'Before Abraham was, I AM' – John 8:58
Proof 1 | The Deity of Christ
There are exactly 40 times in the Greek New Testament Scriptures where God speaks the words 'EGO EIMI' (I AM).
These 40 instances are distributed amongst the books of the New Testament as follows:
|
Matthew |
3 |
|
Mark |
3 |
|
Luke |
3 |
|
John |
23 |
|
Acts |
4 |
|
Apocalypse |
4 |
3 + 3 + 3 + 23+ 4 + 4 = 40
The Christological significance of the words ‘I AM’ is seen in the Old Testament in Exodus 3:14.
Exodus Three (Septuagint)
11 And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and that I should bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt? 12 And God spoke to Moses, saying, I will be with thee, and this shall be the sign to thee that I shall send thee forth,-- when thou bringest out My people out of Egypt, then ye shall serve God in this mountain. 13 And Moses said to God, Behold, I shall go forth to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of our fathers has sent me to you; and they will ask me, What is His Name? What shall I say to them? 14 And God spoke to Moses, saying, I - AM - THE - BEING (EGO - EIMI - O - ON); and He said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you. 15 And God said again to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, The Lord God of our fathers, [The] God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is My Name for ever, and My memorial to generations of generations.
Our point of reference is always Greek - the language of the New Testament Scriptures and that of the Church’s Old Testament Scriptures (Septuagint). The words ‘THE BEING’ is to be understood in the context of ‘THE ONE WHO IS’ : Thus I – AM - THE – ONE WHO IS
or I – AM - THE – ONE WHO IS BEING
Exodus 3:14 (Greek) corresponds to Revelation 1:8.
The same four words : EGO EIMI O ON appear in both verses.
εγω ειμι (EGO EIMI) το α και το ω λεγει κυριος ο θεος ο ων (O ON) και ο ην και ο ερχομενος ο παντοκρατωρ. - Apocalypse 1:8.
EGO - EIMI to alpha kai to omega legei kurios o theos O - ON kai o en kai o erchomenos o pantokrator
I - AM The Alpha and The Omega, saith The Lord God, THE – ONE WHO IS, and Which Was, and Which Is To Come, The Almighty. – Apocalypse 1:8
Some particularly interesting instances of ‘I AM’ which are found only in the Gospel of John and exemplify their Theological and Christological significance are as follows:
'Before Abraham was, I AM' – John 8:58
‘Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I AM’. John 13:19
'I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM, ye shall die in your sins.' John 8:24
'Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up The Son of man, then shall ye know that I AM ..’ John 8:28
'As soon then as He had said unto them, I AM, they went backward, and fell to the ground.' John 18:6
We may compare these with the following verses which are also unique to John’s corpus where Christ says
I AM :
The Door – John 10:7, John 10:9
The Good Shepherd – John 10:11, John 10:14
The Resurrection, the Life – John 11:25
The Way, The Truth, The Life – John 14:6
The True Vine – John 15:1
The Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and The Ending - Apocalypse 1:8
The First and The Last - Apocalypse 1:17
The Root and The Offspring of David, and The Bright and Morning Star. - Apocalypse 22:16
Note: For comparison purposes the Hebrew words spoken in Exodus 3:14 is ’eh-yeh (I AM) - ’ă-šer (That) - ’eh-yeh (I AM). This is the source of the etymology of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) which is the Name of God used in the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures. The transition from the Tetragrammaton (Hebrew) to the word KYRIOS (Greek for ‘Lord’) is one of the most theologically profound textual changes from the Hebrew Old Testament to the Greek Old Testament. The New Testament Holy Scriptures follows the same convention as the Septuagint and every instance of the Tetragrammaton is rendered as KYRIOS in the New Testament – the best example of this is ‘The Lord said to my Lord..’. Christians thus do not use the Hebrew YHWH, rather the Tetragrammaton now corresponds to I C X C (I-ota / S-igma / C-hi / S-igma) since The Name of the Lord is revealed as The Name Jesus Christ (IesouS XristoS) which is The Name above all names.
Proof 1 (IA)
The Deity of Christ | ‘EGO EIMI’ (I AM) | 40 instances
1. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good courage; [I AM 1]; fear not. Matthew 14:27
2. [I AM 2] The God of Abraham, and The God of Isaac, and The God of Jacob? God is not The God of the dead, but of the living. Matthew 22:32
3. For many shall come in My Name, saying, [I AM 3] The Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:5
4. For they all saw Him, and were troubled. And immediately He talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: [I AM 4]; fear not. Mark 6:50
5. For many shall come in My Name, saying, [I AM 5] ~; and shall deceive many. Mark 13:6
6. And Jesus said, [I AM 6]: and ye shall see The Son of man sitting on The Right of Power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven. Mark 14:62
7. And He said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My Name, saying, [I AM 7] ~; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. Luke 21:8
8. Then said they all, Art Thou then The Son of God? And He said unto them, Ye say that [I AM 8]. Luke 22:70
9. Behold My Hands and My Feet, that [I AM 9]: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have. Luke 24:39
John (23 instances)
10. Jesus saith unto her, [I AM 10] ~ that speak unto thee. John 4:26
11. But He saith unto them, [I AM 11]; fear not. John 6:20
12. And Jesus said unto them, [I AM 12] The Bread of Life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. John 6:35
13. The Jews then murmured at Him, because He said, [I AM 13] The Bread which came down from The Heaven. John 6:41
14. [I AM 14] The Bread of Life. John 6:48
15. [I AM 15] The Living Bread which came down from The 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. John 6:51
16. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, [I AM 16] The Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life. John 8:12
17. [I AM 17] One that bear witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of me. John 8:18
18. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that [I AM 18] ~, ye shall die in your sins. John 8:24
19. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up The Son of man, then shall ye know that [I AM 19] ~, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. John 8:28
20. Jesus said unto them, Amin, Amin, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, [I AM 20]. John 8:58
21. Then said Jesus unto them again, Amin, Amin, I say unto you, [I AM 21] The Door of the sheep. John 10:7
22. [I AM 22] The Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9
23. [I AM 23] The Good Shepherd: The Good Shepherd giveth His Life for the sheep. John 10:11
24. [I AM 24] The Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. John 10:14
25. Jesus said unto her, [I AM 25] The Resurrection, and The Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25
26. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that [I AM 26] ~. John 13:19
27. Jesus saith unto Him, [I AM 27] The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto The Father, but by Me. John 14:6
28. [I AM 28] The True Vine, and My Father is The Husbandman. John 15:1
29. [I AM 29] 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. John 15:5
30. They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, [I AM 30] ~. And Judas also, which betrayed Him, stood with them. John 18:5
31. As soon then as He had said unto them, [I AM 31] ~, they went backward, and fell to the ground. John 18:6
32. Jesus answered, I have told you that [I AM 32] ~: if therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way: John 18:8
33. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, [I AM 33] Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Acts 9:5
34. For [I AM 34] with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. Acts 18:10
35. And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, [I AM 35] Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. Acts 22:8
36. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, [I AM 36] Jesus whom thou persecutest. Acts 26:15
37. [I AM 37] Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord God, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Apocalypse 1:8
38. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; [I AM 38] The First and The Last: Apocalypse 1:17
39. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that [I AM 39] ~ which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Apocalypse 2:23
40. I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in The Churches. [I AM 40] The Root and The Offspring of David, and The Bright and Morning Star. Apocalypse 22:16