The I Am God

“The I Am God”

John 8: 53-58; Ex. 3:14 (CSB)

January 12, 2025

Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?” If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.”57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” Ex. 3: 14 God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.

Introduction: This chapter starts with story of Jesus forgiving and helping the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees were all about destruction not restoration. Tearing people down, not building them up. The Pharisees could not even see their sins. They were mean, unforgiving, and unmerciful. They accused Jesus of having a demon. He tells them that you do not know me or my father. Because if you did, they would love more than hate, forgive more than judge. Restore rather than condemn. The questioned asked of Jesus in verse fifty-three “Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?” Jesus responds by saying, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. You do not know him, but I know him. In other words, I am the way through which you see God. I am. I am always, I am the present, the past, and the future. Like the adultery woman, the Pharisees may only see her present state, but God sees her future. He sees her forgiven. Jesus said He do know the Father, and He keeps his word. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am. This is the revelation, Jesus was before was, and shall be even after what is, and when was is passed away. The I Am God. In the New Testament, Jesus makes a self-declaration "I am" seven times in the Gospel of John to reveal his true identity: I am the Bread of Life: John 6:35, 41, 48, 51 I am the Light of the World: John 8:12 I am the Door of the Sheep: John 10:7, 9 I am the Good Shepherd: John 10:11, 14 I am the Resurrection and the Life: John 11:25 I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: John 14:6 I am the True Vine: John 15:1, 5 What Are All of the 'I AM' Statements of Jesus? Jesus' use of the phrase "I am" is a way of declaring that he is the same person who revealed himself to Moses in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God identified himself as "I am" to Moses. Jesus uses the Greek expression “I am” in relation to His divinity. When the high priest asks Jesus during his *trial, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mk 14:61), he responds, “I am [he]” (egō eimi) (Mk 14:62). Jesus, for the first time in Mark’s Gospel, publicly confirms his identity according to the categories (“Messiah” and “Son of God”) that sum up Mark’s understanding of Jesus. When Jesus surveyed his disciples and asked who do you say that I am. Peter declared to Him that He was the Christ the Son of the Living God.

Scriptural Text

Abraham and the prophets kept God's word and died. Jesus was claiming not that he would prevent physical death, but that he could give eternal life. But, to the Jewish leaders this was proof that Jesus was demon possessed. Jesus was not just claiming to have lived before Abraham, he was claiming eternal existence. He was claiming to be God himself. This time the Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be God, so they took up stones to stone him for blasphemy in verse fifty-nine. When Jesus said to the Jews that Abraham rejoiced to see his day, he was talking in terms that they could understand, the Jews had many beliefs about Abraham which would enable them to see what Jesus was implying. Although there are five different ways in which they would interpret this passage. Jesus said Abraham rejoiced to see my day, the past tense. The Jews interpret many passages of Scripture in a way that explains this. They took the great promise to Abraham in Genesis. 12: 3 “In you all the families of the earth, shall be blessed, and said that when that promise was made, Abraham knew that it meant that the Messiah of God was to come from his line and rejoiced at the magnificence of the promise. Abraham looked for the one who would fulfill all that was promised to him. Promise is that included blessings to all nations. For all of this we see clearly that the Jews did believe that somehow Abraham, while he was still alive, had a vision of the history of Israel and the coming of the Messiah. So, when Jesus said that Abraham had seen his day, he was making a deliberate claim that he was the Messiah. He was really saying: I am the Messiah Abraham saw in his vision. Immediately Jesus said Abraham saw it and was glad. To us, these ideals are strange. To the Jews they were quite normal, for they believe Abraham had already seen the day when the Messiah would come. Although they knew better, chose to take this literally. ‘How,’ they demanded, can you have seen Abraham when you are not yet fifty? Fifty was the age at which the Levites retired from their services. The Jews was saying to Jesus: You are a young man, still in prime of your life, not even old enough to retire from service. How can you have seen Abraham? It was then that Jesus made the most staggering statement, ‘before Abraham was, I am.’ Jesus did not say before Abraham was, I was. But before Abraham was, I am. Jesus makes the claim that He is timeless. Before there was, He is. There never was a time when He came into being. There never will be a time when he is not in being. What did he mean? Obviously, he did not mean that he, the human figure Jesus, had always existed. We know that Jesus was born into the world in Bethlehem. What Jesus is saying is that the life in Him is the life of God. He is saying as the Hebrew writers, that he is the same yesterday, today and forever. In Jesus is the man who came, born of a virgin, lived, and died. We see the timeless God, who was the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, who was before time and who will be after time, who always is. According to Mark 14:62 “Jesus said, “I am and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’” Re 22:16 “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” He is Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the ending. Dr. C.A.W. Clark - "The Hidden Connection, The Black Heritage & The Kingdom of God" Still stooping He is writing Bible He spoke before he wrote He is the I am who is always Time Does not hold him captive to a clock and calendars. We cannot measure where he is because I January he is also in December March he is already in September and in December all at the. Same time He was there with you when you were born but was also with you before you were in your mother’s womb, and he is already there when the day if you end begins, I am is not his name but his reality.

Conclusion: Do not say what you cannot do until you have factored in the God who say I am. Before you say you are not qualified. The God who is able. The One who can do the impossible. Remember the words of the apostle Paul, but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” I recently came across this and wanted to share it with you: NOAH got drunk. ABRAHAM was too old. ISAAC was a daydreamer. JACOB lied. LEAH was ugly. JOSEPH was abused. MOSES was a murderer and stutterer. GIDEON was afraid. SAMSON had long hair and was afraid. RAHAB was a prostitute. JEREMIAH and TIMOTHY were too young. DAVID was a murderer and adulterer. ELIJAH was suicidal. ISAIAH preached naked. JONAH ran from God. NAOMI was a widow. JOB went bankrupt. JOHN THE BAPTIST ate bugs. PETER denied Christ. The DISCIPLES fell asleep while praying. MARTHA worried about everything. MARY MAGDLENE was demon possessed. The SAMARITAN WOMAN was divorced…more than once… ZACCHEUS was too short. PAUL was a murderer. TIMOTHY had an ulcer. and LAZARUS was dead! The I am God will use you and perfect that concerning you. The I Am God will work out His plans for your life and that you can trust Him to take care of your concerns. Because he is I am he alone could stoop down from the everlasting banquets in heaven to broiling poor man’s fish for breakfast on side of the lake. The I am God, can walk among the angels of glory and come down a walk among the grief of the sick at pool of Bethesda. He sat down at the right hand of God in glory but because he is I am was able to be hung on the cross for the sins of the world. Because he is I Am he could be before Abraham was, he could be with Abraham, and be with disciples dying on the cross, go back be with those who died before, he can preach a revival and set them free because he is I am he can be with Paul in the spirit, be John on the island of Patmos in the spirit and be with us in the spirit which the saints use to say he walks with me and talks with me and another hymn writer because he is I am Simply said. God Is. God is the joy and the strength of my life. He moves all pain, misery, and strife. He promised to keep me, never to leave me. He's never ever come short of His word. I've got to fast and pray, stay in His narrow way. I've got to keep my life clean every day; I want to go with Him when He comes back. I've come too far, and I'll never turn back. God is the I Am! God is a way maker. God is a healer and delivery! God is shelter in a storm. God is he is the creator. God is a mighty conqueror. God is God is God the great I Am He is my all in all! God is your sanctification. God is the mighty conqueror. God is gives you victory over your enemies. God is he is your intercessor and high priests. God is king of kings, Lord of Lords. God is your wisdom helping you make sense of life and live it successfully. God is your purpose, delivering you from vanity. God is the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of peace. God is the ever faithful one from whom we can depend. God is your refuge keeping you safe in times of trouble. God is the son of God. God is the savior of the world. The God I am is your joy, your completeness, your hope, your glory, your stability, your benefactor, your perfection. God is the power behind your faith. The I Am God. He is my all in all!