"And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM;' and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Ex 3:14).

The above statement was given to Moses when God called him to be the deliverer of the children of Israel. Moses wanted to know how to respond when the children of Israel asked for the name of the God who sent him. "I AM" is the root of the name JEHOVAH. Jesus used the "I AM" statement, both to reveal His Divine nature, and show His purpose as Messiah.

1. Messiah had to be the unique God-man. " I AM He." - (Jo 4:26). The woman at the well was looking for the promised Messiah (Christ). This was Jesus' response to her. Remember another title for the Messiah was "Immanuel" (Mt 1:23), which means "God with us."

2. Only Jesus Christ can feed the hunger of men's souls. "I AM the bread of life." (Jo 6:35,41,48,51).

3. Only God in human flesh could bring light into a sin-darkened world. "I AM the light of the world." - (Jo 8:12; 9:5; 12:46). "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." - (Jo 1:4).

4. In order to give eternal life, the Savior must be eternal. "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM'" (Jo 8:58). "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.." - (Heb 13:8).

5. Only the Son of God could offer entrance into eternal life. "I AM the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved." - (Jo 10:9b)

6. Jesus alone is the Shepherd of men's souls. "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I AM the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." - (Jo 10:10b,11). "The Lord (God) is my shepherd, I shall not want." - (Ps 23:1).

7. Only the Messiah (God-incarnate) could claim to be the unique, only-begotten Son of God. "I AM the Son of God." - (Jo 10:36b). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - (Jo 1:1).

8. The Lord Jesus Christ is the very essence of eternal life. "I AM the resurrection and the life." - (Jo 11:25a).

9. To Jesus alone belongs the title "LORD." "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I AM." - (Jo 13:13).

10. Therefore, Jesus the Messiah is the only way to God. "Jesus said to him, 'I AM the way, and they truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.'" - (Jo 14:6)

Jesus' deity also seen in - Is 9:6; Micah 5:2; Jo 1:14; Ro 9:5; Phil 2:5,6; Titus 2:13; Jo 10:30,38.

-- (bygrace@thru.faith), July 17, 2000

Answers

I yam what I yam and that's all I yam.

-- (popeye@OliveOyl's.poopdeck), July 17, 2000.

each one of us is perpetually in the process of saying "I am". Everything we do and do not do, everything we think and do not think, is a statement of who we are. most of us are not in touch with how powerful the statement "I am" is. They have no idea that the are creators themselves, graced with the ability to determine their exact destiny.

We are all God, and as such, are all creators. Whenever you say "I am" this or that-that IS what you are. The I am statement is the most powerful statement in the universe. Compare it, for instance, to the statement "I want____". This only creates a sense of wanting. The universe, as I read somewhere before, is a giant mimeograph machine, and will reflect back to you exactly what you create.

This is the gospel according to FutureShock. Glory be his name.

-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), July 17, 2000.

Hey FS-

Are you by any chance a B5 fan?

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), July 17, 2000.

>> We are all God, and as such, are all creators. <<

And, of course, every time we create something, something else is destroyed. Even when we make up a poem and sing it aloud, we destroy a measure of silence. The more still we make ourselves, the more we make less of ourselves. There is no escape from destruction-in-creation. You just have to rejoice in the inescapable, or else there is nothing left to rejoice in.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), July 17, 2000.

I think.Therefore I AM.

-- Dan Newsome (BOONSTAR1@webtv.net), July 17, 2000.

Brian:

You are absolutely correct. as nothing is ever "wasted" in the universe. There are by-products to every "reaction", and every ying has its yang. We DO have to rejoice in the inescapable.

Tarzan:

Pray tell, what is a "B5"?

-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), July 17, 2000.

HOW-MANY-of you,can walk on water???

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), July 17, 2000.

HOW-MANY-of you,can walk on water???-turn water-into-wine? curse a fig-tree-& it dies?-TAKE-ON-satan & =WIN????

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), July 17, 2000.

I AM. I CAN.

-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), July 18, 2000.

I curse weeds in my garden and they die! I have kicked Satans ass many times.He is a light weight.

-- Dan Newsome (BOONSTAR1@webtv.net), July 18, 2000.

Brian--

Interesting point but it seems too clever to me. Are you saying the universe is a zero-sum game? Beethoven destroyed alot of silence but do you equate the value of that silence to the value of his music?

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), July 18, 2000.

>> Are you saying the universe is a zero-sum game? <<

No. I meant only what I said. That creation always entails destruction.

The value of the thing destroyed is another matter altogether. It may not always be equal to the value of the thing created. But then, evaluation on a cosmic scale is not my forte. I sometimes enjoy what Beethoven created more than silence. I sometimes enjoy silence more.

On the whole, I think that Beethoven's music is a fitting counterpoint to the silence of entropy. But perhaps not the silence of intention.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), July 18, 2000.

OH Brian, I'm sorry, you are right. You are always right. I am just a hopeless memetic doomer, but you are right. You were right about y2k, you were right about creation, you were right about destruction. How do the people who live around you always cope with you being right, and them being wrong all the times.

-- Ian MacGabblin (visionary@imitient.net), July 18, 2000.

FS-

B5 stands for Babylon 5. It was a very well executed science fiction show. There was a very spiritual non-human character who seemed to hold similar views regarding the universe as you. One of my favorite lines of hers was "All life is the universe trying to explain itself to itself".

Now I don't hold the same viewpoint, being an atheist, however, it is a beautiful sentiment.

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), July 18, 2000.

>> How do the people who live around you always cope with you being right, and them being wrong all the times. <<

They give me all their worldly goods, wear sackcloth and ashes, and dwell at my feet, so they may hear my utterances. They all seem quite satisfied with this arrangement, you ingrate.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), July 18, 2000.

Brian--

I misstated. You're right, value is another matter altogether. But I disagree with your statement that "creation always entails destruction". As I see it, entropy is a thermodynamic concept only. In a larger context, things do arise from nothing. We see that every day. That is why I am a "Creationist". No, I don't mean the Genesis version of Creation.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), July 18, 2000.

Prove who wrote the Bible, and prove that the fairy tales really happened. The Bible is nothing more than a romance novel loaded with incest, murder, science fiction, and mayhem. And to this day, thousands of books are written loaded with the same imaginations. What stupid gullible people you are - can I sell you some Y2K food?

-- guess who (guesswhooo@guesswhooo.xcom), July 18, 2000.

guess who,

Overweight, angry and cynical. A deadly combo.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), July 18, 2000.