John 8:58-59, Exodus 3:14-15 Jesus never claimed...
John 8:58-59, Exodus 3:14-15 Jesus never claimed...
"Jesus replied, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM. So they took up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus, by mixing with the crowd, concealed Himself and went out of the temple [enclosure]."
"And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you! God said also to Moses, This shall you say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has sent me to you! This is My name forever, and by this name I am to be remembered to all generations."
Ego Eimi - The Greek phrase meaning "I AM"
ἐγώ {eg-o'} a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when emphatic): I, me.
εἰμί {i-mee'} the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic): am, have been, X it is I, was.
I absolutely love these verses because they prove that Jesus does in fact claim to be God. The first sign of a cult is that they seek to take away the deity of Jesus Christ. One of the arguments that I frequently hear them use is that "Jesus never claimed to be God." What? Really? "Oh, yes!" They reply, "Jesus only claimed to be the Son of Man." Well, first of all, if you did a simple word study on Son of Man, you would see from the Old Testament, that that term was only used once to refer to a human; however, I will not get side tracked here...
Jesus most definitely claims to be God. Jesus states in Greek that He is "Ego Eimi" or "I AM". This is a reference back to the very conversation that Moses had with God Himself. Who should I say sent me? And God tells Moses to tell the children of Israel... Tell them that "I AM" sent you! Jesus even ensures that He sets the Jews up for a full understanding by telling them that "before Abraham was born, I AM.". Jesus wanted them to see that He was calling Himself the same God of the Old Testament, of the Torah! He was most certainly claiming to be God Almighty... As One with The Father. I see that this chapter is loaded with at least three other references to the deity of Christ! This one is, however, an unmistakeable reference to Jesus claiming to be God! The most sacred of terms are given. Jesus is claiming to be Yahweh. The name of God Almighty!
"Oh, but the Jews didn't understand Him to have said it that way in the Greek.". Really? It seems to me that they did. It made them so mad that they picked up rocks to stone Him. That they were going to kill Him because of His blasphemy. His blasphemy was of course... Because He was clearly claiming to be GOD!
As a believer, it is so important that I not believe this lie! If Satan can convince me that Jesus is not God, then he has won the battle for my mind. Jesus IS God, and DID claim to be GOD. He does not claim to be "a god" as some cults might state. If I strip Jesus of His deity, I have effectually defeated my faith. My faith must rest comfortably in the name that is above every name, God in flesh... Jesus Christ! I must also remember and lay claim to these verses as a defense of the deity of Christ. The Word of God attests to Who Jesus is! This is such a powerful defense, that the Spirit is impressing that I should hide these verse close to my heart!
"Heavenly Father, I cry out to You. Thank You for revealing Yourself as the great I AM! I place my full faith and confidence in the fact that You came to Earth to become what I am, yet to do what I could not do. Thank You for the beautiful picture of Your love! That You would come to rescue me from my plight! Thank You for the intimacy of our relationship... For remaining with me as a personal God Who can be experienced daily through Your Spirit. Thank You for the picture of One God in three. I humbly approach You as so many did before me... through the name that is above all names, Jesus, the Great I AM, Amen!"
Created 12 months ago
