosen by God, they will be in heaven because Christ will return
and take them to that place where his death alone has prepared
for them. His death for them is their only
right and title to heaven. And they will, without fail,
occupy that place which he himself prepared. Look only at verse
four. John 16, 4, and he said, and whither or where I go, you
know, and the way, you know. Now he's speaking here a little
bit in anticipation. Anticipation of the disciples
being taught because they didn't know this right now. We'll see
that in just a minute. It's spoken in anticipation of
their understanding of the scriptures being open. You remember when
Christ, after he was resurrected, he got them all together and
he opened their understanding of what Moses and the Psalms
and all the prophets had written concerning him. He opened their
understanding. That's when they came to know
this. But he says in the way you know, and the reason he could
say that, is because all represented by Christ, all for whom he died,
will know that scripture that Winston had us read together
before. We're going to be taught of God. We're going to know what
Christ has done for his people. We're going to know how he satisfied
law and justice and put away sin and brought in that righteousness.
We're going to be taught that and we're going to value it above
all knowledge. Although the disciples had been
told, they obviously did not understand that way at this time
in their lives. Thomas expresses their lack of
that understanding. Look on at verse 5, John 14,
5. Thomas said unto him, Lord, we
know not whither thou goest. We don't know where you're going.
How can we know the way? Of course, Christ answered Thomas
in verse 6. He said, I'm the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Although
none of the disciples at that time knew all that Christ meant
when he said, I've got to go away, I've got to prepare a place.
They didn't understand it. They would understand it. when
God taught them, when he sat them under the gospel and taught
them about Christ. The anxiousness of the disciples
here is mirrored in every sinner who is yet ignorant of who Christ
is and what he's done to give his people a place in final glory. See, I mean, before God teaches
us, we don't know what Christ did. And so their anxiousness
is, we see that in everyone. We've seen it, we understand
it because we've experienced it. We didn't always know what
Christ had done to prepare a place in glory for his people and that
salvation was conditioned entirely upon his work and not upon us
in any way to any degree. So Christ is the way to the father. Let's look back at that outline
and we'll move on to the second truth. He's also the truth about
the father. Look back at John 14, six. Jesus
said unto Thomas, I am the truth. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. No man comes to the Father but
by the truth that is found in the person, the doing and dying
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I'm speaking of the truth
that does two things. The truth, not a truth, the truth. First, the truth identifies the
Father and distinguishes Him from all idols. That's got to
be the first thing because we don't know God until this happens.
Natural men know many things about the true and living God.
They can and do look at creation and see that the Creator is wise,
that He's powerful, that He's faithful. We can see these things.
Psalm 19 says, the heavens declare the glory of God. and the firmament
showeth its handiwork. You can look at the stars, you
can study the stars, men do, and they can see that it's a
being far beyond anything man could do that put those stars
in space and made the seasons come and go as they do and the
plant life come in the spring and leave in the fall. That's
all of God and we can see much of God's handiwork there. Natural
men can see that in creation and they can also look at providence
and conclude that God governs this world as he will. They can
and do agree with the conclusion of King Nebuchadnezzar. Some
of you might not know this was a heathen king that made this
statement. Look at Daniel 4 and verse 35. He said, this is after
God turned him into an ox and made him graze as an ox. His fingernails got long, and
he knew something about God. Listen, all the inhabitants of
the earth are reputed as nothing, and he, God, doeth according
to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth. And none can stay his hand or say unto him, what
doest thou? Now this heathen king was providentially
brought to the right conclusion. He spoke the truth. And lost
men can agree with that. I mean, men all the time, you
hear them saying, God allowed me to dodge a bullet there when
they come through a bad situation, a car wreck or a tornado or something. Well, the Lord was with me there.
He was with them. He definitely was, because He's
the God of providence. He rules over this earth. But
Him bringing you through those kind of things is no indication
that you have any kind of eternal relationship with Him, just like
this heathen king Nebuchadnezzar. He told the truth. But he didn't
know God saving him. So men can see many things in
creation and in providence that are true things about God. Yet
in all this knowledge and understanding of true things, men by nature
still fall short of the truth. They fail to see what truly identifies
God and distinguishes him from idols. I tell you how I can know. Before we came to the gospel,
what we need to know about God to know Him in a saving way,
that He's a just God and a Savior, not only did we not learn it,
not only did we not know it, we didn't even consider it. It
wasn't even a part of our doctrine. We didn't even Consider
it important. So that's the truth that men
must know. They have to value and see God,
how he can remain just and still deal mercifully with fallen humanity
such as we are through the person and work, the very righteousness
of Christ imputed. Now, men's failure in this area,
this failure to see God as a just God and Savior, is a failure
to understand the preaching of the cross. Although we sat under
what we thought was the preaching of the cross, if we didn't hear
about a just God and a Savior, we weren't hearing about the
preaching of the cross that the scripture speaks of. Look at
1 Corinthians 1 verse 18. Paul writes here to the Corinthians,
for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness,
but unto us which are saved it is the power. of God. There are
always two groups of sinners in the world, and the Bible contrasts
them in different ways. Those of light, those of darkness,
those lost, those saved. But in this particular context,
those groups are contrasted as those who are perishing and those
who are being saved. Both groups are identified by
their doctrine, which is their gospel. Their gospel identifies
their Christ, and their Christ identifies their God. That's
what we see in 2 John in verse 9. That's how you know what people
believe by their doctrine of Christ. It says, whosoever transgresseth,
goes too far, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, hath
not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Well, are you, am
I, among those who are perishing, these two contrasting groups,
one, those that are perishing, one, those that are being saved,
am I among those that are perishing? Am I among those that are being
saved? Men are known by their doctrine.
They are identified and distinguished by what they believe about Christ. In other words, which Christ
are you looking to? You say there's only one. Well,
there's only one true one, but there are many antichrists going
out in the world, John said in his day. So there are many claiming
to be Christ. There's only one true Christ.
Is your hope in that imagined Christ who died for all? but
whose death did not really save anyone unless you make his death
effectual by your contribution of faith or good works or reformation
of life or whatever else men want you to fill in that blank
with? Is your hope in that Christ? That's a counterfeit. Or is your
hope in the Christ of the Scriptures who satisfied the law and justice
of God and accomplished the complete salvation of every sinner he
died for? The truth, the gospel, identifies Christ. And in turn,
Christ identifies the God who justifies the ungodly based on
the finished work, the imputed righteousness of Christ alone.
So the first thing the truth does, the truth, the first thing
it does, it identifies and distinguishes God from idols. Our God is a
just God and a savior. He's a God of justice and mercy,
but not mercy at the expense of justice. The second thing
the truth does is to overcome the wisdom of the world, the
wisdom of the wise in the matter of salvation, and to deliver
sinners from the bondage of self-righteous preaching. As Bill said, we're
not going to ever be delivered completely from self-righteousness. But in this matter of salvation,
we're going to know how God is just to save sinners based on
Christ's righteousness alone. So the second thing the truth
does is overcome the wisdom of the world. The preaching of the
cross is the sword of destruction to the wisdom of the wise, the
wisdom of the world in the matter of salvation. Look at 1 Corinthians
1.19-21. Paul says, for it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? He's
talking about in the matter of salvation. Remember, this context
is all about salvation. For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. As I said,
this context is about salvation. It's about those who are perishing
and those who are being saved. But the subject is salvation.
The contrast here is salvation according to the wisdom of the
world, the wisdom of the wise, or salvation according to the
wisdom of God. The wisdom of the world concerning
salvation is this. God will if you will. God will
save you if. He will save you if you will
do something. He will save you if you will
believe something. He will save you if you will
change your ways. That's the wisdom of the world
concerning salvation. God will if you will. This wisdom
keeps sinners looking within, within ourselves, for at least
some part of our acceptance with God. And that looking within
is bondage. It's slavery. The greatest need
of sinners is to be saved from the wisdom of the world in the
matter of salvation. That's the greatest need we have.
Now the wisdom of God, in contrast to that, is this. He's already
saved the people of His choosing. When did He save them? He saved
them when Christ went to the cross. He saved them by Christ's
death alone. He saved them by the doing and
dying of Christ. Sinners don't do anything to
get salvation, nor do they do anything to keep it. God is just
to save and finally bless sinners on the basis of Christ's work,
the basis of his righteousness imputed, and that basis alone. The wisdom of God is the wisdom
of Christ crucified. Look at 1 Corinthians 1, 22 through
24. He said, For the Jews require
a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God. and the wisdom
of God. Now, he says, we preach Christ
crucified. That's God's wisdom in the matter
of salvation. Christ crucified is not just
that Christ died and was buried and rose again. Those three elements,
of course, are contained in Christ crucified, but Christ crucified
is about how Christ died and was buried and rose again according
to the Scriptures. It's about what he accomplished
in his death for every sinner he was given. It's about what
his resurrection declares of his death. What was God the Father
declaring to the world when he raised Christ from the dead?
That law and justice was satisfied? That sin was put away for every
sinner Christ died for? That righteousness had been established,
that everlasting righteousness Daniel wrote about? He was declaring
all that, which everybody not under the gospel is ignorant
of, what Christ actually accomplished for those he died for. And that's
why Christ crucified is the truth that sets men free. I told you
we were in bondage by nature and this is the truth that sets
men free. Until a sinner sees and embraces
Christ crucified, the truth of his life and death and what he
accomplished, that sinner is in bondage. Look at John 8 in
verse 30, 30 through 32. As Christ is speaking here, it
says, as He spake these words, many believed on Him. They believed
Him to be the Messiah. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, if you continue in my word, then are
you my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free. So they believed that he
was the Messiah, but Christ is telling them here. There's still
something you need to know. There's just something you need
to understand. You you're not yet delivered. Although you do
believe I am the Messiah. Initially, the gospel addresses
sinners who are in bondage. In other words, the first time
you sit down under the gospel, you're a sinner in bondage. You
don't know it, but you are. And that's the person that the
gospel addresses initially. But it's a bondage that none
of us recognizes we're in. Look on at John 8, 33. These
Jews answered him, we be Abraham's seed and were never in bondage
to any man. How sayest thou you shall be
made free? He's speaking here again about
spiritual matters. They're trying to deal with physical
things. They'd never been in prison. although they were under
the rule of the Roman government at this time, but he's talking
to them about spiritual things. What is this bondage he's talking
about? Well, look on at John 8, 34, and we'll see it. Jesus
answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth
sin is the servant of sin. Whoever commits sin is in bondage
to that sin. Well, what is committing sin?
Well, it's not lying and cheating and stealing. If that were true,
then we would never be delivered from it because although we're
not open liars, we do shade the truth a little bit every once
in a while, don't we? So, what is committing sin? It's
failing to abide in Christ, to rest all of our salvation fully
in Him and on nothing else, on nothing from us. That's what
committing sin is. Committing sin is something from
which every regenerate sinner has been delivered from. Every
sinner brought by faith to believe in Christ alone has been delivered
from committing sin. Look at 1 John 3 and verse 9,
it makes that statement. It said, Whosoever is born of
God born again, born anew, born of God, he doth not commit sin. He's talking about the same,
John's writing here in his letter, the same thing he was writing
about in his gospel. He said, for his seed, his offspring,
that's the offspring of Christ, those born of God, remain in
him and he cannot sin because he's born of God. Well, What
he's saying here is he cannot fail to abide in Christ. The
born-again believer, he can't be drawn away from resting his
whole salvation in Christ alone. He's got to stay right there.
And by the grace of God, he keeps us there. But he's been delivered
from committing sin, from thinking that something other than Christ-imputed
righteousness alone is all of our salvation, which we do by
nature. Now how are sinners delivered from this bondage that we're
all in by nature, this bondage of committing sin? Look at John
8, 35. Christ said, and the servant abides not in the house forever,
but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed. The servant has no abiding place
in the household. His ability to stay there is
based on his continuing to serve. That's the only way. If he quits
serving, the household will have no more need of him. But the
son has an abiding place in the household, one he earned by his
obedience unto death. And it's one he earned for every
sinner he represented. Now, if he makes you free, it
says, you shall be free indeed. Every son and daughter of Adam
is born in bondage. None of us knows it, but it's
true nonetheless. And the only way to be delivered
from this bondage is by the preaching of Christ crucified. It's to
understand the completeness and the sufficiency of the salvation
that Christ has worked out for every sinner he died for. Every
sinner he was given. Christ is the truth about the
Father that identifies and distinguishes him as a just God and Savior.
And he is the truth that delivers his sheep from bondage, from
the worship of a God of our imagination. All right, let's look back at
the outline and we'll look at the last point in our message.
Not only is Christ the way to the Father, not only is He the
truth about the Father that distinguishes Him and identifies Him and delivers
sinners from bondage, He's the life that is of the Father. Christ
said, I am the life. If we look back at John 14, 6,
he said, I am the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me. No man lives the life given by
the Father, but by Christ. Christ is speaking here about
spiritual life. Now that spiritual life won't
be fully realized until we reach final glory. Listen to a couple
of verses that talk about that. Look at Psalm 17 and verse 15.
David said, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. That's when spiritual life will
be fully realized. Look at Paul writing about this
at Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4. He said, if you then be risen
with Christ, that means if you're born of God, if you're resting
your whole salvation in Christ. If you're risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth, for you're dead and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. Full realization will come at
final glory. But this life is manifested in
time, in each generation, in each one who was given to Christ. It's realized in each of God's
elect in time. Every sinner chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world and redeemed by Christ
by his death on the cross will, in time, be born again. They'll
be born from above. They'll be born of God. They'll
be quickened, which means they'll be made alive in regeneration.
They'll be raised to walk in newness of life. This is all
scriptural language about the new birth, about regeneration.
Look at 1 John 5 verses 10 through 12. He that believeth on the
Son of God hath the witness in himself. He's got the gospel. He's got the declaration of Christ
in the gospel. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave
of his Son, and this is the record that God hath given us eternal
life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath
life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. God has given us eternal life,
he says. Well, when did he give it? He
gave it in Christ before the world began. But that life is
made known. It's manifested in time in regeneration. He that hath the Son hath life. Well, who has the Son? That's
a good question to ask and answer. Well, we've already answered
it, but let me tell you how we answered it. The sinner abiding
in the doctrine of Christ has the Son. We saw that language
back in 2 John, in verse 9. It said, he that abideth in the
doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. So the
sinner abiding in that doctrine, in that gospel, who knows that
this is the only message that's honoring to God, glorifying to
Him and exalting to Christ, the one that excludes all boasting
and sinners. That sinner has the son. The sinner delivered
from committing sin has the son. Remember we read in 1 John 3,
whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. So the sinner
delivered from committing sin, he's born of God. For his seed
remains in him and he cannot sin because he's born of God. Who has the son? It's the sinner
whose whole seeking, his whole desire, is to be found in Christ. Bill mentioned this also briefly
in his message this morning. Look at Philippians 3 verses
7 through 9. Now this is Paul writing here
after he just went through a whole list of things that he used to
count. toward his acceptance with God.
He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, he was a Pharisee, he was a law
keeper, he was zealous toward his religion. And then he says
this, but what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for
Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do
count them but done that I may win Christ and be found in him
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law but that
which is through the faith of Christ the faithfulness of Christ
the righteousness which is of God by faith who has the son
Those whose whole desire is to be found in His righteousness
alone. We don't desire to be found in any supposed righteousness
that we might think we came up with. Our hope and rest is in
Christ and His imputed righteousness. Well, Christ is the way to the
Father. He's the truth about the Father.
He's the life that is in the Father. I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me." May the Lord enable you to come to a just God and
Savior based on Christ and His finished work alone.