Jesus is The Way

Why is Jesus the only way to God?

Why is Jesus the only way to God? Many Christians would consider this a fundamental question that is simple to answer. In a lot of ways it is, but we might find ourselves struggling to answer this from time to time—either because we ourselves aren’t sure or because someone catches us off-guard with this question. In a society that wants to “accept” or “tolerate” just about any idea except the fact that Jesus is the one and only way to God and salvation, we need to be ready to give a solid response.

Here is my best attempt at this time, and though it could be better surely, I hope this will at least encourage you to seek Jesus for yourself—whether you currently consider yourself a Christian or not.

Jesus is God, and There is No God Before Him

God is all and He creates all. Though there are many false “gods,” the only true God is the God of Israel. All others are devils or inventions of mankind. These false gods do have a kind of reality (which we will discuss later), but they are not the Almighty Everlasting God, and worshiping these creatures only leads to death. There is only one being with power of life. There is only one God.

The vastness of God is unimaginable, and trying to pin God down within the confounds of our limited perspective and intellect is one of the most futile things mankind tries to do. However, in Jesus we can begin to know God and form a relationship with Him. Jesus is “the image of the invisible God,” and “God in the flesh.” Jesus is God. Though there is some debate over the divinity of Jesus, the bible shows us that though Jesus is distinct from God, he also is God. No other being can make this claim in truth. We see this proven in many ways, particularly in Jesus’ power of life over death.

No one has the kind of relationship with God Jesus holds, no one else has the full power of God, and no one but God is good enough to atone for the sins of mankind.

Jesus is the One Ordained By God to Atone for Our Sin

The bible tells us that, “in the beginning the word was with God and the word was God.” What does this mean? Everything came into being because God spoke it into existence. We are also told that the word is Jesus, who was with God at the beginning of all things. Jesus is Light and Life and the fulfillment of things which were only mere shadow of God and His intentions for mankind.

In His wisdom, God established the creation with the purpose of raising up His children. As part of this process, God determined that mankind would fall, and that He alone would provide the atonement by way of the Son, Jesus the Christ. The children of God have always been set apart from the rest of the creation, starting with the promise made to Abraham and the formation of Israel.

God’s people are called to walk in accordance to His ways through what we call a covenant. The first covenant belonged to the Jewish people only, and as the chosen people of God, they were given laws to abide by that would set them apart from the world and bring them blessings as a people. This covenant and the laws of the old testament are shadows, or you could say almost metaphors for the covenant and law that would come – the covenant of eternal life and salvation from sin by Jesus who would bring us the perfected law of the kingdom of God.

Jesus died in fulfillment of the old covenant law in which God’s people would make sacrifices to atone for their sins. God did this because He intended from the beginning to provide a spotless sacrifice, just as He did for Abraham when God told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Instead of man’s sacrifices, the sacrifice of God’s Son is what brings the everlasting atonement – not just for the Jews, but for gentiles also so that the entire creation can be reconciled to their God and creator!

Jesus is the Only One to Walk the Narrow Way Without Sin

When God created mankind, He ordained that the punishment for sin is death. Presently, death is the prince of this world, though God is in control of all things and ordains all – even death – for His purposes in bringing up His children. Because of our sin, and because God is true to His word and all things work according to His predetermined counsel, mankind dies.

The first covenant did not promise eternal life or real freedom from sin. It set a people apart, out of whom the savior of the world would come – a savior who was prophesied and shadowed in a multitude of ways throughout the old testament. I know this is getting redundant, but it’s worth thinking through.

The only way a single sacrifice could be enough to atone for the sins of generations is for that sacrifice to be absolutely perfect. The only being that is perfect is God. Jesus is God, and he is that perfect sacrifice. He is the only one to walk in the flesh without sin. Because of his spotless sacrifice, we not only have forgiveness of our sins as with the old covenant, we also have access to God while we are yet in our sins and the promise of everlasting life.

Though Jesus was without sin, he lived a human life full of emotions and temptations. He understands our suffering, and because he walked the narrow way laid out by the laws of the kingdom of God while in the flesh, he provides a way for us to do the same. He provides us with the ability to overcome sin that brings death in this present world, and he provides the promise of freedom from death once and for all though resurrection.

Jesus is the Only One With the Power of Resurrection

As mentioned earlier, Jesus is the word of God that brings life, and he alone has overcome death in the flesh. His crucifixion not only brought the final atonement for sin, it also brought a precious promise of resurrection. What does that mean?

You read how Jesus established the second covenant in which we are given a perfect law that fulfills what the old law could not. When Jesus, who was born of the Holy Ghost died, this made his very spirit, the Holy Spirit of God available to mankind. It is by the Spirit that we are taught the laws of God, and it is by him we are able to perform these laws, thereby freeing us from sin.

Jesus alone offers freedom from the heavy chains of addictions, emotional illnesses, and other spiritual infirmities that destroy our lives presently and eternally. Though we might find some measure of relief in this world, the only way to complete freedom is though Jesus, because he alone brings knowledge of the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The righteousness of man is as filthy rags. It is not enough, and it will never be complete or perfect.

We are told to be “perfect, even as our father in heaven is perfect.” Jesus is the only way to this perfection. This is what it means to walk after the Spirit, seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness first above all else. In doing so, we find peace that endures all things and freedom from destructive lives and death.

Living a life with the kingdom of God ruling our hearts rather than the kingdom of this world (the kingdom of death) is an amazing gift in itself, but remember, God has a purpose for all of this. He is raising us up as His children! Through Jesus, who was slain and raised from the dead, we also have power of resurrection—so that we can live eternally as joint heirs of the promise and children of the Almighty God! Though Satan and his devils can mimic Jesus in many ways in attempts to grow his kingdom of death, there is one thing he cannot do. He cannot raise you from the dead, because he is death. God is life!

Satan is Darkness, and Jesus is Light. We cannot be ruled by both. We cannot serve darkness and light at the same time. We cannot die and live at the same time. When we adopt other paths to God, we are following darkness and death—and death will be our just reward.

Jesus is the One and True King of Israel

God made many promises to Israel. One of which is His promise to establish a new covenant, in which a perfect law would be written in their hearts rather than stone (Jeremiah 31: 31-34). Another is the promise of an eternal king of the seed of David who will bring judgment and justice to the earth, saving Judah and allowing Israel to dwell in safety (Jeremiah 23: 2-5), (Isaiah 9:6-7).

You’ve already read how Jesus brings the new covenant and gives us the knowledge and ability to perform the laws of God’s kingdom (writing the law on the fleshly tables of the heart). As Christians, we know that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but many do not fully understand what this means as it relates to God’s promise to Israel.

Many Christians believe the promised reign of the Messiah is only for the time of Jesus’ return. The Jewish people who reject Jesus as their “Anointed One,” claim that Jesus could not be the Messiah because he did not fulfill this promise, and the Christian claim that he will fulfill this in the future is a cop-out or excuse for a false Christ.

In reality, the King of Kings reins, even now. As we follow him and live after the kingdom of God in Spirit more, we are under the rule of the kingdom of death less. Through the sacrifice and power of Jesus, we are freed from the darkest of kings and strongest of rulers—the prince of this world, Satan, and his dominion of sin and death. When we follow Jesus in truth, we are Israel, and in him, we indeed dwell in safety. In Jesus, there is no fear of this world and no power that can overtake us because he has overcome the world!

It is true that in Jesus, “it is finished,” and all things are put under his feet, even though we don’t see this all in all. One day, Jesus will in-fact return and establish an everlasting kingdom of righteousness that overthrows all darkness once and for all. Just as the Jewish people believe, this will begin with a Millennial reign, at which time many will come to the knowledge of the Lord (Isaiah 11-12). After this time, the dead who did not believe in Christ are raised and judged then cast into the lake of fire along with the false prophet and all those who deceive and destroy life! Whenever I mention this, I find it important to note that a false Christ will appear before Jesus in attempts to usurp God’s kingdom and establish his own Millennial reign, but as we know, this Antichrist will be thrown down.

Question: Jesus was born of the Holy Ghost and not of his earthly father, Joseph. It is through Joseph that the lineage of Jesus is traced back to King David. How then is Jesus the eternal king promised if he did not directly descend from Joseph?

Answer?: Everything about the life and death of Jesus is beautifully ordained by God in a way that shows us that Jesus is in-fact the promised Messiah, the Priest after the order of Melchizedek, the Eternal King, and savior of the gentiles. Consider this. Jesus, for all intents and purposes, is the adopted son of Joseph. As the “light of the gentiles,” Jesus makes a way for peoples of every nation to partake of another adoption—the adoption into Israel as children of God! I’m not sure if this answers this question sufficiently, but it is something to think about, because this is one of the reasons Jewish people reject Jesus.

Any Path To God Other Than Jesus is Rejected

There are many ways mankind tries to reach a higher self or “spirituality,” but any path other than the straight and narrow way set out by God himself and given by and through the Son will only lead to darkness and death. Any other way that promises “awakening,” “enlightenment,” or any such idea is not of Jesus Christ, but of the prince of this world and his devils who appear as “ministers of light.” If any speak anything contrary to the Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ, “it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20).”

The only real Light is Jesus, all others are false imitations brought to us in pretty packages and making false promises of knowledge and false paths to being as gods. Just like in the garden of Eden, these same deceptions continue, though it takes many forms throughout the generations.

The same is true for other religions. Though we might find some measure of truths in all religions, the only way to God and salvation from the kingdom of this world is Jesus Christ. Although we should be at peace with all and allow the mislead to serve their “gods” in peace, we do not bring these false gods in as part of our worship of the One True God of Israel in attempts to create an amicable resolution.

Jesus is the only image of God that is fit for worship. Any other image within the creation, either earthly or celestial—past, present, or future—is not of God. Jesus is the only one that was, is, and is to come fit for worship. We must stand firm that Jesus is the one and only way!

Are We Worshiping the True Jesus?

One thing people often struggle with is the many forms of Christianity and the contradicting views of Jesus. There are differing types of “Jesus” out there in the realm of ideas and false doctrines that often paint a picture of a weak-willed and even sadistic God. Not only do misconceptions lead to contradictions and other notions that push people away from the faith, they also create false images of God that many worship today.

Are We Seeking Jesus at the Source or Through Man?

None of us alive today walked with Jesus on this earth, so apart from first-hand experience with Jesus, what we know of him is based on the bible – and very often – man’s traditional ways of interpreting the bible. These ideas create an image of Jesus we hold in our minds, complete with character traits and even physical traits.

We’ve all seen pictures of “Jesus.” We’ve all been told things about his nature and personality. We all have some idea of who he is, but how many of us are worshiping a false, man-made image? This can be hard to think about, but if we love Jesus we should want to know him, and we would be foolish to assume that the traditions of the “wise and prudent” are infallible.

It is true that no one can truly know God, and to think that any of us know everything about Jesus would be foolish and vain. Even so, we need to consider the importance of our ideas about Jesus, because as Jesus taught, ideas are a kind of reality.

The Reality of Ideas

Earlier in this article I mentioned that false gods have a kind of reality. This is what I refer to. Ideas are power. All things that exist started in the mind as an idea. Even the creation began with thought carefully planned by God the creator. False gods, or false Christs, are real to those who hold these ideas, and we see tangible effects that result from these ideas. Wars are waged, people are killed, and lives are changed because of these ideas.

When we portray Jesus in a certain way, we are creating an idea, and even a kind of reality (though it could be a false reality, if that makes sense). Jesus teaches us that what we think matters. For example, he taught that to lust after a women is the same as committing adultery. How much more is this held true when it comes to God? We are espoused to Christ, remember?

To help illustrate this, consider how many version of you there are. Every person who knows you holds an idea about who you are, and to that person, that is the reality of you. Conceivably, there are hundreds of versions of each person out there in the realm of thought, but who really knows us? Only God. We don’t even know who we are, not in the completed sense according to God’s plan for our lives. As Christians however, we know that we should be like Jesus. We need to know who Jesus is.

How Do We Find Jesus?

“Have you found Jesus?” Have any of us really found Jesus? In reality, Jesus finds us. We are like that one sheep that goes astray and the Shepard goes after it. From our perspective, we seek him, though God is the one calling us to Jesus. Because of this, “finding Jesus” is the workmanship of God, and he will lead all his sheep to the green pastures of eternal salvation!

From our point of view however, we seek Jesus, and a heart that seeks to know Jesus will find him. Knowing Jesus begins very simply. God grants us faith so that we can understand that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died and was raised from the dead so that we can be forgiven of our sins and overcome death.

Everything that proceeds from that point is important, but God could very well overlook many misconceptions we hold as long as we continue in the faith. He understands our limited intellect and ability to know Him. However, as we continue on, Jesus will reveal himself to us more and more, and we will conform to his image along the way.

The best way to know Jesus is to have him dwelling in our hearts as the king of our lives and healer of our sins. The best way to know Jesus is to have the kind of relationship with him that he has with God – both distinct from Jesus and one with him – and in Jesus, we are one with the Father!

There is only one true Jesus, and he alone is the way to God!

This article is part 1 of a series, “Why Jesus is the Only Way.”

Part 2: Jesus is The Truth

Part 3: Jesus is The Life