Paul begins with the God who “hath immortality” and dwells in light that no man can approach. Sin keeps humanity from approaching that holy God, because God’s eyes are too pure to look upon evil. Jesus Christ stands as the only way to the Father, because He suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, “that he might bring us to God.” The word of God will still be standing when earth itself is gone, so man cannot replace Christ’s way with a way of his own making.
Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and each word carries heaven’s prerequisite. The way is not optional, and the gate that gives access to that way is the church of Christ. Truth is God’s word, and Jesus is truth in the flesh, full of grace and truth. Truth makes men free because the Son makes men free indeed.
Light exposes the real reason men remain condemned. God sent Jesus into the world as light, but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. The word serves as a lamp close to the feet and a light down the path, giving illumination for the danger right in front and direction for the road ahead. Darkness cannot be escaped apart from the light of Christ and the truth of His word.
Life comes only through Jesus because sin leaves man spiritually dead. Ephesians calls the sinner nekros, a corpse unable to dress himself, fix himself, or make himself alive. A corpse needs somebody else to do a work for him, and Jesus came to do what dead sinners could never do for themselves. Christ came to seek and save what was lost, reclaiming what belonged to God but had been lost through sin.
Creation itself shows why separation from God brings death. Grass dies when separated from the ground, fish die when separated from water, and man dies when separated from the God who made him. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus comes that men might have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Resurrection and the Life, and the best thing heaven ever offered.
The invitation calls sinners to come to Jesus through “J-E-S-U-S”: hear just Jesus, believe the evidence of His death, burial, and resurrection, stop sin through repentance, confess Christ before men, and submit to submersion in baptism. Christ’s blood washes sin away, faithful living leads toward the crown of life, and wandering saints are called to come back home through repentance, confession, and prayer.
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Key Takeaways
- 1. Christ alone brings sinners to God [34:27] Christ does not merely point toward God from a distance. Christ suffers for the unjust in order to bring the unjust near to the Father. Sin creates a separation that human effort cannot cross, but Jesus Himself becomes the way across it. [34:27]
- 2. Truth shines where darkness is loved [41:03] Light has come into the world in Jesus Christ, so condemnation is not caused by a lack of revelation. Darkness becomes deadly when people prefer it over the exposure and healing of truth. God’s word does not only inform the mind, but it uncovers the path that sin tries to keep hidden. [41:03]
- 3. Life requires union with its Source [54:35] Creation gives the picture plainly: grass cannot live apart from the ground, and fish cannot live apart from water. Humanity cannot remain spiritually alive while separated from God. Jesus gives abundant life because He restores sinners to the One from whom life first came. [54:35]
- 4. Jesus demands a submitted response [59:39] Jesus calls for more than admiration, religious language, or inherited belief. The gospel calls sinners to hear Christ, trust the evidence concerning Christ, repent, confess Him, and submit to baptism. Faith receives the life of Christ by yielding to the Christ who alone can save.
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