The I AM

Q: What does the Bible say about the name I AM?

The name I AM, as revealed in Exodus 3:14, signifies God's self-existence, eternality, and sovereignty. In Exodus 3:14, when God declares to Moses, 'I am that I am,' He reveals His nature as the self-existent one, encompassing the past, present, and future. This name signifies not only His everlasting existence but also His unchangeable and faithful character. Throughout the Scriptures, this name highlights God's role as the sovereign redeemer, affirming that He saves in accordance with His divine will and purposes, revealing both His goodness and sovereignty over salvation.

Q: How do we know Jesus is God?

Jesus explicitly claims divinity in John 8:58, asserting 'I am,' which ties back to God's name in Exodus. Throughout the Gospel of John, the identity of Jesus as God is a central theme. In John 8:58, Jesus says, 'Before Abraham was, I am,' directly referencing the same divine name revealed to Moses in Exodus. This claim not only asserts His eternal existence but marks Him as God incarnate. John’s writings emphasize that Jesus is one with the Father, showcasing His divine nature through various miracles and teachings that affirm His equality with God, leading to the profound understanding that Jesus is both fully God and fully man.

Q: Why is the concept of Jesus as the Good Shepherd important for Christians?

Jesus as the Good Shepherd illustrates His sacrificial love and care for His people, ensuring their eternal security. In John 10:11, Jesus proclaims, 'I am the Good Shepherd,' signifying His role as the protector and caretaker of His sheep. This relationship emphasizes His sacrificial love, as He lays down His life for the sheep, which reveals the depth of God's commitment to our salvation. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep personally, providing them with eternal security and guidance. This imagery reassures believers of Christ's unwavering presence and care in their lives, encouraging them to trust in Him fully amid life’s challenges.

Q: What is the significance of Jesus saying 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'?

'I am the way, the truth, and the life' underscores that Jesus is the exclusive means of salvation and knowledge of God. In John 14:6, Jesus claims, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life,' emphasizing that He is the only path to God the Father. This statement encapsulates the entirety of the Christian faith: Jesus not only directs us towards salvation but embodies the truth of God's revelation and is the source of eternal life. His divinity and human experience establish a unique relationship with believers, ensuring that through Him, they can know God and receive the fullness of life that He offers. This exclusive claim demonstrates that no other means can grant access to God, underpinning the centrality of faith in Jesus for salvation.

Q: How does Jesus' declaration of 'I am the light of the world' affect Christians?

As 'the light of the world,' Jesus provides spiritual illumination and guidance, enabling Christians to navigate life’s darkness. Jesus’ declaration in John 8:12, 'I am the light of the world,' signifies His role as the source of spiritual truth and moral clarity. In a world filled with darkness, chaos, and confusion, Christ's light enables believers to discern truth from falsehood. This illumination not only allows Christians to understand their purpose and identity in Christ but also empowers them to reflect His light in a dark world, calling others to come to Him. Embracing Jesus as the light transforms a believer's perspective, granting confidence and assurance as they walk in the truth of His Word.

when the Lord God appeared to Moses for the purpose of delivering Israel out of Egyptian bondage, which, as you know, was a picture and type of our redemption and deliverance from sin, Satan, and the curse of the law by the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord God appeared to do this great work, he revealed himself by his great redemptive name, and we find it here in verse 14 of Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3 and verse 14. 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 you.

Now this name, I am, is a name which is full of meaning, and it's very difficult to put a precise meaning to it. So let me give you several various interpretations that men have given to it. The Jewish writers of old interpret the name to mean this, I am he that was, I am he that is now, and I am he that is to come and shall be. Now this phrase is used throughout the scriptures as being descriptive of our God. You'll remember in the book of Revelation when John describes the Lord God, and then the Lord Jesus, who is also himself God, describes himself. He speaks of him as that one who is, who was, and who is to come, the everlasting and the almighty.

And that's implied in this name, I Am. The marginal translation, if you have one in your Bible, gives this translation of the words, I Am. I save in the manner in which I will save, thus declaring both God's goodness in purposing to save and his sovereignty in determining how, who, and when he will save. So I am means I save in the way in which I will save.

John Gill says that I am seems to be of the same significance as Jehovah, and to be derived from the same word as Jehovah, and it is an expression of the same thing. that is, of the being and existence of God, of his eternity and immutability, and of his faithfulness in performing all that he has promised.

Now, when the Lord God calls himself, I Am, he reveals himself as the self-existent being of beings, eternal, immutable, constant, and faithful, the infinite God, that is, God who comprehends all things, all people, all times, all places, always, and yet is comprehended of nothing and no one.

He is God who is past, present, and future, always the same. Unchanging and unchangeable, I am. When God says I am, he is simply saying I am what I am. I am what I have been. I am what I shall be, and I shall forever be what I am." This is declaring, then, God's immutable, infinite, eternal existence as God.

Now, anyone, anyone in heaven or earth, who assumes to take this name to himself, and says, I am that I am, who declares, I am, I am, Anyone who does so is either himself, God over all and blessed forever, or he is the most base, vile, blasphemer, and deceiver imaginable. Is that fair enough? God says I am. Now if Bob Ponson would say I am, Bob's a deceiver and a blasphemer that no words can describe. If any mere man should say I am, That man is either a deceiver and a blasphemer, worse than any curse can describe, or he is indeed God, one of the two.

So turn with me to John chapter 8, if you will. John the 8th chapter, and listen to what Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, says of himself when he speaks to the Jews. These Jews, who were very familiar with Moses, These Jews who prided themselves in having Moses to be their chief prophet. These Jews who prided themselves in their fond memory and their fond recollection of that which was recorded in the scriptures back in Exodus chapter 3. The Lord Jesus speaks to them and they could not possibly have missed his meaning.

Jesus said in verse 58, Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you before Abraham was, do you see it? I am, I am. Not I was, that wouldn't be the same thing. Not I was to come, that would not be the same thing. He said before Abraham was, I am, and thus declares himself to be God Almighty, the eternal, self-existent, unchanging and unchangeable, immutable Lord God himself. Jesus said, I am, and thus declared, I am God. Now I want to talk to you today about the I am.

I want you to hold your Bibles open here in the Gospel of John, and we will stay right in this Gospel in these 21 chapters, and see John's message. Now John's primary object, his primary purpose in writing his gospel narrative by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was to demonstrate the fact that Jesus is God. One with the Father and the Spirit in the Holy Trinity, God incarnate, God in human flesh, and that he is himself in all things equal with the Father and the Spirit. Let me show you that in a couple of places. First in chapter one, John chapter one. This is John's purpose.

He wants us to know that Jesus Christ is God. When Matthew wrote, he wants us to understand that Jesus is the King, the Son of David. John wants us to understand that Jesus is God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And that's how John opens this thing. He says, I want you to understand that this one who is our Savior, this one whom we preach, this one whom we are sent to testify of, is himself God. Not a representative of God, not an emanation of God, not a likeness to God, but he is himself God, the I Am. Read on. The same was in the beginning with God. The word simply means face-to-face and equal with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. He is God the Creator. Turn to John chapter 14, John chapter 14 and verse 9.

Jesus saith unto him, that is unto Philip, have I been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? Don't you understand who I am? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. He that hath seen me has, he says, you're looking at God. You're looking at God. And how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Don't you understand that I and the Father are one?

Now this was the whole purpose of John's gospel to reveal to us this fact with demonstrable evidence, so that we could not mistake his message and could not deny his declaration that Jesus Christ is God. Now, since that's John's purpose, to show us that this man, Jesus, is Jehovah our God, we shouldn't be surprised by the fact that he uses this word, I am. I call it this word because we, though it's translated two words in our English Bible, in both the Greek and in the Hebrew, it's one word. And he speaks with this word, I am, constantly applying it to the Lord Jesus Christ. Constantly, John quotes the Lord Jesus, and while the other gospel writers quote him in another manner, now please understand, they quote him by inspiration and wrote damn what the Holy Spirit design and purpose that they should write down for the purposes which he intended their books. John quotes him and puts these words in his mouth all the time.

I am. I am. I am. John keeps saying to the Jews, I am this talk. I am was born in Nazareth. I am I am came into this world at death to him, brethren. I am was raised up in Nazareth. I am was nailed to the tree. I am is seated on the throne of glory. Our saviors, I am.

Now, this morning, I want us to just look at how that word is used in the gospel of John. I've got 12 examples. I may or may not get through. If I don't, I'll give them to you later. But let's begin in chapter 6, John chapter 6. Sometimes when you start to prepare a message, you have to dig and dig and dig and dig, and then you get it down and you've got to start scratching out. Well, yesterday when I started writing out this message, it just fell open, and I hope it'll just fall open for you. It was delightful to my heart.

Here in John chapter 6 and verse 35, the Lord Jesus speaks. He said unto them, I am the bread of life. Do you see that? I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me. Did you ever notice how in the scriptures the Lord God inspires his servants and the Lord Jesus himself to use various words to represent faith. And frequently faith is represented by this word cometh. He that cometh to me. shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." The two words are interchangeable, cometh and believeth.

To come to Christ is to come to him for all you need. To believe on Christ is to trust him for all you need. To come to Christ is to come to him with your heart where he is on the throne of God. To trust him is to trust him. To believe on him is to trust him where he is on the throne of God with your heart.

He says with regard to himself, I am the bread of life. Read on in verse 50. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread. which came down from heaven. If any man eateth this bread, he shall live forever. The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, say. That is, they sat back and they kind of laughed and balked and scoffed. And they said, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Isn't it amazing? How ignorant men who are otherwise smart can be when it comes to spiritual things. The Nicodemus said, Lord, how can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter the second? Can he crawl back up in his mother's belly and be born? Why, that's dumb. And when they said, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Why, that's utterly ridiculous, the reason for such a matter. But the Lord Jesus told us something spiritual.

He says, Verily, Jesus saith unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Now what our Lord's talking about is simply receiving him by faith. That's all. That's all. Nothing more profound, nothing deeper, nothing more mysterious than that.

To eat his flesh is to take his righteousness for your own righteousness by faith. To drink his blood is to take his sacrifice for your only atonement by faith. So that you come to God now, not on the merit of your goodness, not hoping to appease God on your own behalf because of your sins, but you come to God on the merit of Christ's goodness, having appeased God Himself by the sacrifice of His blood. And that's yours forever.

Now look at verse 51. Here our Lord shows us four things in this one verse. Like manna, he came down from heaven. The Jews went out to gather manna every morning But the manna fell down from God out of heaven. It's called angel's food. And Jesus Christ is that one who was represented by the manna. He came down from God out of heaven for us.

We are told again that he says, I am the living bread, that living bread. He is the living God who has life and gives life to whom he will. And the bread that he gives is his flesh. That is his sacrifice. This is the bread that I'll give. I give not to the Jews only, but to my people throughout all the world. It's my sacrifice, my blood, my flesh, that which I give, I give as an offering unto God on behalf of my people. And then he says, if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.

Will you eat? Will you eat? If you're hungry, you will. Now I can't create the hunger. I can't create the hunger. I can't make you hungry, but oh, if God has made you hungry, you'll come in here. And nobody will have to twist your arm and try to force feed you. Not if you're hungry. Not if you're hungry.

Last night about 7 o'clock, our house got smelling real, real good. Shelby was fixing some spoon bread. Hot, hot spoon bread with real butter. Now, David, that'll make your mouth water when you're not hungry. And we had some rice and chicken and sweet peas. And she called me to come eat. I didn't even tell you what I was doing. I laid down my pen, laid down my paper. I was in the kitchen like that. Because it had been a long time since I ate. I was hungry. I was hungry.

Jesus Christ is the bread of life. Are you hungry? If you eat of this bread, or if you trust him, you'll live forever. You'll live forever. Now that's not a possibility. That's not a probability. That's an absolute certainty. Whosoever shall eat of this bread, any man, any man, wherever he is, who eats of this bread, shall live forever.

All right, look in chapter 8. Chapter 8 of John, verse 12. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am, there it is again, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me, that's another word for believe, comes to me, follows me. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He who is the light is also the life. That's what John says in John chapter 1 and verse 4. As darkness and death are one, so light and life are one. And when the Lord Jesus says, I am the light of the world, he's saying I'm the only life there is. I am the life of the world. We'll look at that in a little bit. God has sent me, like he did John, to point you to the light. John said, I'm not the light. I've come to bear witness of the light. And believe me, I'm not the light. I'm not the light.

No other mere man is the light. Oh, but God has sent his servants to point you to the light. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the crucified, risen, exalted, glorified, Son of God, sitting yonder on the throne of glory. He's the light. He's the light. He who follows the light no longer walks in darkness. Oh, long we walked in darkness. Some of you still walk in darkness. The darkness of religious tradition and superstition. The darkness of sin and unbelief. That he who comes to Christ, who follows Christ, walks in the light. of the knowledge of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ.

I don't, I realize I'm talking way above my head when I talk about the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, but if I were trying to tell you how that light bulb works, now some of you fellows can do it, you've investigated those things, you know how electricity works, but I don't have any idea how you flip that switch, y'all. And that light comes on except for the fact that there's a cord running through it to connect to the power somewhere. That's all I know about it. But I'll tell you what I do.

Anytime I walk in this room, when the sun has set, or if I want to see something in the daytime, I flip the light off and I walk in the light. And I see everything around me as well as I can see. I see everything around me. Now I'm telling you this, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shines in the crucified Christ.

Follow Him, and you'll walk in the light. Trust Him, and you'll walk in the light. I live in a world full of confusion, but I'm not confused. I live in a world full of chaos, everything's topsy-turvy and tossed hither and there, but I'm not. I'm following the light, do you? Follow Him, and walk no more in darkness. Look in John chapter 10, John the fifth chapter. Verse 9, I am the door. I am the door. Oh, what simplicity. What simplicity.

I started to read a tract late last night, early this morning. I was up doing some work and couldn't sleep, so I pulled out something and started to read it. And I used to work my way through the Theologians and the deep, deep writers, folks call them deep. I've come to the conclusion they were muddy. There's a big difference between deep and muddy.

But I started to read something, and I read a paragraph three or four times. And I thought to myself, it was a tract by Horatius Bonar, usually a very good writer. I thought to myself, Brother Bonar, I sure wish you'd have said this simple. I sure wish you'd have said this so that anybody would get hold of it the first time they read it. Now, listen to the Savior. Here's profound, profound, profound truth. Deep, deep theology. I am the door. You understand what a door is?

Everybody who came in this building came through a door. That is, that's a door. The Lord Jesus said, I'm the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and shall find rest. I'm the door. I'm the door. Now this is what our Savior says, I am the door, there's only one, there's only one. We have in this room here one, two, three doors, four doors, now four doors, five doors, you can get out of this room a lot of ways, you can get into this room a lot of ways, there's only one door to life, only one door of access to God, only one way to heaven, it's Jesus Christ the door, I am the door. Not only that, but he's a door with a name on it.

Look what it says in verse 7. Jesus saith unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I'm the door of the sheep. I'm the door of the sheep. The other day I was somewhere and started to go to the washroom. I started to go in the door and it said women. I thought that's not the door for men. I turned right around and there's another one that said men. I walked in there and washed my hands. Now I'm telling you that Jesus Christ is the door, not for the globe.

Because the goats will never enter in by this door. You'll never find any goats going in this door. His door is a sheep. And sheep hear his voice, and when he calls them, they walk right through the door. Now if you walk through the door, you won't hear sheep.

He says again, all who enter into the kingdom of God by crossing the door shall be saved. I am the door. I am the door. And I'm here to tell you the door is open. The door's open. Come on in. Come on in. It's always open. Come on in. We'll be until the end of time. But the door is open for you right now, if you'll let her in. Enter in by the door, and you'll be saved. Now that's marvelous truth. Set forth in the most simple, simple words imaginable. Come in by Christ the door. Look at chapter 10 again in verse 11. The Lord Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd. I love the way our Savior describes himself. I am the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Verse 14, I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and 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 shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice. I know them, they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Now listen to what he says. The good shepherd gave his life for the sheep. Thank you. Oh, thank you, He gave his life for me. He gave his life that he might have his sheep. He laid down his life in the place of his sheep. He died to save his sheep. The good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep says, I know my sheep.

He knows them long before they know him. He knows who they are and what they are and where they are. And he knows what he's going to do for them. And he knows his sheep forever. So that though you have been brought into his fold, don't ever imagine that he forgets his sheep. He knows his sheep. He knows what you're going through. He knows what you experience. He knows what you feel.

That's enough for the sheep. That's enough for the sheep. Last week, Brother Rankin told the head dancer, the shepherd knows. He knows. He knows. And that's enough. That's enough. He knows I'll take care of it. He knows how he will take care of it. And he knows what good will come of it. He knows his sheep. I know my sheep. The Good Shepherd gathers his sheep. He says, other sheep I have, them also I must breed. Must breed. He calls his sheep. He calls them by name. And leads them out. And they follow him. That's what he says. When the Good Shepherd calls his sheep, they hear his voice. And they know his voice. And they'll never follow a stranger. But they'll follow him. and he gives them eternal life. He gives them eternal life, and he keeps them. He says they'll never perish. That's the Good Shepherd, Christ Jesus, the I Am. Look again in the Scriptures, over in chapter 10 in verse 36.

Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified. Now that word sanctified ought to tell you something about the doctrine of sanctification. If Jesus Christ was sanctified, it was not something that made him progressively more and more holy. He was set apart for God, he was demonstrated to be God's, he was kept by God, but he was not made progressively more and more holy. He was sanctified from the beginning, and sanctified continually, and sanctified to the end.

Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God." That's what he said. That's what he said. The Jews understood it. When he said, I am the father of one, in verse 33, the Jews answered, saying, For a good work we stole thee not, but for blasphemy, because thou being a man makest thyself God.

And when the Lord Jesus says, I am the Son of God, he is declaring his divinity. He is saying, I am God. For he who is the Son of God is one with God. He is the eternal God. He declares his divinity, and he declares his eternality, for he says, I am God. God is eternal.

He declares also the plurality of persons in the Godhead, for he says concerning himself that he's one with the Father, so that there are at least two in the Godhead, he and the Father, and in other places he speaks of the Spirit as well. And he is declaring the unity of the divine persons. He says, I and my Father are one. We're one. All right, look at chapter 11. Chapter 11, verse 25. You know the circumstances.

Lazarus is dead. The Lord Jesus has come to Bethany. Martha came out, said, Lord, if you'd been here, my brother had not died. And the Lord said, he'll rise again. Martha said, I knew he'll rise in the resurrection, but that's not what I'm talking about. And the Lord said, that's not what I'm talking about either. Look at what he says in verse 25. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection. I am the resurrection.

Now you know when I say this, I'm not belittling doctrine. We've got to have doctrine. We've got to have doctrine. But doctrine by itself probably is useless. Doctrine is a person. Our doctrine is a person. When I talk about sanctification, I'm talking about Christ. When I talk about redemption, I'm talking about Christ. When I talk about regeneration, I'm talking about Christ. When I talk about election, I'm talking about Christ. And here the Lord Jesus speaks of the resurrection. And he says, Bartholomew, you're looking at it. You're looking at it.

I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die. The Lord Jesus Christ is our resurrection in this sense. First, we were raised from the dead with him, representatively, so that when he arose by God's power as our representative, ascended into heaven and...

What a horrible, tragic, tragic, tragic event occurred out of Oklahoma City this week. So many people all at once died. But God's elect will never die. And if some of them were in that building, maybe they were. If some of them were in that building, though their bodies had gone to the grave, they did not die. No. The body will die. The body will die. But God's elect will never die. For the believer, death is not death, but the beginning of life. Whoever believes on him, who is the resurrection and the life, though he were dead, yet shall he live spiritually, and yet shall he live eternally. Do you believe that? Do you believe that? That's what our Lord asked Martha. Do you believe that? Believer style, do you? I sure do. I sure do.

All right, look in chapter Now I tell you before it come to pass, that when it come, I tell you before it come, that when it come, is come to pass, ye may believe that I am here. The Lord Jesus says to his disciples, I am here. And notice the word he is in italics. Again he's saying I am. Our translators have added the word he very properly because this is what he said.

I am he who said to Moses I am. I am he of whom all the law was a type and of whom all the prophets spoke continually. I am the Christ. I am he who has come into the world, God Almighty, to save his people from their sin. In chapter 18, he said to those soldiers, I am he.

If ye seek me, let these go their way, that the same of the scripture might be fulfilled of them which thou hast given me, I have lost nothing. I am he. Look in chapter 14, John 14, verse 6. Here are three set right together. Jesus saith unto him, Speaking to Thomas, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. I am the way. Not a way, the way. The only way of life and salvation, the only way to God the Father is through faith in his blood.

He is that highway of whom Isaiah spoke that is a highway of holiness. He is the low way of humility which a man must bow down and enter in at this straight gate and walk in this narrow way. He is the straight way of faith and he is the plain, safe and sure way. So that the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. The Lord God says to his people, come, this is the way, walk ye in it. And they walked by faith in the way. They walked in the way.

Now people come along and try to them and try to make things confusing, and Satan tries to fill them a curve, and tries to pull them out of the way by showing some intricate crooked way, some steep winding way, and they get intrigued. But the believer, being sinful folks like we are, says, Christ is the way, I want this Isn't this intriguing over here? Not to me. Does this interest you over here? No, no, I've got no say in it. But aren't you interested in investigating this?

No, no, I walk in the way. I walk in the way. What is that way? I trust the Son of God. I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. I walk in this way because God put me in the way. Then it says I am the truth. Christ is the truth, not a truth, the truth. The source of truth, the revealer of truth, and the embodiment of truth. He is all divine truth for he is that one who is one with the Father and has declared the Father unto us. He is the inscripturated truth. That is, Jesus Christ is the living word of whom the written word speaks, and the Lord Jesus is the liberating truth.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And the more you know him, the better you know him, the freer you get. The truth shall make you free, not tradition, not superstition. not ceremonies, not creeds, the truth! You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

And then he says, I am the life. Christ, who is our life, is also death. I am the life. The source of life, the cause of life, the giver of life, the preserver of life. He says, I am the way, without me there's no going. I am the truth, without me there's no knowing. I am the life, without me there's no living. And then in chapter 50, our Savior says, I am the vine. You see it? Verse 1, I am the true vine, my Father is the husbandman. Verse 5, I am the vine, ye are the branches.

He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. But without me, severed from me, you can do nothing. Christ is divine. He's the root. The life is in divine. We're the branches. Now, being branches in divine, we have the same life he has. You were talking about it a little bit ago. We're one with Christ. We're one with him. In divine, we have the same life he has. Our life flows from him to us, and his life is our life. Christ in you. That's the hope of glory.

This, my right hand, the hand of my strength, is active, alive, and this feeling in that arm and in that hand, the strength in that arm and in that hand, There's warmth there, there's blood flowing through there. You can put your hand right there and feel my heartbeat. You can feel my heartbeat.

But you cut the arm off, and it dies. It's gone. Without the body, without the head, without the heart, it's nothing. But attached to me, it's full of life. You see that? In the same way with the branches. Attached to Christ. No, not attached to Him. In Him. In Him. We have His life flowing in us. Christ living in us.

Now, the branches bear fruit. You don't go to the stock and pull fruit off. You don't go to the stock and get your grapes. You go to the branches and there hangs a cluster of grapes. But the branches bear fruit. because they're in the vine. Cut the branch off, and it bears no fruit. The fruit which the branch bears comes from the vine, through the branch, out in the fruit. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and such things. Now in order for the branches to bear fruit, they've got to be pruned by a wise master fruit.

I went out last year, a year before last, I've forgotten now, talking to some pruners, things to prune branches with. And I went to work. Somebody came out here and told me that they needed to cut those grape vines way back, and I cut them way back. But I didn't know what I was doing, and we didn't get any grapes. Same thing with blackberries and raspberries. I didn't know what I was doing. We all got a few, got a few scabby things here and there.

But a wise man who knows what he's doing takes the pruning shears and he clips off this branch, that one, clips off this stem here, cuts off this dead thing here, and come next summer, fruit comes out. Fruit comes out. Not suddenly, oh no, gradually, but it sure enough could.

Because the husband would know what he's doing. Now the branch, if it could speak, would feed the husband and come in with those pruning shears and say, please don't cut me. Please don't put me through that. I don't want to go through that, it hurts.

But the pruning is absolutely necessary to the bearing of the fruit. You understand that? That's our Father's chastisement. And the branches, if they were bare fruit, must abide in the vine. So the husbandman never cuts the branch off of the vine. He just prunes off that which is useless and unprofitable.

That teaches us something about our Father's chastisement, the necessity of perseverance, and our utter dependence upon Christ for everything. He said, Without me, you can do nothing. Lord, teach us this. You're our strength. Without you, we have none. You're our life. Without you, we have none. You're everything. Without you, we're nothing. And then one last thing. Look at chapter 19. Chapter 19.

You remember Pilate said to Jesus, art thou king? He said, you said I'm a king. And Pilate in verse 19 wrote a title out and put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. This title was read by many of the Jews for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city. And it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priest of the Jews to Pilate, write not the king of the Jews. Don't put that on that sign. But write this. He said, I am king. I am king. Now that's what he said. from the beginning of his ministry to the end of his ministry.

And Pilate, not because he had in his backbone this spineless wimp of a man, had kowtowed to the Jews and kowtowed to folks, kowtowed in pressure everywhere throughout this ordeal, but finally, God the Holy Spirit insisted that Pilate say, what I've written, I've written. He's the king of the Jews. Jesus Christ is that one who says, I am and being healed. Christ Jesus is king everywhere, king over everybody, king over everything, king over all time, king forever.

The Father decreed it. He said, ask of me, I'll give you the heathen for your inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. The Lord Jesus deserves it. For he has obeyed the Father's will in all things, and now the Father says, I'll give him power over all flesh. And all the saints of God desired it and delight in it.

Christ is King. He must reign. He must reign. He reigns now. He must reign till all his enemies are under his feet. He must reign forever, for God's purpose demands it. The purpose of God. is the everlasting salvation of his people for the glory of his name accomplished through Christ who's King.

I am King. Come bow to this great King. The King of Kings kiss the sun and live forever. Christ is the I Am. There is no other but him. I Am has sent me unto you. Trust Him, believe on Him, and live forever. Follow Him, and you shall not walk in darkness, but in the light of life. He that believeth on the Son.

I do. Do you? I do. But I've seen so much. Me too. But this text doesn't say anything about my indifference. But my heart's so cold. Mine too. My God, it's so cold. But this text didn't say anything about my coldness of heart. But I'm so indifferent sometimes. Me too. But this text doesn't say anything about my indifference. But I fall so often, me too. But this text doesn't say a thing about my fall.

It says, Rex Bartley, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He's got it. He's got it forever. And he that believeth not the Son of God no matter how little he thinks he sins, no matter how good he imagines these, no matter how noble he thinks his deeds are, no matter how much on fire he thinks he is, he that believeth not the Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. on the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The I AM

What does the Bible say about the name I AM?

How do we know Jesus is God?

Why is the concept of Jesus as the Good Shepherd important for Christians?

What is the significance of Jesus saying 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'?

How does Jesus' declaration of 'I am the light of the world' affect Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

The I AM

What does the Bible say about the name I AM?

How do we know Jesus is God?

Why is the concept of Jesus as the Good Shepherd important for Christians?

What is the significance of Jesus saying 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'?

How does Jesus' declaration of 'I am the light of the world' affect Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

More from Don Fortner

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Don Fortner

Books by Don Fortner

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book