I Am The Bread Of Life
Jesus said this shortly after He had fed the five thousand and the people wanted more free food. But Jesus didnt want to keep filling their stomachs. He wanted them to see that physical food only satisfied hunger temporarily, but He was the One who could satisfy them spiritually. He was saying He is the bread that provides life.
Manna satisfied the physical needs of the Israelites in the wilderness, but only for a while. Christ satisfies our spiritual needs forever. Those who believe in Jesus have life. The manna in the wilderness satisfied temporary hunger and those who ate of it eventually died. Jesus provides the bread of life that leads to life everlasting.
What Does ‘i Am Who I Am’ Mean In The Bible
When God said, I AM WHO I AM, repeating I AM twice, He is stating His name, YahwehHis name forever. God was in effect, saying, He is. Period.
He is stating He is the Eternal One who has no beginning or end. He is the really real, the ultimate realityall reality is according to His will. Because He is Truth, His truth is absolute. I AM speaks to His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience in and for all time. God is constant, and is in the past, the present, and the future. This baffles us because we live in a timeline of life, but God transcends all earthy patterns. Because He is God, there are many things about Him that will never be understandable, even when we reach glory. And thats okay because He is God!
I Am The Good Shepherd
With this statement, Jesus described His sacrificial love for His people. He was letting the Israelites know that, unlike a hired man who will run and leave a flock unprotected in order to save his own life when the wolf threatens the sheep, He will not abandon His sheep, but will keep watch over His people. In John 10:15-16, Jesus said I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. This was a prophetic utterance about His coming sacrificial death to save both the Jews and Gentiles who would believe in His name. In Psalm 23, David referred to the Lord God as his shepherd, and in this passage, Jesus refers to Himself as the ultimate Good Shepherd who was about to give His life for His sheep and fulfill His Fathers plan of salvation for all people.
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Dig Deeper Into The Explanation
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I Am The Light Of The World
Jesus made this statement during the Feast of Tabernacles. At this feast, a huge candelabra was lit in the womens court of the temple. It reminded the Israelites of the pillar of fire that guided their ancestors during the wilderness wanderings. Jesus made this statement just after forgiving, rather than condemning, a woman caught in adultery whom the Pharisees had brought before Jesus in the middle of His teaching.
Jesus was letting them know that in a world darkened by sin, He is holy and He offers the light and guidance to those stumbling in sin. The people knew the Old Testament Scripture For the Lord God is a sun and shield the Lord will give grace and glory . In that instance, Jesus was epitomizing the character of God as a sun , a shield , and grace for the glory of God.
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Why Are Jesus’ Statements Important
Jesus wasnt just exercising positive self-talk when He made these bold statements. He was letting the first century Jews, who were familiar with Gods definition of Himself, know that He truly was God incarnate, the Messiah they were waiting for, the Most High God in the flesh. If anyone else had made these statements it would have been blasphemy .
Jesus fulfilled and affirmed numerous Old Testament prophesies about Himself through these statements. Its also important to consider that He knew who He was, and He wanted us to clearly know, too. He cant be minimized to merely our ticket to heaven but must be seen as our daily sustenance, our direction, our protector, our sacrificial Savior, our victory over death, our access to the Father and eternal life, and our vitality and strength.
Do you know Jesus as not just a great teacher, not just a miracle worker, not just your Savior, but as the Great I Am in the flesh who became your sustenance, light, hope, salvation, and strength? Jesus said, And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free . Experience the truth and freedom of knowing who Jesus really is, and its significance to you personally and to a hurting world that needs Him.
For more on getting to know the real Jesus, see Cindis book, Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs.
How Does ‘i Am’ Show God’s Infinite Power
Being the Great I AM shows infinite power because God is the last and the first. He is the beginning and end. He is Alpha and Omega. He is the name before every name. He is the one true living God and will have no other god before Him. He is the source of spiritual power. He is a part of the Trinity which includes the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He is the Ancient of Days as described in Daniel 7:9-10. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool, His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
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The Meaning And Origin Of In The Beginning Was The Word
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. These are among the most famous lines in the New Testament: they begin the Gospel of St. John. But what does In the beginning was the Word mean? Lets take a closer look at the meaning of this famous opening sentence.
Its perhaps helpful to begin by setting out the difference between the Gospel of John and the three other gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Gospel of Mark is thought to have been composed the earliest of the four gospels, with Matthew and Luke basing their own accounts on it. The gospel of John was written later still, and of the four, has the strongest claim to actually having been written by one of Jesus apostles.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are grouped together as the Synoptic gospels, from a word meaning seeing together. These three accounts all reflect each other to varying degrees. But the Gospel of John is quite different. Right from those opening words, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, John is signalling that his account of Jesus life will be treating Jesus as much more than a human being.
This is not to say that the other gospel writers dont also acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah , but that Johns Jesus is supernatural and ethereal otherworldly, almost right from the beginning.
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
The Etymology Of Gods Name
Gods name in the Bible are attributes. For example, Abba, Elohim, El Roi, Elyon, and variations of Jehovah. The original Hebrew name of God was written as YHWH or JHVH in Latin.
Vowels were later added when the Hebrew language became extinct giving us the name YaHWeH or JeHoVaH, which is not to say it is the correct pronunciation.Ancient Israelites would never use Jehovah for God. It is a hybrid because no one knows for sure how YHWH is pronounced. Jehovah is an artificial word bearing no relation to the name of the God of Israel in biblical times, merely a vocalization of consonants and vowels.
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Too Sacred To Be Uttered
Yahweh, the god of the Israelites, whose name was revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants called the Tetragrammaton.
After the Babylonian Exile , and especially from the 3rd century BCE on, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh for two reasons. As Judaism became a universal rather than merely a local religion, the more common Hebrew noun Elohim , meaning God, tended to replace Yahweh to demonstrate the universal sovereignty of Israels God over all others.
At the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered it was thus replaced vocally in the synagogue ritual by the Hebrew word Adonai , which was translated as Kyrios in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Several changes to Gods name were explained in this article from The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Here’s the complete article:
Real Mindfulness Is Filling Your Mind With God
When God confronted the first man and woman, they didnt realize their wrong-doing. They decided to hide, to get away from the authority, rather than analyzing self, understanding, Ive made a mistake, and looking for help.
2 Peter 3:2
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
We are to be mindFUL of the Words of I AM. Thats proper mindfulness, filling our minds with Gods Word and His thoughts.
Do you remember the story of Job? At the height of his trial, he was looking inwardly at his righteousness, instead of outwardly and above to God. God had to REFOCUS Jobs attention. Everything in Gods plan is to REfocus the human mind. His plan still has a long way to go thats what the story of humankind is all about. For the time being, humans think theyve got it all. They are the ultimate I AM. Their righteousness in their own eyes, their self is still in the forefront.
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Human Reasoning Its Results Observation
In Audit of Humankind, The Explanation discussed How Humans Reason at length. There are four main areas we shall elaborate on here. In all of them, humankind has set itself up as I AM. The Serpent has done its job exceedingly well.
Romans 1:20-22
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
What an indictment of humankind. Instead of seeing the things that are made, the Creation, as coming from an OUTSIDE and ABOVE origin, we have become vain in OUR OWN imaginations. Thats humankinds OBSERVATIONS. Thats the INWARD approach. Weve come up with a myriad of theories that eliminate God from Creation and replaced Him with nothing produced something. Scholars believe consciousness and mind is a by-product of randomness. Incredible!
Gods Number Of Completion Perfection And Rest
7th day of creation signified completion and rest7 great landmasses form the complete earth7 great bodies of water form a complete ocean7 colors make a perfect spectrum7 colors in the rainbow 7 notes make a perfect scale7 covenants of God with man: Adamic, Noah, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Levitic, Davidic, Messianic7 dispensations of God complete human history7th day was a Sabbath for Israel, a day of rest7th year was a Sabbatical year, a year of rest.7 Sabbatical years, followed by the year of Jubilee.7 days for the Feast of Passover7 weeks between Passover and Pentecost.7 days for the Feast of Tabernacles7 years was the time it took to complete construction of the First Temple7 pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle7 days was the time of mourning for the dead7 times equals purification 7 times of forgiving was elevated to 70 x 7 by Jesus7 Greek-speaking Christians were appointed by the 12 apostles 7 titles for Jesus in Hebrews.7 Spiritual GiftsGiven from God the Father 7 divisions in the Bible: Law, Prophets, Writings , Gospels & Acts, Pauls Epistles, General Epistles, and the book of completion
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The Character And Nature Of God Revealed In His Name
There was a great deal of importance attached to names during that time. They can indicate a person’s disposition, goals in life, and more.
To know Gods character and nature, Moses asks God on how to respond to the Israelites’ question about who sent him. This will ensure that the miraculous story he’s about to tell them is trustworthy.
Understanding Yahweh’s meaning will allow us to learn more about the nature and attributes of God. Yahweh has many different definitions and these are some of the best:
When God Names People
Now there is a big difference between me and God. When I name someone, I dont have the power or the authority to make the person fit the name. I give names in the hope and prayer that my sons will become what their names imply. But God has the right and the power to cause anyone he names to become what the name implies. The names he gives are sure indicators of the destiny of those he names.
The names God gives are sure indicators of the destiny of those he names.
And when he names himself, we may be sure the name is packed with who he is and what he intends to do. God does not choose names for himself at random, say for the sound or for an ancestor or to avoid embarrassing nicknames. He chooses names for the sake of revealing things about himself that will deepen our love for him and enlarge our admiration and strengthen our faith.
So my prayer is that these seven messages will open our eyes to Gods glory, and enlarge our acquaintance with his magnificent character, and fan the flames of our love, and strengthen the fiber of our faith. My hope is in the word of God: Those who know your name put their trust in you.
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I Am That I Am: Symbols Of Jesus Christ In The Old Testament
Priesthood and Family Department of the Church
In this ancient record particularly, Jesus Christ must be sought or He might not be found.
Light and Truth, by Simon Dewey
As Moses hid his face, the Lordâs merciful words issuing forth from the burning bush must have rung with the echoes of eternity:
âI have surely seen the affliction of my people ⦠for I know their sorrows
âAnd I am come down to deliver them. â¦
âAnd Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
âAnd God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto youâ .
Known to ancient Israel as the Lord Jehovah, the premortal Jesus Christ identified Himself as the source to which His people should look for redemption. Thousands of years later, the resurrected Jesus Christ reconfirmed His promise of deliverance to modern Israel with these words: âBe of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to comeâ .
I Am ⦠the Lamb Slain for You
Animal Sacrifice and the Coat of Skins
What A Name Signifies
The reason knowing the names of God will help us trust him with our daily affairs and with our eternal destinies is that in Scripture a persons name often signifies his character or ability or mission especially when the name is given by God. Adam names his wife Eve, because she is mother of all the living . God changes Abrams name to Abraham to show that he had made him the father of many nations . God changed Sarais name to Sarah . He changed Jacobs name to Israel . And when the Son of God came into the world, his name was not left to chance: You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins .
I have four sons. The first was born in Germany. So we sought out a German name related to the name, Christian, and put our prayer in his name, Karsten, in the confidence that God would bring him to faith in Christ. Then came Benjamin whose birth announcement was a paraphrase of Mosess blessing on the tribe of Benjamin in Deuteronomy 33:12:
Beloved of God he dwells secure Upon a cosmic boulder Though small and to the world obscure, He rides on Yahwehs shoulder.
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