Who is the true and living way?

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

One of the ways that the bible interprets itself is by way of figures of speech. They are an exacting grammatical science that deliberately puts words out of their normal order in order to draw our attention, to make a particular point. Their purpose is to put emphasis on that which God wants to be emphasized. In other words, figures of speech are God’s way of showing us what is most important in his word.

In John 14:6, there is a figure of speech called hendiatris, which literally means three for one. It means there are 3 words used, but only 1 thing is meant. 2 nouns are exalted to an extreme degree so that they function as emphatic adjectives [truth & life]. The third word is the subject of the sentence [way].

So when you incorporate this figure of speech hendiatris into this verse, it literally reads, I am the way, yes, the true and living way; for no man cometh unto the father, but by me. That implies that since Jesus Christ is the true and living way, there must be false and dead ways also, which Satan, the God of this world, is more than willing to supply.

Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

So Satan uses deception to hide the true nature of his way: death.  God warns us not once, but twice to avoid the ways of death because obviously, some people have already been there, done that and God always wants the best for us.  Therefore, there must be a manner, a method, in which to separate the true and living way from the dead, deceptive and false ways of the world.

That way is God’s rightly-divided truth, which is the bible.  By using it as a blueprint for our lives, we can walk the right path in life and get the right results.

Isaiah 35 [Lamsa bible, 5th century Aramaic text]
8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the
unclean shall not pass over it; and there shall be no road beside it; fools
shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; they shall not be
found there; but the redeemed shall walk therein;
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

How about those results?   God’s way is so simple, logical and plain that even a fool cannot miss it!

Proverbs 3
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

This truth corroborates the truth of John 14:6. Isn’t that great? God gives us confidence that we are on the right path of life when we follow Jesus Christ.

Have you ever been lost out in the wilderness and had a compass, but you still didn’t trust it?  But if you had 2 different compasses, made by different companies, yet they
both pointed in the exact same direction, then you would have peace, comfort and confidence that they were accurate.  However, if they both pointed in opposite directions, then all you would have is confusion.  God’s word always gives us a solid footing on which to stand.

The number 2 in the bible indicates establishment or division, depending on the context, so regarding which is the right way, God’s spiritual compasses always point in the right and same, direction, establishing the right way for us to go.

Haggai 1
5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

The phrase “Consider your ways” only occurs twice in the entire bible and both usages are right here in the first chapter of Haggai.  God is showing us the consequences of trying to go about life on our own, without his wisdom and light.

Isaiah 55
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

God’s ways are superior to ours!  Can you accept that, or does your own pride block you from getting on the right path in life?

James 4:4
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

So we want to avoid getting sucked into the spiritually dark, contaminated ways of the world and soak our heads and hearts in God’s love, light, peace and power.

II Peter 2:20
For if after they have escaped the pollutions [spiritual contaminations, indicating there is more than one way to get contaminated] of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Isaiah 14:17
That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Do you want to wander around in spiritual darkness and be a prisoner in Satan’s spiritual wilderness, or walk on the way of holiness, singing with joy and peace in your heart?

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: