"Then Moses said to God, 'If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you', and they ask me, 'What is his name?', what shall I say to them?' 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'.'" (Exodus 3.13-14).
When Moses stood before the burning bush on Mount Horeb centuries ago he asked for the name of God. He did this because, in Hebrew nomenclature, a name revealed something about a person. For example the Hebrew name for Moses was "Mosheh" which came from "mashah" meaning "drawn out" and it was applied to Moses because Pharaoh's daughter drew him out of the bulrushes in the Nile river. The Hebrews knew of the covenant which God had made with Abraham and which had been renewed in Isaac and Jacob, but apart from the existence of the one true God and his favour upon the nation of Israel, they knew no more. After four centuries in Egypt which had seen them brought into dreadful slavery, the Hebrews assuredly wished to know more about their God. For this reason God answered Moses "I AM" so that the Jews would know who God is. The name used throughout the Old Testament for God is YAHWEH from the Hebrew "ehyeh" meaning "I AM".
Now what does "I AM" indicate? Much, to say the least. There is so much revealed in this expression. It indicates that God is unbounded in any way. He is not in any way confined by time. I AM he declares. He neither was in the past nor will be in the future. I AM, he declares. I AM the God of Abraham, he said to Moses. He transcends time and is unaffected by it.
"I AM", God declares. He is not bound by space. The expression denotes omnipresence. He is not limited by anything. There is a sense of eternal completeness in the expression. There is no hint of any 1imitation of power, knowledge or understanding. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. The completeness of the expression beautifully illustrates this. God is.
In his Dictionary of the Bible, Davis describes the expression as indicating "He who in the absolute sense exists and who manifests his existence and his character." "I" indicates absolute personality, "AM" a perfect and absolute existence. The further content and purpose of the expression is further seen in comparison to two other names given by God. "Elohim" is the description of God in his position as the creator, upholder and moral governor of the universe. "E1 Shadday", God Almighty, is the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of promise in whom one could hope. But "I AM" reveals God as personally interested in the affairs of his people, revealing the manner and character of his nature. As we turn now to Jesus we will consider his statements in this light, as compared to God who declares and speaks of himself: I AM.
The Gospel of John.
1. Jesus declares absolutely, I AM.
In the Gospel of John there are three ways in which Jesus uses the expression "I AM" with regard to himself. In a few cases, Jesus declares himself absolutely by this expression In other instances he elaborates on a particular content of his deity and work through a statement introduced by the expression and he thirdly veils the expression in the present tense of a sentence where the expression in context nevertheless again declares his deity. We deal firstly with his absolute declarations as recorded in the Gospel of John.
(i). "Jesus says to her, I AM, the one speaking to you." (John 4.26).This is a direct translation of Jesus' answer to the woman of Samaria who half-questioned Jesus in speaking of the Messiah who was to reveal all things. It is conventionally translated "I who speak to you am he" but we find a direct declaration I AM in the original Greek, the language in which John wrote his Gospel. The words are "ego eimi". The woman had said that the Messiah, who was called Christ, was coming. By this she meant the one who was promised, the Deliverer, the Saviour of the world, the anointed one of God, declared in the prophets to be the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9.6). Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, in essence, "The One who is even now speaking to you, that I AM".
It must be noted that this is the first occasion in the Gospel that this declaration is made. It is a beautful climax to the narrative which thusfar builds up to it. he Gospel introduces Jesus Christ immediately as the "Word of God", the "Light", the "only Son from the Father". John the Baptist described him as "One whom you do not know" (1.26) and the "Lamb of God" (1.29,36). He declares him to be the Son of God (1.34). Then Andrew describes him is the "Messiah" (1.41), Philip as "Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote" (1.45). Then Nathanel describes him as the "Son of God, the King of Israel" (1.49) and so the glorious descriptions increase. Jesus, however, nowhere describes himself as anything but the "Son of man" (1.51, 3.13,14) until this great declaration where he himself finally declares just who he is and in so doing exceeds all the titles given in claiming deity. "Jesus says to her, I AM". The woman knew the Messiah was coming, he who would be the greatest man who would ever live. Jesus answers her "I AM". Need she ask further? (ii). "I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins " (John 8.24).
This is again a literal translation of the Greek to bring out the full import of what Christ said. Again we find the declaration, EGO EIMI, meaning, I AM. Again we find Jesus Christ absolutely claiming deity and declaring it in the course of a discussion with the Jews about his relationship to their God whom he called his Father. The whole discourse with them wondrously contains the very manifestation of the deity of Christ as linked to the Father as opposed to the fleshly, devil-linked nature of fallen man. He began the discourse "I AM the light of the world" (8.12). This use of the divine name to begin his discourse is an example of the second way in which Jesus declares himself as mentioned above, that is, in reference to a particular quality of his nature or work. We will return to this verse.
Jesus concludes the discussion with the very words he began with: "Before Abraham was, I AM" (8.58). He began with a declaration of deity and so concludes his discussion. In between we have the statement which we are now examining and a further declaration in verse 28. How beautifully the use four times of the divine name clearly distinguishes the nature of the Son of man as one in the Godhead with his Father in contradistinction to the nature of his hearers whose very wills were directed to the nature of their father, the devil. Let us now consider this particular declaration. "You will die in your sins unless you believe that I AM", Jesus declares. In this very declaration of deity he tells them what it is they need to believe. He is not saying that they must believe that he is the Messiah, or that he is the saviour or a prophet; in no way is mental assent to these characteristics sufficient. It must go further than that. "Unless you believe that I AM", Jesus declares. He is saying in essence just this: God made man in his own image. All men have sinned and so have brought condemnation upon themselves, including you, my hearers. I have life in myself, it is I alone who can restore that lost relationship, it is I alone who can restore that life. Unless you therefore receive the life I have by believing on me, in me, through me, indeed partaking of myself as a branch does of its vine, you will remain in your fallen state and will die in it. Everything you hope to receive from God is vested in me. It is I alone who can bring you to the one whom you call your God for as He is, so I am. This is in fact what Jesus is saying.
John 3.36 also illustrates further what Jesus is saying: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him." The contradistinction between Jesus and his hearers was very real, eternally so, but he came for the express purpose of removing it and gaining access to God for men. Hence his warning to them: "You will die in your sins unless you believe that I AM". His warning holds good for all men in all ages(iv). "Before Abraham was, I AM". (John 8.58).
A closer translation of the above would be "Before Abraham ever came into existence, I AM". This brings a distinction between the eternal existence of Jesus Christ and the creation of the man Abraham. The Greek word is "genesthai", meaning "to become". The translation I have used, however, succintly brings out the depth of his statement. "Abraham was" - he was bound by time. At one time he never existed Then he came into existence and was bound by time in turn. Jesus says in effect, I am not bound by time. what does he say? Before Abraham was, I have been? No, he does not. The statement is quite out tune of with English grammar but we are dealing with Divine grammar! After the aorist infinitive clause "Before Abraham was", properly the perfect clause and tense should follow but does not. Jesus says BEFORE Abraham, I AM. He uses the present tense because he is eternal and always exists in the present as God does! He does not merely claim to have existed before Abraham, he claims to be eternally existent.
Not only does he claim to be eternally existent, he leaves his hearers in no doubt as to who he was claiming to be. They immediately took up stones to stone him for they considered that this was blasphemy. By doing this they showed that they had not failed to grasp the import of Jesus' claim. Have you grasped it?
Through the seed of Abraham God had given a great promise of life. Through his seed came Joseph who saved the other tribe leaders from death through famine, but he was not the Promised One. Moses delivered the whole nation out of bondage and slavery but it was not him either. Joshua led the Israelites victoriously into Canaan and they possessed the land but they were all now dead, as were the people of the time of Joseph and Moses. Despite their great works, none of these was the Saviour. How would he ever be distinguished or recognised?
"Before Abraham was, I AM". Here I am, Jesus declares, yet another of the seed of Abraham, except that I was before him, I exist eternally, and it was I in fact who gave him the promise. I AM. The Jews were told in the very clearest terms that their Deliverer was with them. How could they know him? "I AM", Jesus declares. All other men come from the dust. This man is from God. Could the Deliverer, the Life-Giver ever be greater than this One in their very midst? "We are descendants of Abraham" the Jews said (v.33) but they had to admit that Abraham was dead (v.53). They considered that they were secure because they were physically descended from him, but he was dead. It was one of his descendants who would bring them life, this was the promise of God. It was to this descendant that they should come and seek kinship. He was standing there with them, and they knew him not. Of all the opportunities men have ever missed in all ages, this was assuredly the greatest.
Over against Abraham's short span of life inseparably linked to passing time, Jesus declares his timeless present. Not only has he existed all through time, his existence in fact transcends time! In this statement "Before Abraham was, I AM", we obtain a beautiful illustration of the substance and essence of God's word to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM".
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