Immanuel or Emmanuel or Imanu'el; Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל
אֵל (El - God) and עִמָּנוּ (Immānū - with us)
The "I Am" Claims of Jesus in John
People who know God trust Him. And Christmas is a time that we are reminded again that God is with us as the Son of God who came 2000 years ago to dwell among us to reveal the character and greatness of God to us. And the Holy Spirit now dwell in those of us who believe and accept Jesus as Lord and savior.
The aim of my message today is to build up and bring forth joy in our faith in Christ. It is an honor that I've been asked to give the message today and I had prayed and asked God what that message should be. I was given the impression to give a message to remind ourselves on things that will stir up our faith and trust in God, with all our heart, soul and mind. The Lord will certainly strengthen our confidence in Him when we know Him more and more.
Let's pray. Dearest Father, I ask that You give us complete knowledge of Your will and to give us spiritual wisdom and understanding. That the way we live will always honors and pleases You, and our lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, we will grow as we learn to know You better and better. We also pray that we will be strengthened with all Your glorious power so that we will have all the endurance and patience we need. May we be filled with joy, always thanking You Father. That You have enabled us to share in the inheritance that belongs to Your people, who live in the light. (Colossians 1)
I will start with Exo. 3:10-15 of the Old Testament.
10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt."
11But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."
13Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
15God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.'
"This is My name forever, the name you shall call Me from generation to generation.
The apostles knew who Christ is, they knew Him well:
Paul was aware that, "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God." (Col 1:15)
John knew that "He existed in the beginning with God." (John 1:2)
Peter urges us that "you must worship Christ as Lord of your life." (1Peter 3:15) and more.
Many times in the bible and particularly in the Gospel of John, Jesus claims to be the great "I am". The "I am" statements reinforce that Jesus is indeed Lord and God.
John 6:35;
32Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34"Sir," they said, "always give us this bread."
35Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.
36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. 39And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."
In Jesus, we will not go through spiritual hunger and thirst again. The emptiness of our hearts will be filled.
John 8:12;
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
13The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."
14Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16But if I do judge, My decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me. 17In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18I am one who testifies for Myself; My other witness is the Father, who sent Me."
19Then they asked him, "Where is your father?"
"You do not know Me or My Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
Are some you or friends and relatives wandering around in spiritual darkness following blind religious priest or master? Jesus is the only light that will bring us into the holy presence God's. All other ways are untrustworthy and in fact false or evil in nature. They will only lead you into misery, eternal darkness and hell.
John 8:24;
23But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am He, you will indeed die in your sins."
Jesus who is God incarnated, redeemed us from our sin through death on the cross; it is by His grace alone that our sins are forgiven.
John 8:58;
54Jesus replied, "If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies Me. 55Though you do not know Mim, I know Mim. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and obey His word. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; he saw it and was glad."
57"You are not yet fifty years old," they said to Him, "and You have seen Abraham!"
58"Very truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
'I am' is used here to describe Christ's preexistent life even before Abraham's time. He is truly from the beginning in the triune God.
John 10:9;
7Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus is the only entrance into eternal and abundant life. All other doors lead to the wrong paths and to eternal damnation.
John 10:11;
11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14"I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me— 15just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father."
All of us are like wandering lost lambs caught in the briars of sin. There are a lot of false and cunning shepherds herding up stray sheep for the slaughter. Jesus is the only Good Shepherd who will take you by the hand and led you into the Father's presence and give you His nourishment.
John 10:36;
36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? 37Do not believe Me unless I do the works of my Father. 38But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."
Here Jesus clearly said that He is God's Son, set apart and send into the world to rescue us.
John 11:25;
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give You whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; 26and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she replied, "I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
Jesus is able to give everlasting life. He didn't just tell us how we could find everlasting life. He rose from the dead to prove it. In fact, Jesus Christ's resurrection is the undisputable evidence that He is the great I AM THAT I AM. He died, was buried, and three days later rose from the dead. Because He is alive, He can promise us the resurrection life if we only believe.
John 14:6;
5Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we don't know where You are going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him."
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9Jesus 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'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work.
No other world religious leader, such as Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and many others ever made this claim. God has made a way into His kingdom through the way of His son.
And finally I'll end with John 15:5.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. 6If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.
Only God can claim to sustain our spiritual life because He is the True Vine and the Giver of life. Our faith journey and everything we do begin and end with Him. Our works and lives have no meaning and purpose without God, for our journey has no destiny.
God Has Drawn Near to Us in Christ Jesus
One final implication of this magnificent revelation of I AM WHO I AM, is that our infinite, absolute, self-determining God has drawn near to us in Jesus Christ. Jesus display and took up all the majestic truth of the name of God. He wrapped it in the humility of servant hood, offered Himself up as a sacrifice to atone our sins, and made a way for us to return to God our Father.
Yes, in Christ we who are born of God have the privilege of knowing Yahweh as our Father.
Jesus is God, the great I AM WHO I AM! And we who know Him shall put our trust in Him alone. He is the full revelation of God to man. God with us, Hallelujah!
Praying God's Word
Let's close in prayer. Dearest Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from Your glorious unlimited resources You will empower us with inner strength through Your Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in our hearts as we trust in Him. That our roots will grow down into God's love to keep us strong. And may we have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. May we experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. That we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You. (Ephesians 3) Amen!
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