The term “Christian” was a pejorative that the enemies of Christ coined for His followers. According to Acts 11:26, the followers of Christ were first called Christians at Antioch. Originally, believers were called the “People of The Way” because Jesus said He was The Way.
In John Chapter 14, Jesus declares He is the Way to God. This statement leaves His followers with several questions. Thomas posed the first: “How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, not by telling the disciples that they knew the destination. Jesus said He would come to get them. Jesus said they knew the way because they knew Him. The means of salvation is not a process; instead, it’s a person. Jesus’ answer reinforces a doctrine of salvation: “by grace through faith.” Jesus’ answer also reinforces that there are not “many ways” to God.
Next, Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus responded with the rhetorical equivalent of our asking someone, “Do you have a brain?” Jesus said, “Have I been with you this long, and you still don’t know me?” Jesus was making the point that Thomas did know Him. For this reason, Thomas should understand, thus leading to the unambiguous assertion that to see Jesus is to see God. There is no denying that Jesus confidently claimed to be fully God.
Finally, Judas (not Iscariot) asked, how can you manifest to us only? Jesus said, “Soon the world will not be able to see Me, but you will.” This statement was somewhat ambiguous. This verse deepens the idea of the Holy Spirit “living inside” the believer. As the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is a guide, comforter, and constant presence in the believer’s life.
Jesus words followed the earlier statement where He declared Himself to be “the Truth” and referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of Truth.” Jesus also claimed that to see Him was to see God and that He and the Father were one. Jesus explicitly said “We will come make our home within the believer.” The word translated as “home” (monē) is the same word used in John 14:2, referring to “mansions,” “dwelling places,” or “rooms.”
Many people ask these same questions today. They question why God would narrow The Way to only one way. These same people never question why, at the airport, they cannot board any plane to take them to their destination. Many today want to see God. Still, God continues to reveal Himself through His Word. When we see Jesus revealed in the gospels, we have seen God. For the believing world, Jesus still manifests Himself to us personally through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.
Today, I encourage you to trust that salvation is not a process but the person of Jesus. Be assured that when you see Jesus, you have seen God. When Jesus saves you, rest assured that you are sealed with His Holy Spirit of promise. Thank God, He made it so simple that there is only one way to Him. So rejoice, Jesus is The Way.
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