Day 54: Why is Jesus The Only Way?
1 Timothy 2:5-6
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, who gave Himself—a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.”
Throughout history, there have been many “additions” and “subtractions” made to the one true Gospel. This week, we want to explore two of the “roots” of these false teachings so that you can discern these false gospels when they appear.
Jesus came to reveal the reality of the One True God to us. We were created by Jesus and for Jesus. We are redeemed by Jesus’ blood. He is returning to establish His Kingdom which will never end. Jesus is the First and the Last and everything in between. He alone is our Savior and He offers this salvation and new life freely, without cost.
There is Only One God and One Mediator.
WORDwork:
1 Timothy 2:1-4
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2:2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 2:3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 2:4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, 2:6 who gave Himself—a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.
What is the “first thing” that Paul urges in this passage?
Why does Paul request this? (at least two reasons)
What is the significance of what Paul says in 2:5?
Is this in line with what popular culture would have us believe about God?
What do 2:5 and 6 reveal about Jesus?
As we considered in our last session, Father-God is looking to redeem His rebellious and fallen creation—particularly the human race. As we think about the truth claims of Christianity, we must come to the realization that we are not thinking about “a” way of truth and life, we are talking about the THE way of truth and life.
In the passage above, Paul urges us to pray for all people so that we who follow Christ might lead a quiet and peaceful life in godliness and dignity. The reason for this seems to be so that we will have opportunities to speak about Jesus and the truth. Father-God wants, desires for all to be saved and come to a knowledge of THE truth. This then leads us to understand the unique nature of Christianity.
Paul expresses this uniqueness in this passage by saying that there is only one God and only one mediator between the One true God—Jesus. A mediator or intermediary is someone who stands between two people and “bridges the gap” to heal and reconcile the relationship. Jesus does this for us; He is the only one who can do this for us. Remember, Jesus came to give His people abundant life—life that is characterized by Love and Joy:
John 15:9-11
“Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.
Abundant life, freedom, love, joy—these are all things the flow out of the life that God working through Christ desires for us. These are the things that God has promised to those who know Him, love Him and follow Him. These things come only to those who know Jesus, the One who reconciles us to God.
Jesus is THE Way
We have already heard that eternal life is knowing the Only True God and Jesus Christ who was sent to us (John 17:3). As we think about these truths, we must deal with the reality that Christianity is making a very exclusive claim. Christianity is not just another “religion” among the other religions. Jesus is not just another “savior” among other saviors; He is the One and Only Savior. Yet this One and Only Savior welcomes any and all that come to Him hungry and thirsty for His life (see John 4:13-14, 7:37-39; Revelation 22:17)
Jesus is our Way to God the Father, but Jesus is also the way in which God the Father finds and calls us to Himself. The Way of Jesus cannot be reduced to impersonal “spiritual technology”—if you do this, then you will be blessed. . . if you do this, then God will do this. . . etc. This is always the “way” of the deceptive, empty, traditional, demonic philosophies that we will consider in our work this week.
The Way of Jesus is a personal way. We learn to follow Him as we read about Him in the Written Word and then keep company with Him each moment of the day as He lives with us and in us as the Living Word. The way of Jesus is not a formula that we employ to solve our problems. The Way of Jesus is a personal relationship in which we follow the rhythm of hearing, repenting, believing, and following as we learn more from Him. Jesus is alive and keeping company with us—guiding, encouraging, correcting, healing, and calling us to keep our “eyes” focused on Him.
The Way of Jesus is not just a means to a destination. It is not just a way to “get to Heaven” when we die. Jesus’ Way is the way of our life journey. We are focused on our destination—being transformed and conformed to the likeness of Christ. But we are also living with Christ, rejoicing in every step along the journey, grateful for all that we have in Him. In this sense, the old saying “It is not just about reaching a destination, it is about the journey,” is right on point. The Way of Jesus is the way of making our journey worthy of our destination.
Colossians 3:1-4
Therefore, if [since] you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with Him. {NET}
Jesus is our life! Jesus is our One and Only Savior. Because of this, we want to learn to focus on Him and to follow Him wherever He may lead. We want to learn how to say “no” to every distraction and false gospel that would have us look to man-made religion or idols.
We will be considering the nature of these false gospels in our readings this week.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
