Names of God: Jesus says He is I Am
On June 29, 2023, I last made a video on Names of God: I AM. This time, I’m going to focus on Jesus, who made it clear He is God in His I Am statements.
In the last video of I AM name of God, we looked at John 8 where
Jesus confirms He is God and it got the Jewish rulers all riled up. Jesus had
been teaching. The Pharisees asked Him, “Who do you think you are (John 8:
53)?”
After talking about Coming from His Father and explaining
that He had seen Abraham, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was
I AM.” At that point they knew He equated himself to God, so they picked up
stones to kill Him. They understood perfectly that Jesus claimed to be God.
Two simple yet profound words. I AM.
The other times that Jesus referred to Himself as I AM He
used metaphors to help them understand. Let’s look at these word pictures in
this talk.
The first one is in John 6. Jesus repeats over and over that
He is the bread of life. The point here is Jesus had fed them the day before.
5,000 men plus women and children were miraculously fed. He doesn’t want them
to come to only receive food and watch a miracle but wants them to recognize
their need for Him. Jesus came to be The Bread of Life. He is our sustenance
for life. Not physical, but spiritual life. His Word and through prayer, feed
us and sustain us. He is essential for spiritual, eternal life. Just as we need
essential physical nourishment, we also need essential spiritual nourishment.
The next one we will look at is in John 8:12, where we see
Jesus said, I AM the light of the world. He is the essential and only Life-giving
Light. When we receive His Light, we need never fear spiritual darkness.
Glorious Light from Jesus. His light shines, giving us direction and vision.
His light illuminates. His light is Truth and Eternal Life. Without His light we
fumble around in spiritual darkness.
The third I Am statement by Jesus is, I Am the Door found in
John 10. Jesus is the only way to salvation or eternal life. He not only wants
to be your shepherd, but He protects you by being the door of safety so the
wolves or robbers can’t get in to steal or hurt the Sheep. Jesus wants to be
our protector. He is our access. No man comes to the Father but by Him. The I
AM is the way to Heaven.
The fourth I AM is in John 10. I AM the good shepherd. Not a
shepherd, but The Shepherd. Not any kind but The Good Shepherd. The Good
Shepherd takes excellent care of the sheep. Clean water, tender grasslands,
safe pen to sleep in, clear of pests. Shorn when their wool gets too heavy. Led
to safety. Protected from predators. Jesus is our I AM Good Shepherd who takes
care of us. Will go find us if we become lost. He will leave the 99 to find the
one.
John 11 shows us the fifth I AM statement. I AM the
Resurrection and the Life. Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died. Jesus was about to
raise him from the dead. He asks Martha, Lazarus’s sister, if she believed in
the resurrection. At this point He said, I am the resurrection and the life.
Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me
and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26). Jesus is life. Jesus is
resurrection. Jesus is the only way to live in heaven someday. He is salvation
and resurrection.
The next I AM is in John 14:6. I AM the way, the truth, and
the life. The Way. It’s really meant that Jesus is the ONLY Way to heaven, to
the father, to eternal life. There are not many ways to heaven. There is only
One. Jesus died for your sin to give you the right to cross on the one way to
heaven. Jesus said He is the access to the Father. His saving blood paid for
eternal life in heaven. He is the Truth. Not, has truth. Not, knows truth. Not,
a truth. Not, half truth. THE Truth. Jesus is Truth. There is no guile in Him.
He is perfect. He is Holy. He is God. He is Truth. He is the Life. He is the
only sustaining life in Bread, in Light, in eternal Resurrection. Without Him
you end up in darkness forever separated from God in a place of torment called
Hell.
The last statement is I AM the True Vine. John 15. The True
Vine holds life giving sustenance as well. He said this to his disciples right
before He would be crucified, resurrected, and ascended into Heaven. But they
would not be alone. They needed to attach to the life-giving vine. To become a
branch on His vine. Remember, these are metaphors. Pictures. A True Vine nourishes
the branches so they can produce much fruit. We as Gentile believers are
grafted into the True Vine, and we produce spiritual fruit in our lives. Love,
Joy, Peace, patience, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Self Control (Galatians
5:22-23). Jesus as the True Vine is our
source of life and spiritual fruit. We thrive when we are in Him getting
spiritual food from The True Vine.
So, the next time we see the I Am statements in John, we
might have a better grasp on what Jesus Christ, the second in the Godhead, was
indicating to us. It’s all about Him. We cannot have these things without a
personal relationship with Him/
Did you notice? There are seven I AM statements. Seven is
the number of perfection.
It’s all about Jesus and what He can and will do for us if we trust Him as our Savior. The Bread of Life, Light of the World, The Door, Good Shepherd, The Resurrection and the Life, The Way, The Truth, and the Life, and The True Vine. These titles are His essence and His gift to us. Are we trusting in Him for our eternity? Therefore, receiving substance and guidance in this life too?
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