John 14:6

[Dawnofhope]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

 

[sun rise]

For the sake of argument, I'll assume that he really said that.

When he said it, there was no Christianity. So if you take that quote literally he could not have been referring to that which did not then exist.

The next question I could propose is whether he was speaking of the human Jesus who lived and died or the eternal Christ. To me, his quote makes more sense spoken by the eternal Christ because he said that people who (truly) saw him saw the father.

Departing from Christian theology, what I see is that the eternal Christ, the Avatar, is the one who exists where all the rivers of belief merge into God.

In metaphorical terms he is the gate through which souls enter as they realize their union with Divinity.

 

[Deeje]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

I guess Jesus backed up that statement by saying....
John 6:44..."No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him"....
John 6:65..."This is why I have said to you, no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

It is invitation only......if Jesus is "the way" to God, then no one who tries to come to him by another way will reach him.
And if he is "the truth", then nothing that contradicts his teachings will ever allow someone a foot in the door.
And if he is "the life", then no life can be saved without faith in his blood.

Romans 8:8-9...
"But God recommends his own love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more, then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath."

That "wrath" from which we are saved, is God's anger at all the lies and deceit that the devil has promoted in this world.....he controls everything. (1 John 5:19) So eliminating from existence all who accept those lies and deceit as their truth....those who oppose God's son and fail to acknowledge that everlasting life can only come through his sacrifice, will come to disappointment according to our scripture. His incoming Kingdom will have as its subjects, only those who see Jesus as Messiah, and the only "way" to everlasting life.

 

[SeekingAllTruth]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

The best way, IMHO to understand this is to realize that the early church leaders were trying to find a way to bludgeon pagans into becoming Christians. They took their cue from the Greeks who used to threaten their citizens with eternal punishment in Hades if they didn't obey the civil laws and keep the order. It worked beautifully. Nobody wants to burn for eternity. The church leaders decided, "Hey, if it worked for the Greeks, why not for us"? So they wrote that line and others into John. Notice it only appears in John.

 

[Brickjectivity]

John sets the stage by speaking of the Logos in chapter 1, followed by Jesus monologue to Nicodemus that takes up most of the third chapter. In this monologue Jesus begins by saying that there are two baptisms, and he wraps up the monologue by saying that light has come into the world and that the righteous will step into that light. This explains what he means later in 14:6. "I am the way" means this teaching, a foundational theme in John based in Jeremiah 31:34 that no longer does one man teach another saying "Know the LORD." What Jesus means is this is the way the truth and the life....as opposed to teachings of men (or women either).

What does Jesus mean when he tells Nicodemus that the spirit goes where it wills? It goes not from person to person but wherever it wants to. This is explained in John 16:13 where Jesus says he isn't going to give his disciples full lessons but that they will be taught by something called the Holy Spirit. It is complicated to determine what he means. Why is it called the 'Holy Spirit'? Because it will divide them from the rest of the world, but why must they be divided from the rest of the world? John 15 The rest of the world won't understand this. The rest of the world thrives on borders and classifications and safe fences around groups where we feel comfortable similarity.

There is a partial answer 1 Peter 2:10 why its called the holy spirit and why they will be separate. Once they (Christians) were not a people, but now they are a people. They were individuals of different backgrounds that are now one people, like a nation. They are to act as a priesthood (like diplomats), separated for that purpose much as the tribe of Levi is separate from other tribes. So they behave like diplomats separate from other peoples, and they are one people.

John is also about unity of people not on the basis of equal beliefs but on the basis of accepting one another. The prayer in John 17 is all about this. Jesus prays his followers will be one, meaning they are not and he hopes they will be. He prays that they will be set apart from others by truth which the holy spirit will reveal -- but not until after he dies! It is complicated to determine what this means. It is about being a universal church in which people of different education levels, different mindsets, different backgrounds from the thief to the elder all commune together in peace....or something like that.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

The inclusive interpretation:

If someone has found God - by any path - Christ must have been involved even if it's not apparent how.

 

[Neuropteron]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

Hi,
The wording is difficult to misunderstand, and is in harmony with God's revealed purpose.
Another related is scripture is Ac 4:12
"...there is no salvation in any one else..."

 

[Jainarayan]

Jesus was speaking to a specific audience at a specific time and place. His audience lost their way to God, Jesus found it and knew the way. He was offering it to his audience... a way to reconnect with God, to love God and others, to devote themselves to God, to live righteous lives. I know Muslims, Hindus, Jews, who live that way. So they can’t reach God without Jesus?

 

[Fallen Prophet]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ created all of us, redeemed us unconditionally, gave us everything we needed to be saved and He is now preparing mansions for us.

He is literally the way because He has given us life, the truth and the means to return to the Father. He made it all possible - so it is through Him.

 

[Dawnofhope]

To be clear, all of Christ’s disciples were Jewish so the when Jesus speaks of being the way it is likely reiterating His claim to be the Jewish Messiah.

Further, John 14:6 is one of seven ‘I am’ statements in the Gospel of John. This is seen by some as an allusion to Christ’s Divinity and echoes God revealing His name through Moses in exodus 3:14.

What are the seven I AM statements in the Gospel of John? | GotQuestions.org

This makes sense given the emphasis of John from the outset as he speaks of the logos in John 1:1-3.

When the apostles extended the audience beyond Jews to Gentiles the language changed to adapt the message to a very different culture.

So in interpreting John 14:6 one needs to consider the scriptural and historical context. It makes no sense to view John 14:6 as a criticism of Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam for obvious reasons. However it seems popular in some Christian circles to extrapolate such criticism.

 

[Trailblazer]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

The way I understand that verse is that the verse was written to apply to the Dispensation of Jesus, the Christian Dispensation. Jesus was the way to the Father during His Dispensation because God wanted everyone to come to Him by way of Jesus during His Dispensation. However, the verse was never intended to mean that Jesus was the Only Way to the Father for all of time.

Dispensation

1. the divine ordering of the affairs of the world.
2. an appointment, arrangement, or favor, as by God.
3. a divinely appointed order or age:

e.g. the old Mosaic, or Jewish, dispensation; the new gospel, or Christian, dispensation.

Definition of dispensation | Dictionary.com

By an arrangement of God the divine ordering of the affairs of the world is only according to one religion at a time. Thus each religion only applies to the age (dispensation) in which it is revealed, until another religion is revealed.

 

[Trailblazer]

Jesus was speaking to a specific audience at a specific time and place. His audience lost their way to God, Jesus found it and knew the way. He was offering it to his audience... a way to reconnect with God, to love God and others, to devote themselves to God, to live righteous lives. I know Muslims, Hindus, Jews, who live that way. So they can’t reach God without Jesus?

That is just about the best explanation I have ever heard.

 

[stvdv]

Jesus was speaking to a specific audience at a specific time and place. His audience lost their way to God, Jesus found it and knew the way. He was offering it to his audience... a way to reconnect with God, to love God and others, to devote themselves to God, to live righteous lives.

Exactly, that is how I see it too. Hence of course this also applies to other Religions, like you said in below quotes

I know Muslims, Hindus, Jews, who live that way

So they can’t reach God without Jesus?

Good proof (it would be indeed hypocritical to claim exclusiveness about Jesus and expect others to believe me, if I belittle others' faith)

 

[stvdv]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

My way to understand this, and to make it a Divine verse:

Jesus saith unto him, "I Am" ... the way, the truth and the life
(Aham Brahmasmi: my true being "I am" is Divine, realizing this is "the way")

No man cometh unto the Father, but by me
(Jesus has realized this truth, hence He can claim the above "by me" = God = "I am" = my true self. So it applies for all religions similar.

Hence "I Am That", inclusiveness, is the way
to realize the truth
@stvdvRF
@stvdvRF=GOD

 

[Dogknox20]

To be clear, all of Christ’s disciples were Jewish so the when Jesus speaks of being the way it is likely reiterating His claim to be the Jewish Messiah.

Further, John 14:6 is one of seven ‘I am’ statements in the Gospel of John. This is seen by some as an allusion to Christ’s Divinity and echoes God revealing His name through Moses in exodus 3:14.

What are the seven I AM statements in the Gospel of John? | GotQuestions.org

This makes sense given the emphasis of John from the outset as he speaks of the logos in John 1:1-3.

When the apostles extended the audience beyond Jews to Gentiles the language changed to adapt the message to a very different culture.

So in interpreting John 14:6 one needs to consider the scriptural and historical context. It makes no sense to view John 14:6 as a criticism of Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam for obvious reasons. However it seems popular in some Christian circles to extrapolate such criticism.

.
adrian009 Jesus is now in the form of Manna! At first Jesus took the form of Man so he could die as a man and thus rise never to die again! NOW in the form of Manna all who eat this living eternal food will enter into Heaven "The New Promised Land!"
48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

adrian009 I say John 14.. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Is explained this way... Being IMMERSED into the body of Jesus by the waters of Baptism AND then consuming the living Flesh and Blood of Jesus we have Jesus in us!
adrian009 Jesus is IN Me & I am IN Jesus! except through me IS Literally through consuming the flesh of Jesus and IMMERSION into Jesus!

John 17:22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.
&
John 17:26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

 

[1213]

...
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

I think it means, Jesus has the authority to tell who can get in.

…All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
Matt. 28:18

And he has told that it is righteous who will get the eternal life.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

 

[oldbadger]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

John dreamed up this kind of claim, and of course he had not been a witness to anything that Jesus said, because he certainly was not the desciple. That is easily shown .....

 

[CG Didymus]

An important controversy in Christianity is the interpretation of whether or not Jesus made exclusive claims where He envisaged no one could come to God except through Him, or whether a biblical theology should allow for the validity of other religions. An important verse used by Christian exclusivists to justify their theology is John 14:6 where Jesus speaks to His Disciples:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is the best way to understand John 14:6 and why?

I think an important way to understand it is how SeekingAllTruth puts it.

The best way, IMHO to understand this is to realize that the early church leaders were trying to find a way to bludgeon pagans into becoming Christians. They took their cue from the Greeks who used to threaten their citizens with eternal punishment in Hades if they didn't obey the civil laws and keep the order. It worked beautifully. Nobody wants to burn for eternity. The church leaders decided, "Hey, if it worked for the Greeks, why not for us"? So they wrote that line and others into John. Notice it only appears in John.

Did Christianity want to have the only Truth and to be the only way to God? I think the early Church and later the Catholic Church and even today many sects of Christianity want to be the only way to God.

And what does their "Truth" include? That whole thing about Adam's sin. Then add in a fallen archangel that is out to deceive everyone and get them to turn from God and get condemned to hell. Christians that believe all of that have made Jesus into the only way out. He paid the "necessary" penalty for Adam's sin. If people accept it, they avoid going to hell and get to go to heaven and be with God and Jesus.

But, as SeekingAllTruth points out, it could be that Christians set it all up to get people to obey the "God's rules"... and a few people rules too. If they want to avoid hell, then follow Jesus and obey his commandments. No other religions, including Judaism, can help them. None of them have the "Jesus" provision of dying for the sins of the world. If they doubt it? That's the devil. If they fall into temptation? That's the devil. So the "good" Christian doesn't need anything but to follow Jesus and trust in him... along with whatever the Church tells them to do too.

As usual, Baha'is put themselves in an awkward position... they have to believe in the words of Jesus but interpret them and explain them in a way that makes all religions equally true. Actually, I shouldn't say that Baha'is have to believe in the words of Jesus, because some Baha'is do question whether or not all the things attributed to Jesus were things he really said, or were things the gospel writers said he said.

Oh, but that other Baha'i explanation of "dispensation", to me, doesn't fit with what the NT writers were trying to say. If Christianity is true, then the "atoning" death of Jesus would always be a necessary thing to get people cleared of their sin debt to God. So if that isn't true, then what is true about Christianity and the NT? As you know, I believe if Christianity isn't true as believed, then it's probably made up myths and legends. I think it was meant to be exclusive and the "only" way, but... if it is myths and legends... then it isn't. But, if Baha'is want to make it somehow truly the "Word of God", then they are left with explaining away creation, the flood, Satan, hell, the resurrection and tons of other things in the NT and the Bible. Is it really worth it?

 

[Trailblazer]

I think an important way to understand it is how SeekingAllTruth puts it.

Did Christianity want to have the only Truth and to be the only way to God? I think the early Church and later the Catholic Church and even today many sects of Christianity want to be the only way to God.

And what does their "Truth" include? That whole thing about Adam's sin. Then add in a fallen archangel that is out to deceive everyone and get them to turn from God and get condemned to hell. Christians that believe all of that have made Jesus into the only way out. He paid the "necessary" penalty for Adam's sin. If people accept it, they avoid going to hell and get to go to heaven and be with God and Jesus.

But, as SeekingAllTruth points out, it could be that Christians set it all up to get people to obey the "God's rules"... and a few people rules too. If they want to avoid hell, then follow Jesus and obey his commandments. No other religions, including Judaism, can help them. None of them have the "Jesus" provision of dying for the sins of the world. If they doubt it? That's the devil. If they fall into temptation? That's the devil. So the "good" Christian doesn't need anything but to follow Jesus and trust in him... along with whatever the Church tells them to do too.

As usual, Baha'is put themselves in an awkward position... they have to believe in the words of Jesus but interpret them and explain them in a way that makes all religions equally true. Actually, I shouldn't say that Baha'is have to believe in the words of Jesus, because some Baha'is do question whether or not all the things attributed to Jesus were things he really said, or were things the gospel writers said he said.

Oh, but that other Baha'i explanation of "dispensation", to me, doesn't fit with what the NT writers were trying to say. If Christianity is true, then the "atoning" death of Jesus would always be a necessary thing to get people cleared of their sin debt to God. So if that isn't true, then what is true about Christianity and the NT? As you know, I believe if Christianity isn't true as believed, then it's probably made up myths and legends. I think it was meant to be exclusive and the "only" way, but... if it is myths and legends... then it isn't. But, if Baha'is want to make it somehow truly the "Word of God", then they are left with explaining away creation, the flood, Satan, hell, the resurrection and tons of other things in the NT and the Bible. Is it really worth it?

Welcome back! You are right to listen to @ SeekingAllTruth because he was a Christian for most of his life and he knows a lot about Christianity. I have learned a lot from him, although it is difficult to retain all of it.

 

[SeekingAllTruth]

I think an important way to understand it is how SeekingAllTruth puts it.

Did Christianity want to have the only Truth and to be the only way to God? I think the early Church and later the Catholic Church and even today many sects of Christianity want to be the only way to God.

And what does their "Truth" include? That whole thing about Adam's sin. Then add in a fallen archangel that is out to deceive everyone and get them to turn from God and get condemned to hell. Christians that believe all of that have made Jesus into the only way out. He paid the "necessary" penalty for Adam's sin. If people accept it, they avoid going to hell and get to go to heaven and be with God and Jesus.

But, as SeekingAllTruth points out, it could be that Christians set it all up to get people to obey the "God's rules"... and a few people rules too. If they want to avoid hell, then follow Jesus and obey his commandments. No other religions, including Judaism, can help them. None of them have the "Jesus" provision of dying for the sins of the world. If they doubt it? That's the devil. If they fall into temptation? That's the devil. So the "good" Christian doesn't need anything but to follow Jesus and trust in him... along with whatever the Church tells them to do too.

As usual, Baha'is put themselves in an awkward position... they have to believe in the words of Jesus but interpret them and explain them in a way that makes all religions equally true. Actually, I shouldn't say that Baha'is have to believe in the words of Jesus, because some Baha'is do question whether or not all the things attributed to Jesus were things he really said, or were things the gospel writers said he said.

Oh, but that other Baha'i explanation of "dispensation", to me, doesn't fit with what the NT writers were trying to say. If Christianity is true, then the "atoning" death of Jesus would always be a necessary thing to get people cleared of their sin debt to God. So if that isn't true, then what is true about Christianity and the NT? As you know, I believe if Christianity isn't true as believed, then it's probably made up myths and legends. I think it was meant to be exclusive and the "only" way, but... if it is myths and legends... then it isn't. But, if Baha'is want to make it somehow truly the "Word of God", then they are left with explaining away creation, the flood, Satan, hell, the resurrection and tons of other things in the NT and the Bible. Is it really worth it?

You nailed it, CG. The silliest thing about all this is the idea we owe a debt to God for our "sins". The Christian god demands we forgive our neighbor unconditionally, yet somehow he is too impotent to do the same for us. That's why the Christians also invented this "God is a god of love BUT he is also a god of justice and his justice must be propitiated and the only way to do this is by accepting Jesus" nonsense, when all along the whole idea of accepting Jesus was just a means of getting people by their short hairs--exercising total control over a person's life, IOW's.