Exclusivism (discussion)

Jesus said he was the only way. In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". I believe him when he says that he is the only way. If there was another way, then why did he die?

- Anonymous post

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One possible explanation is that Jesus was unaware of other ways. He was a human at that point and did not possess the omnipotence of God. Another possibility is that while everyone "comes to the Father except through [him]," that does not mean that you must worship Jesus. It sounds to me like he means that he will help everyone come to God, whether or not they are even aware of him while in the flesh.

- Anonymous post

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The mistake made above is that yes, Jesus "was human at that point" but we must not miss that he was also God. A mere human cannot die on a cross and atone for the infinite sins of the world when he himself is finite. Jesus, being both God and man, could atone for the sin of humanity, while also humbling himself by becoming a man and veiling his divine attributes. It was not that Jesus could not take himself down from the cross, it was his love for you and I, his commitment and obedience to God the Father, His Father, that he died on the cross for our sins. Jesus says in John 14, ""If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." He makes reference that since they had seen him, they had in a sense seen the Father. He later says, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'?" Jesus and God the Father are equal. You cannot worship "God" and not worship Jesus, for if you know God, you will also know Jesus in the same way.

- Anonymous post

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Whatever you make of the hypostatic union, Jesus was aware that he had come from the Father to save sinners, and that there was (nor could be) any other way. He didn't inaugurate exclusivism because he wanted to offend people or not. He didn't invent it at all: it is the way things are and our only hope for salvation. As 1 Corinthians 15 says, if Christ is not raised then we are still in our sins and life is meaningless. Jesus is not the only way because he says he is. His says he is because he is because there is no other way we can be saved.

--Robert Murphy

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