One of the most basic yet profoundly deep names for God is revealed to us in the Bible as “I Am.” God first revealed this name to Moses during their encounter at the burning bush, just before God called Moses to lead the people out of slavery.
Moses, who saw the bush ablaze but not consumed, had been astounded at the sight and crept closer for a better look. God then called Moses by name, identifying Himself as “the God of your father” and, further, “I Am who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you”
Exodus 3:14 NIV God 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.’ ”
“I Am” is a powerful, mighty name for God, for as we are told in Genesis 1, God is the creator of all—heavens and earth, darkness and light,
Genesis 1:31 NIV God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
At the end on the Bible in Revelation He says,
Revelation 1:8 NIV “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, The world started through Him and is all according to His perfect and good design.
The world started through Him and is all according to His perfect and superior design.
But many people don’t know there are other, parallel “I Am” statements in Scripture, these all spoken by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the Son of God. Jesus—who is also God, part of the holy trinity that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—made seven “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John. Each of these teach us something about the open, loving, accepting, and divine nature of the Lord. I know that many people say that Jesus never claimed to be God. It’s true that scripture never records Jesus as saying the specific words “I Am God”, but that doesn’t mean He didn’t proclaim Himself to be God.
Moses, who saw the bush ablaze but not consumed, had been astounded at the sight and crept closer for a better look. God then called Moses by name, identifying Himself as “the God of your father” and, further, “I Am who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you”
Exodus 3:14 NIV God 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.’ ”
“I Am” is a powerful, mighty name for God, for as we are told in Genesis 1, God is the creator of all—heavens and earth, darkness and light,
Genesis 1:31 NIV God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
At the end on the Bible in Revelation He says,
Revelation 1:8 NIV “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, The world started through Him and is all according to His perfect and good design.
The world started through Him and is all according to His perfect and superior design.
But many people don’t know there are other, parallel “I Am” statements in Scripture, these all spoken by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the Son of God. Jesus—who is also God, part of the holy trinity that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—made seven “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John. Each of these teach us something about the open, loving, accepting, and divine nature of the Lord. I know that many people say that Jesus never claimed to be God. It’s true that scripture never records Jesus as saying the specific words “I Am God”, but that doesn’t mean He didn’t proclaim Himself to be God.
What are the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus? And what do they signify?
1. I Am the Bread of Life
The first “I Am” statement comes in John 6. The day prior, Jesus had just fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, then retreated alone to a mountain. Hours later, the disciples witnessed Him walking on water.
The next day the crowd found Jesus on the other side of the lake, where Jesus told them He provides far more than the loaves they’d consumed.
John 6:12-13, 35 NIV When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. Then 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.
It’s an elaboration of what He’d just explained—don’t work so hard for “food that spoils,” a temporary reprieve. Rather, seek the “bread” that offers eternal life.
John 6:26-27 NIV Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Seek Jesus.
2. I Am the Light of the World
This second “I Am” statement is uttered by Jesus on the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles, an elaborate Jewish celebration with a number of ceremonies, including those of water and of light.
John 8:12 NIV When 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.”
The deeper meaning behind Jesus’ words was not lost on the crowd there, which is why His statement caused such outrage among those gathered. His words were met with scoffs of challenge and disdain.
John 8:13 NIV The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
To them, Jesus—standing amid ceremonial lighted bowls of oil and water and among a people who would have viewed His claims as blasphemy or even heresy. To them He was issuing fighting, inflammatory words.
His statement here comes not only during the festival but just after Jesus’s controversial teachings in the temple, where people began to quarrel over whether He was the Messiah (John 7:25-52) and just after His encounter with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11), whose stoning He prevented as a teaching moment on sin, condemnation, and judgment.
His proclamation, that He is the light, offers an important word on human judgment versus God’s holy and righteous judgment.
1. I Am the Bread of Life
The first “I Am” statement comes in John 6. The day prior, Jesus had just fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, then retreated alone to a mountain. Hours later, the disciples witnessed Him walking on water.
The next day the crowd found Jesus on the other side of the lake, where Jesus told them He provides far more than the loaves they’d consumed.
John 6:12-13, 35 NIV When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. Then 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.
It’s an elaboration of what He’d just explained—don’t work so hard for “food that spoils,” a temporary reprieve. Rather, seek the “bread” that offers eternal life.
John 6:26-27 NIV Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Seek Jesus.
2. I Am the Light of the World
This second “I Am” statement is uttered by Jesus on the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles, an elaborate Jewish celebration with a number of ceremonies, including those of water and of light.
John 8:12 NIV When 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.”
The deeper meaning behind Jesus’ words was not lost on the crowd there, which is why His statement caused such outrage among those gathered. His words were met with scoffs of challenge and disdain.
John 8:13 NIV The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
To them, Jesus—standing amid ceremonial lighted bowls of oil and water and among a people who would have viewed His claims as blasphemy or even heresy. To them He was issuing fighting, inflammatory words.
His statement here comes not only during the festival but just after Jesus’s controversial teachings in the temple, where people began to quarrel over whether He was the Messiah (John 7:25-52) and just after His encounter with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11), whose stoning He prevented as a teaching moment on sin, condemnation, and judgment.
His proclamation, that He is the light, offers an important word on human judgment versus God’s holy and righteous judgment.
3. I Am the Gate
The next “I Am” statement comes in when Jesus told His followers, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
John 10:7 NIV Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
The sheep’s gate was an important concept for people of that day. Sheep were cared for by a shepherd. They trusted their shepherd, knew his voice intimately, and understood he loved them and would protect them. When the sheep would come in for the night, they would enter their protective enclosure, or sheep’s pen, by way of this gate.
Jesus then went on to elaborate.
John 10:9-10 NIV I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
His statement comes just after Jesus had healed a man born blind and received much criticism from the Pharisees because He did so on the Sabbath, leading to a heated discussion between Jesus and some church leaders on spiritual blindness (John 9)
Jesus’s statement that He is the gate—the door, the way, the opening between two separate areas—is like an illumination of His healing of the man, who went from blindness to sight, whether physical or spiritual or both.
4. I Am the Good Shepherd
Jesus’ next “I Am” statement immediately follows His claim to be the gate.
John 10:11-15 NIV “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
For not only is Jesus the gate, or entryway, to this new, full, and abundant life, but He is also the shepherd who cares for the sheep and herds them toward this life. He is both the caregiver and the place by which they receive that care, the person and the place in one.
He not only knows the sheep and is known by the sheep, but He also leads them to where they need to be and He protects them from harm in the most loving of ways. He even laid down His own life for the sheep.
The next “I Am” statement comes in when Jesus told His followers, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
John 10:7 NIV Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
The sheep’s gate was an important concept for people of that day. Sheep were cared for by a shepherd. They trusted their shepherd, knew his voice intimately, and understood he loved them and would protect them. When the sheep would come in for the night, they would enter their protective enclosure, or sheep’s pen, by way of this gate.
Jesus then went on to elaborate.
John 10:9-10 NIV I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
His statement comes just after Jesus had healed a man born blind and received much criticism from the Pharisees because He did so on the Sabbath, leading to a heated discussion between Jesus and some church leaders on spiritual blindness (John 9)
Jesus’s statement that He is the gate—the door, the way, the opening between two separate areas—is like an illumination of His healing of the man, who went from blindness to sight, whether physical or spiritual or both.
4. I Am the Good Shepherd
Jesus’ next “I Am” statement immediately follows His claim to be the gate.
John 10:11-15 NIV “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
For not only is Jesus the gate, or entryway, to this new, full, and abundant life, but He is also the shepherd who cares for the sheep and herds them toward this life. He is both the caregiver and the place by which they receive that care, the person and the place in one.
He not only knows the sheep and is known by the sheep, but He also leads them to where they need to be and He protects them from harm in the most loving of ways. He even laid down His own life for the sheep.
5. I Am the Resurrection and the Life
Jesus’s next “I Am” statement is a bold one.
Arriving just after His dear friend Lazarus has died, Jesus meets Martha, Lazarus’s sister, who is in desperate grief over the loss of her brother. Her words are both accusation and truth.
John 11:21 NIV "Lord Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
When Jesus told her Lazarus would rise again, her grief is almost palpable. Sure, she replies he will one day, at the resurrection.
This is when Jesus delivers His zinger.
John 11:25-26 NIV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Then, as if to drive His point home, Jesus embodies that resurrection, raising Lazarus from the dead back to his earthly life.
John 11:41-44 NIV So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Indeed, He is the resurrection and the life.
6. I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life
At the Last Supper, in the hours just before His arrest, Jesus spends intimate time with His disciples, teaching them numerous lessons about love, service, and the gift that is to come in the Holy Spirit. It's at this time Jesus utters His sixth "I am
But when Jesus explains He’s about to go prepare a place for His friends in the Father’s house, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven, and that they’ll know the way.
John 14:1-4 NIV "do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God: believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms' if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
Thomas asks.
John 14:5 MSG Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you"re going. How do you expect us to know the road?"
That’s when Jesus utters His sixth “I Am” statement:
John 14:6-7 NIV Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Just as Jesus is the light, the gate, the bread, and more, He’s also the way. He’s the path the disciples are to take to get to their destination: eternal salvation. In their intimate relationship with Him, they have unlocked the mystery, that special path to access the truth and life.
7. I Am the Vine
Jesus' final "I Am" statement hammers the point home.
John 15:1 NIV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
Later on, He said,
John 15:5-7 NIV “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. If 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. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
The metaphor of the vine, the gardener, and the branches would have been clear to any Israelite of that day and time, both because they lived and worked with or near grapevines and, as part of Jewish culture, because they would have been accustomed to the vine as a symbol of Israel.
When Jesus said He was the “true vine,” and that the disciples were to remain in Him, this was an illustration of how the disciples, and anyone else who followed Him, could get back on track. By nourishing themselves only through Jesus, they were getting their strength from the true source of life, God Himself, Word become flesh and born a man (John 1).
In Genesis, God told Abraham “I am God Almighty.”
Genesis 17:1 NIV When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
In Exodus, God told Moses “I Am who I Am.”
Exodus 3:14 NIV God 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.’ ”
Throughout Scripture God shows us His nature through words and actions. He is God the Almighty and God the Most High, God Who Sees and God With Us.
He is love and goodness and power and might all rolled into one.
Now, if you believe all the other things Jesus said, but decide He can't be the only way to Heaven, then you are saying He told partial truths or lies. You can't have it both ways. Either Jesus is who He says He is, or He is not. So you cannot say, "Jesus is a good man, a wonderful teacher, an effective preacher, a great healer, philosopher, and humanitarian, BUT..." Whenever your belief in Christ's validity has caveats, you make Him a liar. When it comes to all that He said about Himself, either He is a counterfeit and a fraud, or He is exactly who He says He is--the eternal Son of the living God, the Savior of the world, and the One who will someday judge each one of us.
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