Bible Study Series - The 7 'I AM' Statements of Christ
In the Old Testament, God the Father called Himself ‘I AM THAT I AM’ (Exodus 3: 13,14) to identify Himself to the Israelites. Christ used the phrase ‘I AM’, 7 times in the Gospel of John. This is one of the reasons that the Jewish religious leaders were upset with Him. By using this phrase to describe Himself, Christ was equating Himself with God the Father. For the Jewish people, this was considered blasphemy. But, they should have realized based on their own Scriptures that Christ had come as the Messiah and was in fact equal to God the Father.
Exodus 3:13,14 - Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
Today, we’ll discuss the first two ‘I AM’ statements of Christ.
I Am the Bread of Life (John 6:35)
JOHN 6:35 - And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
The verse above shows the first ‘I AM’ statement which Christ said in the Gospel of John. To understand the context of this verse, we need to understand the setting. The setting here is the day after Christ did the miracle of feeding the 5,000. A multitude had gathered on the other side of the sea to see Jesus, but He scolds them. He tells them that they were not really there because they understood who He was, but because they were fed the day before.
In John 6:27, Christ reminds them not to strive for the things that can perish, but to look forward to the things that are eternal. They asked Jesus to show them more works and signs, just like the Israelites received manna from heaven to eat. Christ’s response was that God is the one who provided the true bread from heaven. He also said that the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Christ used this illustration to talk about Himself and proclaimed the first ‘I AM’ statement that He is the bread of life.
By saying this, Christ is proclaiming that He is essential for life, specifically eternal life. He was trying to get the multitude to stop thinking in terms of earthly needs, but to focus on their spiritual needs. Christ is showing that He is essential for Salvation. Not that He is one of the sources of Salvation, but the only way to obtain eternal life.
How does this apply to us?
For us, this verse is a reminder that Christ is our anchor. He is the One that we need to seek first. We should not be so entangled in the rewards of this world, but strive to receive rewards in heaven. This does not stop with just accepting Christ as our Savior. We must have Christ in every aspect of our lives and seek to do His will wholeheartedly.
I Am the Light of the World (John 8:12)
JOHN 8:12 - Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
This chapter begins with the Jews bringing a woman caught in adultery to Christ to test Him. Since the Old Testament law stated that those who were charged with adultery needed to be stoned, the Jewish leaders asked Christ what His opinion was on the matter. They were hoping to trap Him into saying something that went against the Scripture.
Christ’s response was to write on the ground and say the following:
JOHN 8:7 - “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
The Jews were convicted in their hearts and turned away from the woman. When only Christ and the woman were left, He asks her if anyone was left to condemn her and she says that there is no one. Christ responds by saying He would not condemn her either and charged her to sin no more. After this encounter, Christ utters the next ‘I AM’ statement.
By stating that He is the light of the world, Christ proclaims that He is the source of spiritual light and truth for man. In the same way that a flashlight removes the darkness from our path, the light of Christ removes the darkness of sin. Christ being the light of the world means that we cannot hide any sins from Him. In the case of the adulterous woman, she was caught in sin. But the others who were planning to stone her also had sins which their conscience pricked them with when Christ spoke to them. The world has no light of its own, Christ is that light. He brings salvation and eternal life to those who receive Him.
How does this apply to us?
This verse shows us that if we follow Christ, we cannot walk in darkness. We have His light in us and therefore are not controlled by sin and darkness. That does not mean that we will never sin. Because we live in the flesh, it can happen. But, walking in the light of Christ means that we should not have a pattern of lifestyle of sin. In the same way that the pillar of fire and cloud guided the Israelites in their wilderness journey, the light of Christ guides us to salvation and to a successful and God-pleasing Christian life.
The Series continues with the rest of the ‘I AM’ Statements of Christ
