I Am

Exodus 3 - God meets with Moses at the burning bush. When Moses asks God for his name, God replies:

Exodus 3:14 ESV

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

This name seems to refer to God as:

self-existent one

eternal

ESVSB suggests:

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 3

The divine name Yahweh has suggested to scholars a range of likely nuances of meaning: (1) that God is self-existent and therefore not dependent on anything else for his own existence; (2) that God is the creator and sustainer of all that exists; (3) that God is immutable in his being and character and thus is not in the process of becoming something different from what he is (e.g., “the same yesterday and today and forever,” Heb. 13:8); and (4) that God is eternal in his existence. While each of these points is true of God, the main focus in this passage is on the Lord’s promise to be with Moses and his people. The word translated “I am” (Hb. ’ehyeh) can also be understood and translated as “I will be” (cf. ESV footnote). Given the context of Ex. 3:12 (“I will be with you”), the name of Yahweh (“the LORD”) is also a clear reminder of God’s promises to his people and of his help for them to fulfill their calling. In each of these cases, the personal name of God as revealed to Moses expresses something essential about the attributes and character of God.

fast forward to the new testament - there are several times when Jesus uses the statement “I am” - in many ways - this can be innocuously used - just like we would use it - “I am Joel,” or “I am a pastor” or “I am a father/husband/friend.”

Jesus uses it that way several times throughout the book of John. But there are a few times when he loads that greek statement ego eimi - and then follows it up with another phrase that packs it with meaning.

Today, however, we want to reference a couple of times that Jesus uses this phrase - I Am - meaning something more, something divine.

There are a few vague uses in John 8...

John 8:24 ESV

I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

John 8:28 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

There is another one that may not have all of the depth of meaning that others might. Here, he uses it like we would.

But then, there is one time when Jesus uses the phrase “I Am” that casts little doubt on what he is saying.

John 8:58 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

this usage is packed with meaning and clearly causes the people around him to become irate, because they knew he was relating himself back to God.

In the Greek translation of the OT, the Septuagint, when God speaks to Moses, he essentially tells him to tell Israel “Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν” - or I am…who I am.

Joel Beeke notes that this is one of the names “I Am” - that speaks to Jesus’ deity. He says, “The striking use of the present tense for Christ’s existence in the distant past identifies him as I Am, the One who revealed himself to Moses...” (p. 752). Proper grammar would call us to say “Before Abraham was, I was.”

This name or title “I Am” speaks to Jesus’ preexistence.

Why is it significant that Jesus is...

eternal?

pre-existent?

Divine?

How should that inform our prayers as we lift up one another and others on our list?