From: Bayo Afolaranmi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Dear Beloved,
For the next seven to eight weeks, I would be sharing a serial expository study of the seven great "I AM" sayings of Jesus Christ in the book of St. John with you. I have done the study about five years ago. I AM WHO AM (Part 1) (Exodus 3:13-15; John 8:58) INTRODUCTION Today's study introduces the seven great "I AM" sayings of Jesus Christ in the book of St. John. These sayings and discourses center on the person and deity of Jesus Christ and affirm beyond doubt, the undeniable truth: the deity of Jesus Christ. How do these sayings originate? It is contained in the answer God gave Moses when he seemed to be dodging God's call on Mt. Horeb (Exodus 3). First, he said that he was not worthy of the call (verse 11). When God assured him of His support (verse 12), he gave the second excuse. He asked: "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?" (verse 13). WHAT IS IN A NAME? What is in a name? Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare asked this classic question. In Africa, names often describe the character and the circumstance (s) of one's birth and lineage. The western world also has preference and values to names. The name of a person/thing in the Bible always reveals the circumstance (s) of the person/thing bearing that name, or the beliefs of his/her parents. For examples, Joshua means Jehovah is salvation; Isaiah and Jesus mean Jehovah saves; Nabal means a fool (1 Samuel 25:25) and Barnabas means son of encouragement (Acts 4:36). So Moses did not go too far in asking for the name of the God that spoke to him. After all, God had not revealed His name to anybody before. THE NAME OF GOD God answered Moses' question by telling him, "I AM WHO I AM," or simply, "I AM" (verse 14). This is a word play on the Hebrew word for Yahweh. It has connection with the verbs "to be" and "to exist". Thus God was speaking of Himself as the Self-existent Being. This name expresses two of God's characters - the dependable and faithful God. He desires the full trust of His people (cf. verses. 12, 15). JESUS CHRIST'S APPLICATION OF THIS NAME Jesus Christ applied this name to Himself eight times in the Gospel of St. John. One of such instances is explained here. This instance (8: 58) was started with another instance (in verse 12), which brought about a heated dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees. The dialogue deals with the testimony of Jesus Christ (verses 12-30), the father of the Jews (Abraham or the devil) (verses 31-47), and Jesus' claim about Himself (verses 48-59). The Jews questioned Him about His claim that, "Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my [Jesus] day…" (verse 56). In response, Jesus declared, "…before Abraham was born, I AM!" (verse 58). Grammatically, this sentence is wrong, but theologically, it is right. By this, Jesus claimed His pre-existence and His equality with God that spoke with Moses (cf. Philippians 2: 6). The Jews understood Him and wanted to stone Him for such claim. CONCLUSION Today, the fact still confronts us. Who is Jesus Christ? He is the "I AM WHO I AM," the Self-existent and pre-existent God who deserves our worship not our "stoning." Do you believe this? Are you worshiping Him as God? >From next week, we will discuss these sayings one after the other. Till then. In His service, ========================================== Dear Beloved, I AM WHO I AM (Part 2) I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE (John 6:25-40) INTRODUCTION Why this "I AM" saying? Jesus Christ had fed over 5000 people with a boy's lunch (John 6:1-13). As if it was the sign the people had been waiting for. They wanted to forcefully make Him king (verses 14-15). Therefore they were searching for Him. Jesus Christ's reaction brought about this "I am" saying. THE SEARCH FOR JESUS CHRIST (VERSES 22-25) Were they searching for Jesus to give up their lives to Him on the second day of feeding of over 5000 people or did they have hidden motive? They were searching for Him until "they found Him on the other side of the lake" (verse 25, NIV). Today, some people are trooping into worship centers, but who and what are they looking for? JESUS CHRIST'S REACTION TO THE SEARCH (VERSES 26-27) The people were looking for Jesus Christ because of the miracle only (verse 26). What about the ultimate miracle of salvation? There was no spiritual motivation. They lacked spiritual perception. Why do many people today worship God? Is it not because of the material and financial things that they will get from Him? Jesus Christ then advised that this ought not to be so. The reason is that physical food and material blessings are not everything. They are short-lived and temporal. Nevertheless spiritual food and blessing lead to eternal life. By saying, "Do not work for food that spoils," Jesus Christ was not encouraging laziness. He was pointing out that man is created to a relationship with God before material blessing. He was emphasizing the Scriptures that says "… man does not live on bread alone…" (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4, NIV). THE WORK OF GOD (VERSES 28-29) Hearing this advice, the people mistook the requirement for right standing with God with piety, rather than genuine faith in Jesus Christ. Paul sums this up in Romans 10: 2-4: "For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (NIV). Today people often think that they can earn eternal life. They often forget that salvation is a gift by grace, and not by work (cf Ephesians 2: 5, 8-10). Titus 3:5 states, "[Jesus Christ] saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (NIV). What is the work of God? Jesus Christ gave the only condition of the work of God - just believe in Him, then you serve. This is emphasized in Ephesians 2:8-10, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (NIV). God loves you not on the basis of what you do but on the basis of who He is. REQUEST FOR MIRACULOUS SIGN (VERSES 30-33) The people were miracle-conscious. After the miraculous feeding of more than 5000 people, they could not believe, unless Jesus prove whom He is with more miraculous signs. No wonder, Paul accused them of demanding for miraculous signs in 1 Corinthians1:22. They were like the modern-day people that will say, "seeing is believing." However, for God, the reversed is the case - "If you believe, you will see the glory of God" (John 11:40, NIV; cf 2 Corinthians.5:7). They were expecting Jesus Christ to do something like what God did in feeding the Israelites with manna, but they have forgotten that many people saw and even ate the miraculous manna and yet did not believe. Many would see miracles today and still not believe in God. Nevertheless, in three ways, Jesus Christ corrected their ideas and explained the spiritual implications of the manna: a) God, not Moses, gave the manna (verse 32a); b) God is still giving 'manna' today (i.e. the spiritual manna); and c) the true bread from heaven is Jesus Christ, not manna (verse 33). THE DECLARATION (VERSES 34-40). As the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 needed living water, the people asked for the "true bread" (verse 34). They have not recognized Jesus Christ as the bread from heaven. Jesus Christ therefore declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty" (verse 35). By this declaration, Jesus Christ corrected two more errors in the people's thinking: a) The food He was speaking of refers to a Person, not a commodity. Bread was the essential food in the time of Jesus Christ. "Bread of Life" means bread (i.e. Jesus Christ) that provides life. b) Anyone who has right relationship with Jesus Christ will have everlasting satisfaction. Jesus Christ emphasized this in verses 37-40 & 10:27-29. The believers will have eternal life with Jesus Christ. They will be eternally secured. THE PEOPLE'S REACTION TO THE DECLARATION (VERSES 41-42, 52) In their human reasoning, the people could not believe such declaration. Firstly, they know the man Jesus and even His kinsman. Secondly, how could they eat His flesh? This became a sharp argument among them. Many people today could not believe Jesus Christ because of their wrong and inadequate conception about Him, and even their familiarity with Him. However, Jesus Christ still explained the reality of this declaration about Himself (verses 43-51, 53-58), but the people could not believe Him because of their lack of spiritual perception. This made many people including some of His disciples to discontinue following Him (verses 60, 66). CONCLUSION How is your spiritual appetite after righteousness? The Bread that provides eternal life is Jesus Christ. You do not have to "work" for the Bread. Faith in Him as the Giver of this bread is the only prerequisite, and you will be satisfied forever. Do you believe this? Do not be too familiar with it! Let your familiarity with Jesus results in deep intimacy with Him. In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Note: Remember to send your comments and remarks on this expository study to me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] God bless you!!! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. 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