Tag: I AM

The Great I AM

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A name that God called himself is I AM (YHWH). The Israelites so revered the name of God that they used YHWH when referring to Him as it has no vowels and cannot be pronounced. They felt God’s name was so sacred that they should not utter it. God used the term I AM in reference to himself in Exodus 3:14. God was going to send Moses to confront Pharoah so the people would be released from slavery. Moses was hesitant and one of the problems he foresaw was that the people, the Israelite slaves, would not know him and not believe that he had come to be God’s instrument of release. Exodus 3:14 “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.’” God was proclaiming that He was the self-existent God, God Almighty, the God of their fathers.

Prior to this encounter, scripture refers calling upon the name of the Lord. The patriarchs knew God and worshipped Him and called on Him often. Genesis 4:26 “To Seth (the third son of Adam and Eve) also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” From that time on, the believers called upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 12:8 Abraham called upon the name of the Lord, “From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.” Isaac called upon God, Genesis 26:25 “ So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” The Israelites were familiar with the patriarchs calling upon the name of the Lord and would have recognized God’s name.

In the New Testament, Jesus uses the “I AM” to let us know facets of His character. He tells us He is the bread of life in John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” The door, John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” The connection to the Father, John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The source of God’s light to the world, John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The direction in which you can find God, John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. The caretaker of all believers, John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The source of resurrection power and life eternal, John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” Lastly, Jesus himself identifies with the name I AM from His heavenly Father in John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, our triune God, existed before the creation of the world and are eternal. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know the great I AM personally and call upon His name in worship and prayer!

Linda

Jesus, There is NONE Before You!

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The next section in Chapter 1 of Paul’s letter to the Colossian Christians is title The Supremacy of Christ in my NIV and The Preeminence of Christ in ESV. One of the issues the Colossian church was having was ideas had begun to creep into the church that questioned the authenticity, supremacy and the importance of Christ and His work on the cross. This next section is rich in theology about Christ and gives us truths that are absolute and eternal about Him.

Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Here Paul states that Christ was present, existed before the world was even made, He was with God, is Creator God and He is the glue that holds all things together.

The idea of Jesus as image of the invisible God is also spoken of in Hebrews 1:3 ” He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” Christ was also visible to mankind when He dwelt on earth and revealed the invisible Father too. John 14:9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Jesus was also referred to the ‘first born’ son in all creation. Being God’s one and only Son had certain rights just as first born sons had rights in the ancient world. He would be considered preeminent, first and number 1 in the family heirs. John 1:18 adds understanding to this first born concept, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”

He is creator God in Genesis 1:26 the triune God is spoken of as us, all 3 parts of the God were involved in creation- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” John 1:1-3 states the place of Christ in the world and his involvement in all creation. “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus also said from his own lips in John 8:58 who He was! “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Paul wanted the Colossians, and us too, to know and understand that dealing with Jesus meant you were dealing with God himself. Jesus was the real deal and was not to be taken lightly or belittled in any way. HE IS GOD! Knowing Jesus, we can know the Father. John 14:7 “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Be encouraged by Paul’s words today. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know God the Father who is exactly represented by Jesus the Son and who is fully God, Creator and totally Sovereign over all creation. What a Savior we have in Jesus!

Linda

I AM… the Bread of Life

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I amAll summer I have been writing about God’s names in the Old Testament seeing that God is our refuge, our glorious sword, our King, our provider and so much more. As we enter fall, I want to switch to the New Testament voice of Jesus and who He says He is to us.  He made 7 ‘I am’ statements that are equal in measure with God’s statement to Moses in Exodus 3:14  when he questioned God, asking who shall I say has sent me?  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.’”

Picture the scene that John portrays in John 6.  The crowds were pressing Jesus and asking Him for a sign to show that He was God.  They wanted a tangible sign from Jesus and reminded Him of the manna that God sent to the children of Israel while wandering in the desert.  Jesus told them God had sent them true bread from heaven to give life to john 6 35the world.  Of course, “They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”   Jesus replies with His first of the 7 I AM statements.  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:34-35  Jesus goes on to assure them further, “36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”     Jesus came to show us the Father, to do His will and hold us as His own.  We never need to fear what man can do as God holds us tighter than tight and sees to our needs.  Knowing Jesus brings satisfaction for your spiritual hunger to know God and to be fed by Him.  

Do you allow God to feed you daily from His Word?  Jesus, the very bread of life, is john 1ever present in God’s Word and John even refers to Jesus as the Word in John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”   Jesus is the Word and has the very words of life for us in the Bible.  Read the Word today and let Him feed and nurture you as you seek to know Him.  He will sustain you with pure spiritual food that will always satisfy.   Jesus promises He is the true bread of life that we need for living an authentic life before Him.

Linda