Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This famous verse was the subject of today's sermon.
I saw it through new eyes today. God continues to take me through a paradigm shift of sorts. God is reshaping my interpretative grid -- my worldview -- to be centered on Christ first.
It is that union life concept. I am beginning to see it everywhere.
The latest instance is John 14:6, probably the most cross stitched verse hanging on the walls of Christian homes today. I used to understand that verse differently.
I took it to mean that the only way to true salvation was through trusting in Christ. I read it as propositional truth claim and appropriated it when defending Christianity against claims of universalism (i.e. a view that everyone goes to heaven no matter what they believe).
I think I have been missing something much deeper all these years.
Notice what Christ does not say in this verse. When Thomas asks "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?", Christ does not say ...
"by accepting me into your heart"
He does not say ...
"by trusting me for eternal life"
He does not say ...
"by having the right systematic theology"
He simply says, I am the way.
The way to eternal life is not by assenting to belief in Christ -- or serving him -- or doing what he requires -- or asking him into your heart and then resuming your life of pursuing comfort and avoiding pain.
The way to God is Christ. It is union with Christ. It is life in Christ and Christ in you.
Christ follows John 14:6 by beautifully describing union life between him and God the Father.
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
See the simultaneous reality of the Father in Christ and Christ in the Father? That is union life. We are called to have this kind of relationship with Jesus Christ. It is mind boggling.
When Christ says he is the truth, it is not just that what he says is true. It means that the only interpretive grid which will yield the truth about all of reality is Christ. Our grids need to be remade in Christ.
Finally, when Christ says he is the life, it means life is only found in Christ. I used to think this meant eternal life. It actually means the source of life as in what truly brings us life. Many look for life in other places -- acceptance, respect, accomplishments, knowledge, success, wealth, sex ... you name it. None of these bring life. They are nothing but temporary palliatives. The only lasting, sustaining life giving source is Christ.
In short, union life with Christ is the goal and entirety of the Christian life and it is the only means by which we are reconciled to God.
Wow -- exactly along the lines of some things I've been thinking about lately. I need to track back and add some stuff later on my site.
Posted by: dopderbeck | July 17, 2006 at 09:08
I like this train of thought A LOT, Mr. Treader!
I took a walk through the book of Colossians (the greatest book in the Bible, by the way, just in case you didn't know...) a few months back and came up with the same thing. The profound mystery that Christ is in us and we are in Christ is mind boggling (or in this case mind blogging...sorry, had to say it).
We have already been given fullness in Christ. But isn't that the hardest concept to grasp? If Christ is in us, then we could not possibly be any closer to Christ than we are now. And yet we all have said things like, "I'm just not close to Jesus right now" or "I need to work on my relationship with Jesus because I feel like I'm far from Him".
He is right there...inside of us. He is our life. Why do we continue to live by the rules of this world and remain enslaved to its ways of thinking? At best, we could accurately take the attitude of Paul and say that we want to know and understand Christ and His power and His sufferings. But if Christ is indeed in us, we can escape any hold this world has on us. Tapping into that power? That's another whole story!
I feel a sermon coming on...but I'll refreain seeing as how I am not the preacher here. ;-)
Posted by: Danny Kaye | July 17, 2006 at 15:20
"We have already been given fullness in Christ. But isn't that the hardest concept to grasp? If Christ is in us, then we could not possibly be any closer to Christ than we are now.
In my opinion, we suffer from too little faith. We simply don't live in the reality of who we are in Christ. Our prayer needs to be "Increase our faith!", just like the disciples prayed.
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | July 18, 2006 at 06:28
"Why do we continue to live by the rules of this world and remain enslaved to its ways of thinking?"
Because of our sin nature, and because of the nature of our sanctification. God in his wisdom has seen fit to make the process of putting off the old self and putting on the new a long process. Paul alludes to this in Romans 7, true? We are to be remade into the image of Christ, but it is not instantaneous. Tough news for us Americans, true? ;)
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | July 18, 2006 at 06:31
"But if Christ is indeed in us, we can escape any hold this world has on us. Tapping into that power? That's another whole story!"
Well said! I don't talk much about the power aspect, but you are absolutely right. We are in Christ and Christ is in us -- we have access to the power that raised Christ from the dead! I tend to not emphasize the power because we seem to be such idolators who worship self -- we hear about power, and begin to dream about how we could harnass that power to get what we want.
But you are right, the power aspect is a real component of union life. Just look at what Christ says in John 14:13,14. Those verses blow my mind.
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | July 18, 2006 at 06:35