The Way, The Truth, The Life, and The Tabernacle

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6 (KJV)

Jesus called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life. We see in this a pattern of the tabernacle of the Old Testament. Jesus is depicted in detail in the tabernacle and its furnishings. The tabernacle spoke of Christ, God in the flesh, that came to dwell, or tabenracle, among us.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (KJV)

• The Way speaks of the Outer Court.

• The Truth speaks of the Holy Place.

• The Life speaks of the Holy of Holies.

The Way (Outer Court)

The Outer Court contained the brazen altar and the laver. The Brazen altar depicts Christ shedding His blood to cleanse us and the laver points to Christ the Word that washes us with His written Word (Ephesians 5:26). Christ is the way to God, allowing us to walk and live in God.

The Truth (Holy Place)

In the Holy Place, there was the golden lampstand, the table of shewbread, and altar of incense. Christ, the Truth, gives illumination, which is pictured by the lampstand. The Table of Shewbread held the bread of His Presence. We feed on the truth of His Word (John 17:17), and we partake of Jesus the Bread of Life (John 6:48) when we believe on Him and His Word. The altar represents prayer. Through prayer, we fellowship. We worship in Spirit and truth ( John 4:24).

The Life (The Holy of Holies)

The Holy of Holies refers to the presence of God. In God’s presence, we experience life- the life Jesus came to give us (John 10:10).He is “The Life’ who “lifes” us. The ark of the covenant was within the Holy of Holies. it speaks of God’s throne. The lid of the ark, or the mercy seat, tells us that we obtain mercy by Christ (Hebrews 4:16). The Life “lifes” us with God’s presence.

The Threes

There are other statements of three in the Bible that parallel the pattern of the Tabernacle.

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17 (KJV)

• Righteousness refers to the Outer Court. We are made right by Christ’s shed blood and cleansing sacrifice.

• Peace refers to the Holy Place. When we’ve been made right, we have peace with God.

• Joy refers to the Holy of Holies. We experience true joy in God’s presence.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13 NKJV)

• Faith refers to the Outer Court. Faith, a trust and reliance on Christ gets us through the starting point.

• Hope refers to the Holy Place. Hope, or a positive expectation and confidence of a good outcome, takes us deeper in God.

• Love refers to the Holy of Holies. We experience God, who is Love. We receive His love for us.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Like the Old Testament tabernacle, He came to show us the way to God, the truth about God, and the life of God.