Telema Okobi

In Exodus 3:14 when Moses saw the bush burning and turned aside to learn its secret, God spoke to him from the bush and said, "I AM WHO I AM". That is God's nature. God is the eternal I AM! Seven times in the Gospel of John this name is used about our Lord. In fact, seven times these words came from our Lord's own lips. These claims constitute the proof that Jesus is God. Does that amaze you? Have you thought that it was His miracles that proved Jesus was God? No, no. The miracles proved He was the Messiah, the Promised One. It is His words that prove Jesus is God. Listen to them:

1.      "I am the bread of life," (John 6:35). That is, I am the sustainer of life, the One who satisfies life.

2.      "I am the light of the world," (John 8:12), the illuminator of life. I am one "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3), the explainer of things, the one who casts light upon all mysteries and enigmas and solves them.

3.      "I am the door" (John 10:7) that is, the opportunity into life, the open and authorized way. Whenever you are confronted with a sense of lack, some hungering after something more, these are the words you need to hear.

4.      "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11); that is, the guide of life, the only one properly equipped to take an individual and safely steer him through all the problems and chasms that yawn on every side, to lead him safely through life. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1).

5.      "I am the resurrection and the life," (John 11:25); that is, the power of life. Do you realize that resurrection power is the only kind that works when nothing else will? It works in the midst of death. Resurrection power is the only kind that needs no outside props, no process of learning. It does not need anything to initiate it, shore it up, or bolster it in any way. When nothing else can be done, then it comes in and begins to act. "I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus says.

6.      "I am the way, the truth, and the life," (John 14:6); that is, I am the ultimate reality. I am the real substance behind all things.

7.      "I am the vine" (John 15:5), "apart from me, you can do nothing," (John 15:5). I am the producer of fruitfulness, the source of fellowship and of identity and communion.

Thus our Lord takes the great, revealing name of God and, linking it with these simple symbols, enables us to understand God. "The Word," John says, "became flesh and dwelt among us," (John 1:14). He pitched his tent among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of God become man. That is the tremendous doctrine of incarnation. There is not a greater discovery in all the universe than the fact that when we stand in the presence of the humanity of Jesus we suddenly discover that, for the first time, we also stand in the presence of God.