The Way to the Father

“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me” John 14:11.

In John 14, Jesus informed us not to let our hearts be troubled. But that we should trust in God and also in Him. To be troubled means to have a mind that is agitated and disturbed. It’s a constant uneasiness that brings forth vexation. On the other hand, to trust means to depend on; to have confidence in; to fully rely on. In the very beginning of this chapter we see that Jesus is telling the disciples to not allow their hearts and minds to be disturbed in any way because He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus was explaining to them that the way to the Father wasn’t a path that one takes, but it is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is the universal access point to God. To know the Father, we must come to him through his Son. This is what Jesus was explaining to Thomas in verse 7. Thomas experienced the presence of God because he was in relationship with Jesus. Moreover, he went on expressing that if they believed in him, they’ll be able to do greater works because he will be with the Father, and since he will be with the Father, asking for anything in his name [Jesus], he will do for them. One way to describe belief is to credit a person upon the authority or testimony of another or to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another. For example, in verse 11 Jesus tells the disciples to “believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.” The works that Jesus did on earth, like raising Lazarus from the dead, was his authoritative declaration of belief. There was no way of escaping the claims Jesus made because the disciples witnessed the miraculous work he did on earth; his works confirmed his divinity. This is how he affirmed his followers. He was conveying to them that they will have the same ability to do incredible works on the earth because of their belief. It’s through their witness they'll be granted power to impact the world and transform the lives of others.

Furthermore, as Jesus was expressing to the disciples that he is the way to the Father, he also informed them of what was next to come. Jesus communicated to them that upon his ascending to the Father, there will be another Advocate present and available to lead them into all truth (John 14:17). He explained that the world will not recognize the Holy Spirit because it neither sees him or knows him. The difference is the disciples will know him and dwell with God's Spirit because of Jesus. Having the Holy Spirit within you provides evidence of your relationship with God, its the clear separation of being in the world but not of the world (Romans 12:2). When Jesus declared to the disciples if they loved him, they’ll obey his commandments, he was confirming the magnitude of their love being led by their decisions, not their emotions. When we choose to love God and obey him, that grants God the ability to see where our heart lies. In essence, our obedience is proof of our love. The way to the Father is knowing that our belief in Jesus powers us to choose to love God, which leads us to obey his commands which then grants us access to his presence. This in turn presents God’s spiritual presence [ The Holy Spirit] to equip us and enable us all to walk in God’s will for our lives.

The Lord concluded the chapter with giving the disciples a gift: peace of mind and heart. Jesus leaving the disciples with his peace gave them the privilege to have their mind flowing in the freedom of disturbance regardless of the trials and unforeseen circumstances. They continue to remain in a state of quietness regardless of the casualties. Jesus’s peace banishes fear and dread from the heart because he is in control of every occurrence. There’s a true sense of peace God provides us that will always surpass our understanding and Jesus has given us the ability to dwell in that peace because he has overcome the world.

Jesus is everything! To accept and trust him is knowing that he is the way to the Father which in turns brings forth salvation that takes away our sins and gives us eternal life, then the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within, ministering the presence of God to us. This is what life is all about!