THE TRINITY 13
The Deity of Christ 2
“I AM”
2/3/13
One the things that amazes me about the Word of God is how powerful very short phrases can be. I while ago I did a series of sermons on the two words “But now…” I pointed out how the famous English preacher D. Martin Lloyd-Jones state that they are two of the most important words in the NT. Because in those two little words, “But now...” lead us into teachings that describe “the whole of the Christian experience.”
There are many other short phrases that are equally powerful. I think of the words “By this…” as found in 1 John. Go through that epistle and highlight the words “By this…” and make note of the wonderful teaching that they will lead you to.
I also think of the words “So then…” in the writings of Paul. Again, you will find that they will lead you into some of the most wonderful teachings in the Bible.
I think of other short phrases that just appear once. Phrases like, “Jesus wept.”, “Rejoice always” or “pray without ceasing,” All contain wonderful truths that can be expanded upon.
Today I want to look at two words that are very important in our study into the Trinity, and specifically the teaching of the deity of Jesus Christ. It is unfortunate that many Christians simply do not realize the importance and significance of these two words. I hope to change that for some of you today. The two words we will be looking at are “I am”.
What we will see today, is that it is through those two words that the Lord Jesus Christ clearly claims to be God. It is through those two words, “I am” that Jesus claims to have preexisted creation itself, and therefore must be the creator.
These are two of the most powerful words in the New Testament, for in them is not only the teaching that Jesus Christ is God, but the claim that one must believe in order to have eternal life.
Let me remind you that in our examination of the deity of Christ we will be breaking it down into six categories. We are currently dealing with the category of the pre-existence of Jesus, that is the Biblical teaching that Jesus existed prior to His birth in Bethlehem, and prior to creation itself. While we are in the mist of our study into the Trinity, I want to say that I strive to write these messages so that they stand alone. That is to say, I believe you can get much out of this sermon, without having to have heard any of the other messages on this series. All the sermons on the Trinity by the way, can be found on our website.
I want to point out that the vast majority of times we see Jesus using “I am” in reference to himself, comes from the gospel of John. In fact the only other place in appears besides John is in Mark 14:62. So for our study we will be looking at the “I am”’s of the gospel of John.
I little background information, “I am” is the translation of the Greek words “ego eimi”. Almost every English translation of the Bible translates it this way. One translation that does not, but only on one occasion, is the NWT. Which is the Bible of the Watchtower, or JW. In John 8:58 they translate it “I have been…” they do so because they know if you translate it “I am” you have Jesus making a claim to deity, which is something they deny.
John uses this phrase quite often in his gospel. Many times when he uses “I am” it is followed by a predicate. That is to say Jesus is using the term to say I am something. Let me give a couple examples. In John 8:12 we read, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world...”
Or John 10:7, “So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”
In these examples it is clear that Jesus is not using “I am” as a title.
There are however in the gospel of John seven times in which “I am” is used in what is called “the absolute”. That is to say that Jesus is using the words “I am” to communicate what I would say is His deity and the fact that He preexisted His birth in the Bethlehem.
Let me read those passage to you. Keep in mind that Jesus is speaking in each of these. Also that the word “He’ that follows each I am is not in the Greek and is supplied by the translator to make the sentence flow better.
John 8:24; “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; “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.”
John 8:58; Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
John 13:19; “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.”
John 18:5,6,8: “They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.””
I am sure there are more then one of you thinking in your head, what is the significance of Jesus using “I am” this way. How is that a claim to deity.
In order to understand this we need to go back to the OT. Before we do that I want us to understand something first. Just like us today Jesus and disciples had a Bible. They obviously did not have it in book form like we do, but they had scrolls of books that they considered to be the Word of God. This is of course was what we call today the OT.
Some of you know that the OT was originally written the Hebrew language. However, by the time Jesus arrives on the scene Hebrew is not the main language spoken by the Jewish people. The main languages of the time is Aramaic and Greek and had been for quite some time.
So the translation of the OT that Jesus and His disciple were familiar with was a Greek translation known as the Septuagint. That was their Bible, that is what the writers of the NT quote from. Keep that in mind.
In looking back to the OT we can see how words “I Am” were used, with the understanding that these are the same Greek words “ego eimi” that are ascribed to Jesus by the apostle John.
I want to give to you three quick examples of how “I am” is used in the OT from the book of Isaiah, then one from the book Exodus.
We have Isa. 41:4; “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.” (I remind you that “he” is not in the original language).
Also Isaiah 43:10, ““You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.”
Isaiah 46:4; “even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
Those are just three examples but I could give you more, but do you notice how we see “I am” being used here in Isaiah? They are used in Isaiah as a euphemism for the very name of God. We see that God uses this phrase as a means of identifying Himself.
Not only do we see this in Isaiah but in Exodus as well. When God calls Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, Moses is worried that the people will not believe Him. Listen to Exodus 3:13-14; “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.”’”
Once more we see the words “I am” This can be literally translated “I am the one existing”. We again have those same Greek words that John uses.
Here is the point that I am stressing here. The way that “I am” is used by the OT especially in Isaiah and to a lesser degree in Exodus 3, is the same way in which we see it being used in those seven places in John. In transcribing Jesus words John knows full well what he is communicating and he know full well what his Jewish readers would understand, and that is Jesus making a claim to be Yahweh of the OT.
In light of what we see in the OT, let us look closer at four of those passage from John, as I believe we can now see the impact of those statements by Jesus.
Please turn with me to John 8:23-24; “He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
I believe that this is one of the verses that we read yet fail to realize the full force of Jesus’ words here. In John 8 Jesus is debating with the Pharisees. The thrust of what Jesus is telling them is that they are of the world and He is from above. There in 8:23 Jesus tells them that they are from below that is they are children of hell. They are of this world, yet Jesus states that He is not of this world, that He is from above, sent by His heavenly Father.
But what He states in vs. 24 has eternal ramifications. I pray that you would not miss the magnitude of Jesus’ words, He literally states, “for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
In using those two little words “I am” Jesus is making an extraordinary declaration. He is using the same language that is used in the OT for God.
His words here are very similar to Deut. 32:39 where God is speaking; “Behold, behold that I am, and there is no god beside me: I kill, and I will make to live: I will smite, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of my hands.”
It is Yahweh alone that gives life, Yahweh alone heals us of our sins, yet Jesus is making this claim.
Isa. 43:10 also comes to mind, “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after Me.”
Notice the similar words of our Lord Jesus, “for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
To say that Jesus is using those words “I am” in an innocuous way misses the whole point of what Jesus is saying. He is saying that I am the one send by the Father from above. I am the one who has life in and of Himself. I am the Son of God, I am equal with Father, I have existed eternally, I am Yahweh!
What this passage does is stresses the fact that unless you believe that Jesus Christ is God, you will die in your sins. This passage demonstrates to us how important faith in the deity of Christ is. How important the Trinity is. Without that faith, you will die in your sins.
Looking now to John 8:58-59, turn with me there. “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.””
While some may challenge the “I am” statement of John 8:24 that Jesus is not using this divine title, there is no doubt here. That is why translations like the NWT have to mistranslate this “I have been” because if allowed to stand, it is obviously a claim to deity.
In John 8:58 Jesus continues His debate with the Pharisees. They ask Jesus if He is greater then Abraham and the prophets. Jesus tells them that Abraham rejoiced to see His day. They ask how Jesus could have known that because there is no way He could have known Abraham. That is when Jesus utters these words.
Again I want you to understand the significance of these those two words, “I am”. Jesus does not say that “I was” but that “I am”. Jesus is clearly telling us here that He transcends time. He makes reference to the fact Abraham was, there was a point in time when he is born. While Abraham “was” Jesus states “I am” He is eternal. He has always existed.
What Jesus states here can ONLY be spoken by God, for God alone is eternal. If you take these words of Jesus as anything but a claim to deity, you must ignore the context of the passage. To take that position makes the statement of Jesus nonsense.
This is also how those Jews present understood it. That is why the picked out stones to stone Him. This claim to be “I am” was a claim to be God and they understand that. In Lev. 24:16 such a claim was blasphemous and punishable by death by stoning.
While we may not fully grasp the significance of Jesus saying that He is “I am”, those Jews who heard him certainly did.
Think for a minute if were to stand up here and say that I am Jesus of Nazareth. You all would understand the blasphemous nature of that statement. So to the Jews understood Jesus to be making a claim to be deity.
Turn now to John 13:18-19; “I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against Me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.”
Here we have the words of our Lord at the last supper. Jesus it telling them what WILL happen. He is telling them of future events.
Once again we have a connection between Jesus using the words “I am” with what we read in Isaiah.
Notice the similar statement we have in Isaiah 43:10, ““You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.”
I believe it is clear that Jesus is making an obvious connection between Himself and Yahweh. We read of the chosen servants in both passages.
We have both passages saying that something is being done by God that these servant might know “that I am”. Remember there is no “he” following “I am” in either passage in the original language.
But the parallel to Isaiah does not stop there. Remember Jesus is telling of future events. Look again at our passage, “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.”
Jesus is telling them that He controls the future because He is “I am” He is God. This the same thing we are told in Isaiah 41:4; “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.” (I remind you that “he” is not in the original language).
To make the claim that Jesus is some how unaware of these parallels to the book of Isaiah is nothing more than wishful thinking. It would certainly demean the power and knowledge of Jesus. I believe that when you let the Scripture speak for itself, there can be no other conclusion that Jesus does in fact declare that He is God.
One last passage, which we will go through very quickly because of time. Look with me at John 18:4-8, I’m going to read it with the “hes” because as I have mentioned they are not in the original language. This is the account of the arrest of Jesus. “Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am (he).” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am (he),” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am (he). So, if you seek me, let these men go.””
We see in this passage that John makes it a point to say that when Jesus states “I am” that is what causes them to draw back and fall to the ground. There are those who try to get around this passage by saying that the soldiers are simply stunned that Jesus would identify himself and that they were stumbling around in the dark. This view neither fits the context of the passage, nor does it fit the context of the gospel of John and the way we see the phrase “I am” used.
I believe that it is quite clear that the point is that I fact that Jesus is clearly uttering the words of deity and the majesty and glory of that declaration, cause the soldiers to fall before Him.
Much more could be said about the “I am” statements found in John. But I believe we have clearly seen that Jesus’ use of those two words, demonstrates that He claimed to be God. That He eternity existed as the Son of God.
In closing I once again quote to you John 8:24 “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am (he) you will die in your sins.””
That is a call to faith, a call to eternal life through Jesus Christ. It is call to believe that Jesus Christ was all that He claimed to be. Lord, Saviour, God! It is a call for faith that is sufficient to save. You can believe that Jesus was Messiah, believe that He was prophet, believe that He was a great man of God, and did many wonderful things. But if you your faith stops short of believing that Jesus is the great “I am”, that He is God, Jesus states you will die in your sins.
John 8:24 is a call to repent before Him, and believe that He died for your sins, that He rose from the dead, and that He sits at the right hand of the Father as the eternal Son of God. I pray you have that faith.
LET US PRAY
