“I AM THAT I AM”

Then I said, “Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:7).

The mighty God of the universe calls Himself I AM. In Exodus 3:14, the Bible says, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM.”  Moses had said, “When I go down to Egypt, and the people ask me who sent me, what shall I tell them.”  God said, “You tell them that I AM sent you.”

WHAT IS THIS I AM? I AM all you will ever need. I AM to you whatever your need may be. And it is interesting, as God declared, “I AM,” He was speaking of that eternal aspect of His character. He is the Eternal One. The angel of the waters announced Him “as the One who is and who was and who is to be,” all at once (Revelation 16:5).

Now, with God, there is no past; there is no future; it’s all now. He dwells in the eternal. I can’t conceive that. But with God, He resides in the infinite currently. “I AM WHO I AM has sent you,” describes the eternal characteristic of God.

The name of God is a verb “to be.” “The Becoming One” is named Yahweh, as God becomes to you whatever your need might be. “I am your peace, your strength, your help. I am your guide. I am your righteousness. I am your salvation. I am your hope.” How beautiful that is. “The Becoming One is named Yahweh, The Becoming One,” as God becomes to you whatever your need might be.

By studying the many “I Am” statements interwoven throughout God’s Word, specifically, the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus contained in the Gospel of John will reveal His Lordship. All of which points back to the Old Testament and into the kingdom. Thus, proving that Jesus is God and was the God of both the Old and New Testaments.

Understanding how these sayings effects our life will help in applying the truths of scripture. We find every purpose, truth, promise, principle, and provision needed about life eternal. Thus, inspiring the reader, “To know Him and make Him known.”  

Jesus Christ declared, “I have come. In the volume of the book, it is written of Me.”  Therefore, Scripture should always be at the threshold of every decision we face because the Bible Is God’s Mind Written Down. It’s like Jesus reciting Himself.

Everyone probably asks the question, “Who am I, Lord, that I should be the one to do this?” We must have a sense of our unworthiness in being an instrument through which God might do His work. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.

The Apostle Paul acknowledged that ancient Israel “all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4), which explains why Jesus could authoritatively say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). So, Jesus was before Abraham. Like us, there was a time when Abraham did not exist, so Jesus directly tells them (and us) He existed before Abraham, therefore by application, He must be God (and He is!).

Learning what God’s Word says about His promises found in each, I AM statement, will help develop our maturity. And, believing our Lord has a divine purpose will help us to respond based upon scripture and not our feelings. Furthermore, you can consider each of His I AM statements as promises. Just believe, receive and apply.

“I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE”

Jesus contrasted himself with the manna that came down from heaven in the time of Moses. The manna provided temporary miraculous substance for the people, as Jesus had just done by feeding the 5000 people. But physical substance is not what people ultimately need. If you eat bread today, you’ll need it again tomorrow. Jesus, as the Bread of Life, would fill their spiritual hunger eternally.

When God revealed Himself to Moses, He identified Himself as the “I AM.”  Now Jesus said, “I AM the bread of life.” Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and they are dead. But this is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die (John 6:48-50).

The crowds followed Him, but not for the right reason, so He told them, “you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26). They only wanted more bread for their stomach, so Jesus said, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal” (John 6:27), and “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35), so “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). That is bread unto eternal life.

Jesus fed the physically hungry. But Jesus’ most significant concern was for people with spiritual hunger. Bread in the Bible is the symbol of spiritual life. People all over the world are the same; they have an inborn hunger for something, and that something is Christ. People cannot be satisfied with anything less than Christ.

To receive Christ into your heart seems so simple. You open your heart and say, “Lord Jesus, come in. I’m willing to turn from my sins and receive You as my Lord and Savior.” Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). This bread satisfies the inner longings and pangs of hunger of the human heart. Have you taken of that bread? You must repent of your sins, change your mind, turn your back on sin and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

“I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”

With the Pharisees and other religious leaders there, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). For those who don’t believe, whether they realize it or not, they are walking in darkness, and in the ways of their father the Devil, however, such were we too. The light of Christ brings us out of the darkness and into the light, and for those who believe, they will no longer walk in darkness.

Jesus healed the sight of the blind in different ways. One time He used clay. “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And when he has thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay” (John 9:5-6).

Believe it or not, it was against their law, the traditional interpretation of it, to make clay on the Sabbath day. However, when He made this clay, He rubbed it in the guy’s eyes.

This story reminds me of the time my dog had cancer and was on a special diet. We boiled chicken for her to replace the treats that almost killed her earlier. Once I set the timer, the countdown began. Of course, being the queen of the house, she would use her different barks during the process. Each time she would bark I would tell her, “You got to let it cook, Puppy Girl.” When that was done, it had to cool down. I would say to her, “You’re not the boss of me; I am the boss of you.”  My favorite was, “You don’t tell me, I tell you.”  Jesus was telling the Pharisees, “You don’t tell me.” “I will show you.”

When God created the universe, He put the sun a precise distance from the earth. If the sun were a few kilometers closer to us, we would fry. If it were farther from us, we would freeze to death. What the sun is to the earth, Jesus Christ is to the human heart. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Scripture also says you have a soul, a spirit living inside of you. When you die, your body goes to the grave. But the spirit, the real you, lives on forever. Jesus said if you come to Him, you will live with Him. Jesus Christ is the One that brings peace in our hearts. He turns His light on in our hearts and is the light to our path.

PS . . ., All dogs go to heaven.

“I AM THE DOOR”

I Am the Door, or the Good Shepherd could both apply to John 10:7, where Jesus says, in speaking about His sheep, “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). He guards the door to the sheep pen, by lying down at the door, as shepherds used to (and some still) do. That’s why He says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). No one gets in the pen without going through the door, and that door is Jesus Christ.

Every building I’ve ever been to has an entrance somewhere. The Kingdom of God also has an entry. It is Jesus Christ. Jesus was probably familiar with doors because He was the son of a carpenter. A building may have many entries, but God has only one entrance to His Kingdom, and that door is Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ statement here shows the importance of the door. “I am the door.” If a man tries to come by any other system, by any other way, he’s a thief and a robber. Jesus said, “I’m the way, I’m the door. There’s one way into the sheepfold, that’s through the door.

Try to climb over the walls or whatever, that’s the action of a thief and a robber. If you try to enter the kingdom of heaven by your good works, if you decide to enter the kingdom of heaven by being religious, you’ll never make it. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me.”

The door swings both ways: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcome will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:20-22).

“I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD”

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Shortly after saying He was the door, He then adds, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). The sheep are helpless without the shepherd because the shepherd leads them to green pastures, leads them to still waters (Psalm 23) because sheep are easily frightened by moving water, but this Shepherd says willingly, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” 

The sheep know the voice of their Shepherd. There can be many different flocks, all mixed in the fold or at the watering troughs. But when each Shepherd gets up and calls to his sheep, the sheep know their Shepherds voice, and they follow. The sheep feel secure when they are with their Shepherd.  And we, as children of God, are protected in Jesus, our Good Shepherd. We are safe in the hand of the Father, and no one can snatch us out of His hand.

The shepherd would sleep in front of that entrance of the sheepfold. Thus, making himself the door and protecting the herd from wolves, wind, and storms. Jesus is our Shepherd, protecting us from Satan.

Jesus tells the story of a lost sheep. This farmer had 99 safe sheep, but one had wandered away. He was lost. So, this shepherd decided that he was going to go after the one lost sheep. After much searching, he found the sheep. And he called all his friends together, and they rejoiced because he had found the sheep.

Are you that one lost sheep? Jesus Christ would have died on the cross if you were the only one lost. God loves you, and He’s searching for you.

The shepherd lives with his sheep. He gives them food and protection and security. Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Whatever happens, however sick you may get–you may lose a child, you may lose a father or a mother–Jesus is with you. You’re the sheep; He’s the shepherd. He loves you, and He gave His life for you.

But how do I know if I am one of his sheep? How do I know if I am secure? Are you listening to His voice and following Him? If so, then you are one of His sheep.

“I AM THE RESURRECTION, AND THE LIFE”

Since Jesus raised people from the dead, He could say with authority, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Martha was upset because her brother Lazarus had died, and she was blaming Jesus by saying that if Jesus had been there, he would not have died. And if Jesus had been there, He apparently would have just healed Lazarus.

In the Jewish culture, the depth of the love for the deceased was demonstrated by the amount of mourning, even to the point of hiring professional mourners.

Yet Jesus had something more significant in mine. He then made this radical statement, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me though he may die he shall live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” He was talking about spiritual death, that eternal separation from God. Something that we will never experience.

Death seems to be an opportunity for a natural man to blame God. Death is the result of man’s sin. However, the moment believers die, they move out of this earthly body and into an incorruptible body.

He went on to prove what He was saying by showing His authority over physical death. He broke the laws of nature and brought Lazarus back to life. By believing in Him, we know that we will never experience separation from God. He is the resurrection and the life.

Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters, found this statement to be accurate, even though Jesus was speaking of those who have eternal life by believing in Him. After this life and death, they will, and we who trust in Christ will live again. Jesus has been asking this question for over 2,000 years; “Do you believe this?”

The raising of Lazarus from the grave is an example of what Jesus can do for us spiritually. We can become new creatures by being born again of the Spirit. God’s gift is ours by faith in the works of the cross. What say you?  

“I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE”

 Jesus rules out every other religious system. He isn’t “a” way but “the” only way to the Father. Thomas said unto him, Lord, we don’t know where you’re going; and how can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me (John 14:5-6).

He is declaring He is not one of many ways, but the one and only way. He is also “the truth,” not “a truth,” and “not a way but the way to life eternal.”

The greatest and most deceptive lie conceived by man is that “ALL ROADS LEAD TO GOD.” This eternally destructive lie states that since God is love, and you’re a good person, God will never send you to hell. The whole and complete truth is, that all roads do lead to God but for distinct reasons and different ends: believers for their rewards and non-believers for judgment.

Furthermore, God doesn’t send anyone to hell. We alone choose between heaven or hell according to our belief in or rejection of Jesus Christ. Those who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior will receive eternal life. Those who deny Christ will be judged, and by that decision alone, be separated from God for all eternity. Free choice can either be a gift or a curse. Recall the Fall in the Garden and stay obedient to God’s Truth.

So, here again, is one of those radical statements of Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me.” Here, Jesus is declaring that He is the only way by which a man may come to the Father.

The Holy Spirit draws us to the Father. He will use an incident in your life to speak to you. It may be when you’re quietly meditating or thinking. Or it may be when you’re walking down the street with thousands of people. Amid all those people, God can speak to you. He uses the Holy Spirit to convict people of their need of God.

He draws us. He urges us to receive His Son, Jesus Christ, as the fulfillment of our life, the One who can forgive our sins, the One who can give us eternal life. Have you made that commitment?

Finally, Jesus says He is the life, meaning He is the resurrection and the life. We can read about Lazarus and know that it is true. Jesus was the only way to life for Lazarus, and that’s the truth, because there is no other way than through Jesus to receive eternal life. Do you believe this?

“I AM THE VINE”

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine; ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

The whole purpose in our life is that of being fruitful. The primary desire of my life is to bear good fruit for my Lord. No other accomplishments that I may achieve are as crucial as this. One day when I stand before Him to give an account of my life, this is all that will matter. The question is, “What kind of fruit can I offer to Him?”

The fruit that the Father desires is that which develops naturally as the result of a relationship. Not forced, and you do not have to struggle to produce it. As you abide in Christ, it just develops naturally.

He is not interested in the works of our flesh, which we are so often seeking to offer Him. Our works have no real value in the eyes of the Father. All our righteous works are as filthy rags in His sight. We must realize that it is the life of Christ flowing through us that produces the kind of fruit the Father desires. If you do not abide in Christ, you are cast forth as a branch and become withered.

If the branch does not bear fruit, it is taken away. There is nothing more worthless than a branch that does not bear fruit. Jesus spoke of the tree that did not bear fruit that the husbandman ordered it to be cut down. God spoke of all that He did for His vineyard that he might enjoy the fruit, and all it brought forth was wild grapes. God spoke of His judgment that would come upon that vineyard.

Those branches that bear fruit are purged that they may bring forth more fruit. “Now, you are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you.” It is the Father’s good will that you bring forth much fruit, so the next step in the process is abiding in Christ, and the result is that you will bear much fruit.

We desire that our lives produce lasting fruit. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). Jesus declares that the purpose of choosing us is not that we bring forth fruit. But that the fruit might remain. That is lasting fruit.

As believers of the Word, you need to see yourself as continually sowing seed in the fertile hearts of God’s children. The seed is the Word of God, planting God’s Word in their hearts. God said that His Word will not return unto Him void but will accomplish the purposes for which it was sent forth.

It is the Word of God that will bring lasting fruit. I pray that your life might bear fruit for our Lord. I pray that as you begin to bear fruit, you will bring forth more fruit. I pray that you might bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. I pray that the fruit might remain. The key is abiding in Him and His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA”

John adds yet one more “I Am,” of a sort, in the Book of Revelation.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

Writing about seeing Jesus, he shares, “I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17).

Jesus addresses John in a moment in verse eleven saying “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what you see write in a book.” Now, if God declares of Himself that I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, and Jesus states that I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, then I AM that I AM is speaking, making them the same.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

“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).

Written by, Brad Wyrick

A PROMISE

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcome will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

(Revelation 3:20-22)

THE “BORN AGAIN” PRAYER

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you can receive Him into your heart by faith today. To receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, pray this simple prayer:

“Father in Heaven, I believe you sent your Son, Jesus, from heaven; I believe He died for my sins on the Cross; I believe He rose on the third day and sits with you in heaven even now.

Please forgive me for my sins. Jesus, please come into my life as my Lord and Savior and guide me with Your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Father.” In Jesus’ name, I pray, AMEN!

“Welcome to God’s kingdom, and may we fellowship throughout eternity.”