THE SEVEN “I AM” SAYINGS OF JESUS
When Moses met with God by the burning bush he asked the Lord a question:
“Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
(Exodus 3:13-14)
To the Hebrew people the statement “I AM” became a very holy phrase. They would refuse to say this word as they believed the Name of God was too holy to repeat.
What does it mean?
It is the expression of what God is, the sum of His being and the greatest of all His names.
A commentator paraphrases the verse: "If Israel shall ask: What are the nature and attributes of Him who hath sent thee to bring us out of Egypt? tell them it is the eternal, self-existent, immutable Being who only can say that He always will be what He always has been.”
The Lord was saying, “Let Israel know this, I AM hath sent me unto you. I am, and there is none else besides me. All else have their being from Me and are wholly dependent upon Me”
The attributes of God
This is His name: Jehovah (YHVH).
His name shows us a number of things:
(1) He is self-existent: He has his being of Himself. In one sense God is continually and eternally recreating Himself. And yet in another He is always the same. He is ever youthful and yet He is the “Ancient of Days.”
(2) That He is eternal and unchangeable, (immutable) and His character is always the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
(3) That He is incomprehensible. We cannot by searching find Him out.
(4) That he is faithful and true to all his promises, unchangeable in his word as well as in his nature.
Whenever Jesus used this Name some of His hearers would be scandalized and others would be confused. It was a Name which was simply not used by them, because it was so holy. Only God would use it. But Jesus did so many other things which confused or offended His hearers.
We, however, must not be in any way limited in the use of this name. After all the Name Jesus means “Jehovah saves”. Every time we say the Name of Jesus we are using the Name Jehovah and all that it means. And then the Name is supported by all that the Kingdom of heaven is: it is irresistible.
God’s covenant names
In the Old Testament we see that God calls Himself by seven covenant Names..
Jehovah Jireh meaning the Lord my provider.
Genesis 22:13-14 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen
The Lord never asks us to do anything without making the provision. If He gives us the vision He will always give us the provision. Often we do not see clearly how this provision has been made so we use other means. If we were to slow down we might find that we can do it His way and therefore be more successful. It is valueless just to talk about waiting on God we have to actually do it.
However, there have been those who have relied entirely on the Lord. St Francis of Assisi did not make himself poor because he had a poverty mentality. He did so because he wanted to prove that God could provide everything he needed. In the context of the day Francis lived very well indeed. When we read of the remarkable provision made for George Muller and Hudson Taylor we cannot but be impressed.
In the case of Abraham, the Lord even provided that which was necessary for sacrifice. Abraham had even prophesied concerning this:
“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” (Genesis 22:7-8)
Interestingly the animal provided was not a lamb, but a ram. The ram was a picture of the coming Lamb of God who would be the best provision ever made for the needs of mankind. Notice how good the picture is.. the ram was caught in a thicket - he was crowned with thorns.
Jehovah Rohi meaning the Lord is my Shepherd.
Psalms 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Peter tells us:
Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. (I Peter 5:7 Living Bible).
The Lord cares for us as the Good Shepherd. That means He leads, guards and provides for us. He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives.
Jehovah Shalom meaning the Lord is my peace.
Judges 6:23-24 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah Shalom:
Jesus is called the Prince of peace. He is the prince who is peace. He is our peace. So often Paul begins and concludes his epistles with words like “grace and peace”. That is because Jesus Christ is our grace and peace. They are not things provided by God, they are descriptions of who God is. They tell us what Jesus is like. And He tells us what God is like.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
We need to learn the way of peace because it is the way which is Jesus. Peace is certainly not an absence of war for us. We are at war against Satan, but we fight it from a very strong position of being at peace with God, and from the position of Jesus having already won the battle.
We cannot really understand this peace because it is the person of Jesus in our lives. Really it is trusting God, by faith, that what He has achieved on our behalf is sufficient.
Jehovah Nissi meaning the Lord is my banner or my conqueror.
Exodus 17:15-16 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah nissi: For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
The spiritual battle we participate in is the most peculiar in the history of creation. It is because the battle is already won.
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)
The Simple English Bible describes it thus:
After God stripped away the rulers and authorities, He showed this openly, using the cross to show His victory over them
When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.(Deuteronomy 20:1)
for the battle is not yours, but God’s. (2 Chronicles 20:15)
David’s covenant words
David the shepherd boy remembered these words when he went to fight the giant:
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands. (1 Samuel 17:46-47)
David was positive in what He said, but it was not idle words or empty words.
It is very interesting that Goliath also believed in positive confession, for he said:
“Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.” (1 Samuel 17:44)
Goliath’s empty words
But Goliath had no covenant with his gods. They were demons who ultimately would want to destroy him as well as David. When David spoke he spoke from the covenant he had with the Lord:
Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands. (1Samuel 17:45-47)
The title “Lord of Hosts” (Jehovah Sabaoth) is the Lord’s military rank. David was saying that it was Almighty God who was going to defeat the Philistines. All God had needed was for somebody, other than Himself, to remember the covenant. Interestingly, because David was in covenant with God we can be assured that He was wearing God’s armour. That is why he did not need Saul’s armour. Perhaps, as David picked up those five stones, he was reminding himself of the five pieces of armour he should be putting on. And those pieces of armour are not pieces at all: they are God Himself. He is our shield and buckler.
Jehovah Tsidkenu is the Lord our Righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (1 Corinthians 1:30)
This is the great exchange:
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
What actually happened and how is beyond our grasp and understanding. However, we who were totally sinful were able to change places with the One who was totally righteous.
This may not, indeed does not, seem fair, but it is God’s idea and plan. He regards it as justice. That is what really matters. The price has been paid for our sin and God says that it is perfectly in order.
Jehovah Shammah meaning the Lord is there (or the Lord is here)
God is always with you
Ezekiel 48:35 and the name of the city from that day shall be, the Lord is there.
The Hebrew writer reminds us of the promise of God. Many seem to think that the Lord comes and goes. However, His promise is sure - He is always with us:
“for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5b)
This is a quote from the Old Testament that tells us that this is a covenant promise. For us we know that the promise is certain because the covenant is signed with the blood of Jesus.
(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. (Deuteronomy 4:31)
The Lord simply cannot forget the covenant because the promise not to leave us is a promise made to Jesus, and through Jesus. If God failed to keep His word then He would cease to be God!
It is also interesting that the promise has a five-fold emphasis. In English it makes no technical sense. However, it makes great spiritual sense: I will never, never, never, never, never leave you.
Jehovah Rapha meaning the Lord who heals.
Healing in His name
Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
The children of Israel had certain demands laid upon them, commandments they had to keep. When they broke the Law they were separated from the promises of God and had to pay a high price to restore that fellowship. For us it is different. We do not earn the blessing; we receive it by faith. Jesus has already earned the blessing for us. It is our responsibility to appropriate that blessing. When Jesus took the dreadful scourging it was so that we could live life without the continuous problems of sickness cursing us.
When you add up these redemptive Names of Jehovah all you get is the Name Jesus. And the Name of Jesus is powerful:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11)
It never matters what the name of the problem is.. it is always inferior to the Name of Jesus. When we have difficulties we should find out what to call it, and then remind both it, and ourselves that it has to bow the knee.
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Eating together was always an important event in Jewish culture. It was especially used to show two things:
(i) That those eating together were in fellowship.
(ii) That the one giving the dinner had completely forgiven the guest any past failings. Jesus was highly criticised because He ate with publicans and sinners. (Luke 15:1) That was because the religious leaders did not like Him showing that He had forgiven them and was in fellowship with them.
Jesus offers us spiritual food - the Word of God which contains the life of God. He said, quoting the Old Testament:
“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
Jesus explained to them that this food was eternal but that it does need our proper response to the claims that He makes on our lives.
John 6:48-51 I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
When Moses led the children of Israel through the wilderness they were fed with a supernatural bread (manna) supplied by God. It was a picture of the coming “Bread of Life” Jesus Christ who would be available to those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Of course, the teaching was difficult to receive for a number of reasons..
Religious leaders hated it
This was because Jesus was claiming to be both the Messiah and also the Son of God. Anyone who claimed to be the Son of God was claiming to be God. They regarded Jesus as a blasphemer and failed to listen to Him because they were too busy trying to find a way to catch Him out and thus destroy Him.
It demanded a commitment
Many people were following Jesus simply because He was providing them with temporary needs. He had said to them early on that same morning:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. (John 6:26)
It is still the same today when it comes to commitment. We so often want all the good things which the Lord will provide for us, but the demands made upon us are treated lightly. Healing meetings are well attended, but prayer meetings are nearly empty. (That may also say something about the lack of life in the prayer meetings!) People want the results of the Word, but they do not want to put the Word into practice in their own lives. They would rather live off the faith of others. But the epistle of James says
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. (James 1:22-24)
The Living Bible puts it this way:
And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. So don’t fool yourselves.
For if a person just listens and doesn’t obey, he is like a man looking at his face in a mirror; as soon as he walks away, he can’t see himself anymore or remember what he looks like.
We have to be active to receive all that God has provided for us. It is no good having the answer available and not doing anything to use it. God has given us a gift - FAITH - but we still have to use it to enjoy the results. If your friend gave you tickets for a football match, or the theatre, you still have to turn up at the right time to be able to enjoy his gift properly.
“It’s no longer I that live, it’s Christ who lives in me.”
John 6:53-58 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever
This was the controversial statement which put so many believers off. They became unbelieving believers. It is so easy for us to come to Jesus simply to have our needs met, but it does not seem so good when you know that He is asking for something from us.. a commitment.
Jesus was asking us to allow His life to totally permeate ours. The saying, “You are what you eat” is so true when it comes to spiritual things. It is also true when it comes to the sort of things we consume. Because we are a consumer society it is all too easy to use the Lord as just another provider of our wants.
I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus came to illuminate the world regarding the truth about God. Anything else is a false light and therefore it is really darkness. It may give the appearance of light but it is manufactured to deceive us into believing that something else will be alright, and that God is not really bothered. This is so untrue. The devil has come as an angel of light to give us another gospel. He will provide something which makes sense to each of us unless we turn back to the Word and find out what God is really saying.
Jesus has given us light because He is the light. When we expose things (everything and anything) to that light we will soon discover if it has any truth in it.
We are the light
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
But Jesus did not only say that He was the light of the world. He reckoned that we who have been so exposed to that light are now the light. His light has so indwelt us that we have become the light.
This is evidenced in the fact that we have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. God has come to dwell among His people already.
John 1: 4-5 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
When Jesus came to minister on the earth we know that He was unpopular because He did not fit in with the pattern of the religious leaders of the day. They were full of fear that He would make trouble for them, not realising that it is only without Him that you can have eternal trouble.
I AM THE DOOR
John 10:7-9 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Jesus is the doorway into the best place. What He has provided for us is always the best. He lavishes good upon us, because that is all that heaven has to offer.
When Jesus said that the way was narrow, he did not mean that we would spend our lives walking a tightrope. The door is human size, because it is Jesus. He is the only doorway into the throne room of God. We no longer need to knock for the door is ever open for us. This is why we can come boldly to the throne of grace.
Of course, we don’t really have to come to the throne because spiritually speaking we are already sitting on the throne.
The Jewish people were, of course, aware of both the tabernacle and the temple. When Jesus said these words, as well as words said later in John 14:6, the disciples would have recognised that Jesus was talking about entering into God’s presence.
I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
John 10:11-15 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep. The hireling flees, because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
This statement has to be coupled with Jesus’ other words when He responded to a person who called Him “good Master.” “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God:” (Matthew 19:17)
If Jesus calls God the only GOOD and then calls Himself the GOOD Shepherd then we can safely assume that He is less than subtly claiming that He Himself is God.
The best example of the Lord as the Good Shepherd can be found in Psalm 23. Although David recognised the Lord as Shepherd he was really being prophetic and was talking about how things stand now, in this dispensation. A brief look at the Psalm will show us a lot:
The Lord is my shepherd;
He claims ownership of me; but in a strange way I also claim ownership of Him. He is mine. This is covenantal relationship. He cares for me, but likewise I CARE FOR HIM.
The Lord does not want us to remain as sheep all the time. He wants, and even needs us to grow up and become warriors. The trouble with sheep is that they are very stupid. They rely on another for everything. At first glance that sounds like what we should be. However, the scriptures instruct us to grow up, to become mature in the things of God, and to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
He wants to both be our shepherd, but also to be our general. He wants to continue to care for us, but He also knows that if we are not available for the battle then we will be in big trouble. The devil can just come in and plunder our goods, and hurt us. If we are ready for the battle then it is us who go into the enemies camp and make him miserable.
I shall not want.
This means that with Him my needs are met. If I am living in a situation of continuous want it means that I am rebelling in some way and cutting myself off from the benefits which God has provided. The Living Bible says, “Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need! But I have to use that which is given.
The Jerusalem Bible puts it like this: Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
I shall not be in want sounds like a good idea. In fact it says “I am not in want.” It is in the present tense.
Some may ask why they are in need when this is such a strong statement which is a fact. I believe it is because the Lord HAS provided our needs, but we are ignorant of how to pick them up and go with them. We have failed to live by faith. God holds out the blessing, but we just look at the Word and don’t believe it. It was the same when Paul made his promise to the Philippians:
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (4:19).
This was a statement made in the present imperative tense.. My God supplies.. The word “shall” isn’t there.
It is simply a case of trust. Do we believe God or do we believe something else like our feelings? Even physical circumstances are irrelevant when it comes to believing the Word of God. We are not to be unrealistic but we do need to remember that His word is above all else. We are stewards of what God has provided, and where practically possible we must always do our part, because it has been said, “Living by faith does not mean: quit thy job!”
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
It is the Lord who has given me rest. Why should I trouble myself by striving when there is no need to. God has allowed me to enter into His rest by what Jesus did at the cross of Calvary:
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10)
One of the biggest failings for some of us is that we believe that Christianity is all about the effort we make to please the Lord. You pleased the Lord when you showed Him that you had belief in His Word and trusted Him with your life. You were saying that what He had done was sufficient. Paul reminded His readers that they began in the spirit (they began in faith) so why were they trying to continue in the flesh (their own efforts)?
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Jesus said “ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” “Matthew 11:28)
He wants us to be at peace. It is His gift to us. We may have rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being, but we decide when they are to be used. We ourselves are at peace. We have that peace with God as a gift. He declares us to be His children, and He has no problem with us. He then gives us the peace we need to live in victory in this life.
He restoreth my soul:
He provides that which will refresh my mind, and it is the Word of God. In this dispensation the onus is on us to restore our own souls by renewing our minds with God’s Word. We do need to make ourselves available to His Word, so that it can do its work in our lives.
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Jesus could only lead us in the paths of righteousness because He is our righteousness:
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Corinthians 1:30)
Those of us who think that the Lord could cause us damage need to think again. Because the path He leads us in is right it is also safe. We are eternally safe because the work of Calvary is complete.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
This is not our death, here. The valley of the shadow of death could be the death which Jesus already died for us. Or, it could be the death of our enemy, because it was the death for David’s enemy, Goliath. What we do know is that with the Lord we are totally safe.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
The table is a table of blessing. For the sheep it was the place where they could enjoy the finest pasture . They were safe from their watching enemy because the shepherd would have built a ditch around them so that they could not leave and the enemy could not cross over to them. It is the banqueting table where we feast on the life of God. Eating with the Lord shows us that we are both forgiven and in fellowship with Him. In Hebrew thought eating together is always a sign of forgiveness and fellowship.
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
The anointing is God on human flesh. The Holy Spirit’s work in the life of human is two-fold: He comes into us and changes us in our character. And He comes upon us to empower us to do the things which Jesus instructed us to do.
A believer should minister to the world out of the overflow of God’s blessings in his own life. We must insure that we are not ministering from a dry well but one which is a spring up as a well bringing Eternal life into the experience of others.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
And because today is one of the days of your life you ought to let that goodness and mercy overtake you and bless you. A lot of us only acknowledge the second part of this verse. We believe heaven will be wonderful, but we are not prepared to have a wonderful life in the here and now.
I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Jesus was, and is, the giver of life because He is life itself. It is wrong to think of life without Jesus as life because it is impossible. Life without Jesus is merely existence. It is hopeless and a devastating experience to have been on this earth without God. The bible describes life without God as vanity. That means it is a total waste, an absolute waste.
However, life with Jesus is something wonderfully different. We cannot begin to describe it. All the superlatives in the world do not help us. But, some of us are not experiencing what we should. We ask ourselves what difference has there been since we asked Jesus into our lives. I have to say that the answer to that is how quickly we take our eyes away from heaven and eternal things.
A man in Heaven
The New Testament believers were so excited because they KNEW that there was a MAN in heaven whose Name was Jesus. It was His resurrection and ascension into heaven which they held before them. They were thankful for the cross, because they knew that it was there that atonement for sin was made at a very high price. But they were even more excited that there was now a man who had been accepted into God’s throne room and He would be the first of many.
It is obvious to me that we have been too involved in the temporal things, and that does not open the truths of eternity to us. We tend to use worldly answers to eternal problems and wonder why they do not work too well.
I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
John 14:6-7 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
The disciples listening to Jesus would have been familiar with these terms because they were in common spiritual usage. The tabernacle which served many purposes was primarily a picture of the coming work of Christ. The doorway into the tabernacle was “THE WAY”. The doorway into the Holy Place was called “THE TRUTH” and the doorway into the Holy of Holies was called “THE LIFE”. Jesus was saying something which to us is obvious. He is the true temple of God. (We, have now become the true temple of God). In Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
According to Paul writing to the Hebrews Jesus is the effulgence of God’s glory. We can say that God is in fact His own glory. After all, how could something He has be greater than the person He is. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father. He was saying that He was so like His Father their could be no doubt that He was God incarnate. Paul also says that Jesus, the Son of God is God’s final message to mankind. (See Hebrews 1:1-2 New English Bible)
I AM THE VINE
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Jesus is the true vine for in Him only is there fruitful eternal life.
Jesus was saying that the Father deals with the vine to make it strong. That includes Jesus Himself. The interesting thing about the vine is that many of us forget exactly what it is. I have heard famous preachers talk of the branches as if Jesus was speaking of an oak or elm tree.
But Jesus was talking about the vine. And in the vine there is no trunk. It is all branches. So, when we think of Jesus being the vine and us being the branches we should remember that they are one and the same thing. Jesus could have said, “I am the vine, you are the vine. I am the branches, you are the branches.” When we are unproductive we could say that Jesus is unproductive. However, too many of us then force the issue. We think that God is impressed by our self-effort. He is not.
We must allow Christ to live through us. We must allow it to be His work that is going on and not something we have manufactured. To know what He wants from us requires us to be available to Him.
John 15:3-5 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 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 abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Jesus reiterates it here. Without Him anything we do is valueless.
When one considers the vine, we have to think about what it is there to produce. Of course, it produces grapes. In Israel it produces red grapes. Red grapes are useful especially in the making of wine. For a Christian wine is extremely significant. It symbolises at least 2 things:
(i) The Joy which the Holy Spirit himself brings because it is His life which now abides in us. The old chorus, “He has given me the wine to make my heart rejoice” was not speaking of alcoholic beverages. It was talking of the precious and glorious Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts as we have become His temple.
(ii) The blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Jesus was only fruitful because He gave His life. The bible says:
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood” Leviticus 17:11.
His blood is pictured by wine in the communion service because when we share this meal we are, spiritually speaking, feasting on the resurrection life of Jesus Christ because His blood was a satisfactory sacrifice for our sins.
