JESUS: THE GREAT I AM

Trevor S. Ferguson

January 30, 2011

Ex 3:13-14 (KJV)

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

John 8:54-58 (KJV)

54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

INTRODUCTION

Despite the clear references in scripture many today do not understand the deity of Jesus Christ and the principles of the Godhead. The bible clearly teaches that there is one God, JEHOVAH, who created the heavens and the earth and has full dominion over humanity and over nature. This God, JEHOVAH, is the ‘Self Existing One’. Before him there was no God formed and neither shall there be any after him.

The word JEHOVAH is derived from four Hebrew letters which is transliterated YHWH (Hebrew) or JHVH (English) and pronounced Yahweh (Hebrew) or Jehovah (English). As used in the Hebrew language Yahweh is the third person form of the verb “to be” and therefore means “He is” that is the “Self Existing One”; therefore when God uses this verb to refer to Himself he uses the first person equivalent, which is “I AM”. We see therefore that Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Great I AM!

Exposition

The scriptures today bring together two passages revealing to us this Great I AM.

In Exodus 3:13-14 Moses wanted to know the name of God that he would use in reporting to the children of Israel as it regards the instructions God had given him. God responded “I AM THAT I AM”; “Tell them that I AM sent you”. God was saying to Moses I AM that Self Existing One; I AM the One who is and dwells in the everlasting present. There is no limit to my person. I AM ever present with you and will be to you who you need me to be.

As we read though the book of Exodus we find several revelations of the I AM:

1. I AM  - the One whose power is greater than all the magicians in Egypt
2. I AM - the One who brings plagues upon the Egyptians but spares the Israelites
3. I AM - the One who passes over Egypt to slay the firstborn, but spares the firstborn of Israel
4. I AM - the One who parts the Red Sea to allow Israel pass through on dry land but overthrows Pharaoh and all the Egyptian army in the same Red Sea
5. I AM - the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night; I AM  - the way through the wilderness
6. I AM - the One who rains manna from heaven so that his people may find bread and sends water from the Rock when the people are thirsty
7. I AM - the Law-giver, the One who establishes his covenant with the people and will stand by them throughout their generations

By the end of the Exodus and entry in the Promised Land the Jews therefore had a thorough understanding of who the great I AM was and recognized I AM as one of the revealed names of Jehovah God.

The second passage, John chapter 8, contains a lengthy discourse between Jesus and the Jews during which Jesus which on three occasions (vs. 24, 28 & 58) declares himself to be the I AM. Note – the “he” in verses 24 & 28 is written in italics indicating that the “he” was not in the original Greek text but was added by the translators.  Therefore in the original vs. 24 would read “…If ye believe not that I AM, ye shall die in your sins”. Vs. 28 would read “…When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I AM…” In vs. 58 Jesus made an unquestionable claim to be the I AM of the Old Testament as he declares “…Before Abraham was I AM”.  Jesus then is the GREAT I AM of the Old Testament. JEHOVAH of the OLD Testament is JESUS of the NEW Testament

Like Exodus the book of John contains several revelations on the Great I AM:

1.       I AM the BREAD of Life – St John 6:35, 48

2.       I AM the LIGHT of the world – St. John 8:12; 9:5

3.       I AM the DOOR of the sheep – St. John 10:7. 9

4.       I AM the GOOD SHEPHERD – St. John 10: 11, 14

5.       I AM the RESURRECTION and the LIFE – St. John 11:25

6.       I AM the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE – St. John 14:6

7.       I AM the TRUE VINE – St. John 15:1, 5

In revelation Revelation 1:8, 11 we find another declaration of the I AM: Jesus declares, “I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending; …the first and the last; …I am he that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore … and have the keys of hell and of death.” Jesus declares himself to be the first and the last; this agrees with Isaiah’s declarations …before me was no God formed; neither shall there be any after me. I, even I, am the LORD and beside me there is no saviour. I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God (Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6)

APPLICATION

These scriptures clearly establish that Jehovah God of the old testament, who revealed himself to Moses as the I AM is revealed to us as Jesus Christ, the author of our salvation, our hope for eternal life, the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd who gave his life for us, the resurrection and the life, the way the truth and the life, the true vine!

We conclude as John did that Jesus is the only way of salvation. As Acts 4:12 tells us “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”.

This promise of salvation is available to all today. The message of salvation is summarized in Acts 2:38 …Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Great I AM is available today to offer you a full and free salvation! Accept him! It will be the best decision you will ever make.