Jesus Said "I Am"

By James D. Quiggle

Jesus Christ made fourteen “I am” statements in the New Testament scriptures. This book is an explanation of those statements by way of an exegesis of the passages in which they occur.

The “I am” statements of Jesus are meant to communicate an important truth. Jesus Christ is the origin and source of that thing of which he is the “I am.” For example, as the bread he is the origin and source of fellowship with God. As “the way” he is the only means whereby a sinner is brought into a salvific relationship with God. As the genuine vine he is the origin and source of spiritual life and spiritual “fruit” in the believer.

This book is created from my commentaries on the New Testament books where the “I am” statements occur (Matthew; Luke, John, Revelation). Additional comments, such as on Exodus 3:2, 4, 14–15, have been added as seemed suitable. I created this book for the same reasons I created my books, The Parables and Miracles of Jesus Christ, and The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ out of my commentaries on the four gospels. There is a benefit to separating out significant parts of the gospel for focused study. May the reader discover that benefit in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James D. Quiggle
• Release date: Mar 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005008215

James D. Quiggle

James D. Quiggle was born in 1952 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He grew up in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1970s he joined the United States Air Force. At his first permanent assignment in Indian Springs, Nevada in a small Baptist church, the pastor introduced him to Jesus and soon after he was saved. Over the next ten years those he met in churches from the East Coast to the West Coast, mature Christian men, poured themselves into mentoring him. In the 1970s he was gifted with the Scofield Bible Course from Moody Bible Institute. As he completed his studies his spiritual gift of teaching became even more apparent. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethany Bible College during the 1980s while still in the Air Force. Between 2006–2008, after his career in the Air Force and with his children grown up, he decided to continue his education. He enrolled in Bethany Divinity College and Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies.As an extension of his spiritual gift of teaching, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to begin writing books. James Quiggle is now a Christian author with over fifty commentaries on Bible books and doctrines. He is an editor for the Evangelical Dispensational Quarterly Journal published by Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary.He continues to write and has a vibrant teaching ministry through social media.

Book preview

Jesus Said I am

BOOKS BY JAMES D. QUIGGLE

DOCTRINAL SERIES

Biblical History

Adam and Eve, a Biography and Theology

Angelology, a True History of Angels

Essays

Biblical Essays

Biblical Essays II

Biblical Essays III

Biblical Essays IV

Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family: A Biblical Perspective

Biblical Homosexuality

A Biblical Response to Same-gender Marriage

Doctrinal and Practical Christianity

First Steps, Becoming a Follower of Jesus Christ

Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

The Literal Hermeneutic, Explained and Illustrated

Christian Living and Doctrine

Spiritual Gifts

Why Christians Should Not Tithe

Dispensational Theology

A Primer On Dispensationalism

Understanding Dispensational Theology

Covenants and Dispensations in the Scripture

Dispensational Eschatology, An Explanation and Defense of the Doctrine

Antichrist, His Genealogy, Kingdom, and Religion

God and Man

God’s Choices, Doctrines of Foreordination, Election, Predestination

God Became Incarnate

Life, Death, Eternity

Did Jesus Go To Hell?

COMMENTARY SERIES

The Old Testament

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Judges

A Private Commentary on the Book of Ruth

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Esther

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Song of Solomon

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Daniel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jonah

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Habakkuk

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Haggai

The New Testament

The Gospels

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Matthew’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Mark’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Luke 1–12

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Luke 13–24

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1–12

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 13–21

The Parables and Miracles of Jesus Christ

The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ

The Christmas Story, As Told By God

Four Voices, One Testimony

Jesus Said I Am

Pauline Letters

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Galatians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Ephesians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philippians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Colossians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Thessalonians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philemon

General Letters

A Private Commentary on the Book of Hebrews

A Private Commentary on the Bible: James

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 1 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 2 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Epistles

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jude

Revelation

The Epistle of Jesus to the Church

REFERENCE SERIES

Dictionary of Doctrinal Words

Translation of Select Bible Books

Old and New Testament Chronology (Also in individual volumes: Old Testament Chronology; New Testament Chronology)

TRACTS

A Human Person: Is the Unborn Life a Person?

Biblical Marriage

How Can I Know I am A Christian?

Now That I am A Christian

Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

What is a Pastor? / Why is My Pastor Eating the Sheep?

(All tracts are in Kindle and/or Epub format and cost $0.99)

Formats

Print and Digital. Search James D. Quiggle or book title.

Copyright Page

Jesus Said I Am

Copyright James D. Quiggle, 2022

All Scriptures unless otherwise marked are from James D. Quiggle, Translations of Select Bible Books (JQT), or have been translated for this work by James D. Quiggle.

Other Scripture versions that may be mentioned.

English Standard Version™ (ESV). Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a Division of Good News Publishers, 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, USA. All rights reserved.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, by Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Lexham English Bible (LEB), 4th ed. Copyright 2012. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.

New King James Version® (NKJV). Copyright © 1982, 1983 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Jesus said I Am

Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Introduction

I Am He Who Exists

The Bread

The Light

The I Am

The Door

The Shepherd

The Son of God

The Resurrection and the Life

The Way, Truth, Life

The Genuine Vine

The King

The Alpha And Omega

The First And Last

The Root and Offspring

The Bright and Morning Star

Appendix: The Doctrine of the Christ

Appendix: Did Anyone Know Jesus was God Incarnate?

Sources

Abbreviations

AD … Anno Domini (In the year of the Lord [since Christ was born])

BC … Bello Christo (Before Christ [was born])

ca. … about (an approximate date) (Latin: circa)

cf. … compare (Latin: confer)

e.g. … for example (Latin: exempli gratia)

etc. … and so forth, and so on (Latin: et cetera)

ff. … and the following verses.

Ibid … in the same place (referring to the source cited in the previous entry) (Latin: ibidem)

i.e. … that is (Latin: id est)

NPNF … Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers

LXX … Greek translation of the Old Testament

s. v. … under the word (Latin: sub verbo)

Introduction

One of the curious things about the I am statements of Jesus Christ is the way he says I am. In many places, such as, I am the bread, Jesus says egṓ eimí. The Greek egṓ means I. The word is a first person, singular number, personal pronoun. The word eimí is a verb in the present tense, indicative case, active voice, first person singular, meaning to be, to have existence, or as it is translated, I am In essence, when Jesus said Jesus says egṓ eimí, he was saying, I, I am.

Whether those who heard him understood egṓ eimí as I am or I, I am, the emphasis upon himself was unmistakable. Today Jesus might say to us, I am the one who is the bread, the light, the door, the shepherd, the way, the truth, the life," etc.

The definite article ho lends specificity to the statements. or I am the bread a specific bread, not some other kind of bread. The comments following the I am statements tells us what kind of bread he was and that no one else was the bread in the way Jesus himself was the bread. So too all the I am" statements.

Another striking thing about these I am statements is some are metaphorical and some literal. Jesus Christ is not literally bread, but he is literally the way, the truth, the life. Jesus is literally the resurrection in the sense he is the origin and source of the supra-natural authority and power required to re-create the physically dead body and rejoin the disembodied soul to its proper body. Yet, he is not literally the root of David, a genealogical impossibility as to both his deity and human natures, nor is he literally the planet Venus, the bright and morning star.

The I am statements of Jesus are meant to communicate an important truth. Jesus Christ is the origin and source of that thing of which he is the I am, whether that thing is literal or represents something literal. As the bread he is the origin and source of fellowship with God. As the way he is the only means whereby a sinner is brought into a salvific relationship with God. As the genuine vine he is the origin and source of spiritual life and spiritual fruit in the believer.

I have written commentaries on each of the gospels. This book is built from those commentaries, lightly edited to the present purpose, with original comments, such as above. I created this book for the same reasons I created my books, The Parables and Miracles of Jesus Christ, and The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ out of my commentaries on the four gospels. There is a benefit to separating out significant parts of the gospel for focused study. May the reader discover that benefit in this book.

I Am He Who Exists

Exodus 3:14, And Elohim said to Moses, ‘I am he who exists.’

This Hebrew statement, hāyâ ‘āsher hāyâ, I am he who exists, is one of the most definitive statements of the essential nature of God. The verb hāyâ means to be, to exist [Harris et al., s. v. 491]. I exist says God, because I exist. The Triune God is increate, a word meaning not created. God has no beginning and no end. God has always been and will always be.

Elohim had just told Moses to tell the people of Israel, Elohim of your fathers has sent me to you. The Hebrew ’ěl1ōhîm is the same as the English God. Moses, knowing there were thousands of gods in Egypt, each with a name, responds, What if they ask me your name? What shall I say. The answer was, I am he who exists. Tell them ‘I Am’ has sent you to them.

God’s personal name is YHWH, not I am, and God was known to Israel’s fathers as YHWH. The point YHWH was making is this: the God who is sending Moses is the same God who called Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest of the patriarchs.

We see that point at Exodus 3:15. "YHWH ’Ĕl1ōhîm … has sent me to you. The YHWH ’hîm of your fathers, the ’Ĕl1ōhîm of Abraham, the ’of Isaac, and the ’Ĕl1ōhîm of Jacob. This [YHWH God] is my name forever."

The I am statements of Jesus are not a specific declaration of deity (although as origin and source statements, they are), except one, John 8:58. There Jesus says, "Before Abraham was born, egṓ eimí, I existed." The Greek eimí [Zodhiates, s. v. 1510] serves the same function, and has the same meaning, as the Hebrew hāyâ. Clearly Jesus Christ identified himself as the hāyâ ‘āsher hāyâ of Exodus 3:14, as the "YHWH ’Ĕl1ōhîm of your fathers, the ’Ĕl1ōhîm of