This is the manuscript of the first sermon in a series titled "The Adequacy of Jesus Christ". In this series we will examine the seven "I am" sayings of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of John. John writes to provoke faith in Jesus, resulting in eternal life. John is likely writing both to call unbelievers to faith in Jesus and to provide confidence for those believers who are struggling in their faith.
John almost seems intent on writing to convince the reader that Jesus Christ is divine, that He is the incarnate God-Man, and that He is both God and Man. As such, He is the only One who can take away the sins of humanity.
As we will see, in this series, John constantly demonstrated a keen awareness of the relationship between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and the revelation of Jesus as God in the New Testament era.
Listen to an audio recording of the sermon by clicking on the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.
You can also watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/2BwnY9ADxQ0
Visit the Christ Church website at christchurchlosangeles.org.
Scripture
Exodus 3:7-15 NIV The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 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.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.
Text:
“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’” (Exod. 3:14 NIV).
Introduction
Today’s message is an introduction to a study of the seven ‘I am' sayings of Jesus found in the gospel of John. As we will see, John constantly demonstrated a keen awareness of the relationship between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and the revelation of Jesus as God in the New Testament era.
As God promised to be adequate to meet the needs of Moses and the children of Israel, so Jesus also claimed divine adequacy.
As John listened to Jesus’ teachings, he sensed a significant parallelism between God’s announcement of his name to Moses and Jesus’ repeated announcements about his person in the “I am” statements.
To gain the full significance of John’s gospel account, we must go back to that burning bush at Sinai and examine the great I Am who revealed himself to Moses.
Moses was startled when the Lord announced to him that he had chosen him to go to Pharaoh and secure the release of his people.
Exodus 3:1-4, 9-10 NIV Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Exodus 3:9-10 NIV And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
After God told him that he was chosen to secure the release of the Isrealites, Moses immediately began making excuses, one of which was,
Exodus 3:13 NIV Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then wha shall I tell them?”
Here’s God’s reply to that question and excuse
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.’ ”
God’s reply implied, “I am the God of the past, the present, and the future.”
I am the God of the present.
The phrase translated “I am in Hebrew is ehyeh. when used as a stand-alone description,I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish. He told Moses, “I am who I am.”
God was saying to Moses, “I am the God of right now.” He was assuring Moses of his continued presence as he carried his assessment.
People often look only at their own abilities when God calls them to a particular responsibility. God is saying to Moses what Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 28:20:
Matthew 28:19-20 NIV Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It is important to know that in Moses’ day a person’s name was the identification of his or her character. By allowing someone to use your name you would be giving them the right to use your power or influence. So, God was giving to Moses the power to call his name in prayer, proclamation, and prophecy.
God wanted Moses to go and tell the Israelites that he is a very present help. God told Moses and all succeeding generations that he is “the God of the present.”
Jesus did the same thing before He gave Himself over to be sacrificed for humanity, He said in John
John 16:22-24 NIV So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
God is always available to his people. He is not locked in the past with what used to be; nor is he so preoccupied with the future He is a help here and now.
Psalms 46:1-3 NIV God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
He is God of the present but He is also the God of the past.
Exodus 3:15 NIV God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.
God wanted his people to know that he was the same God who led, blessed, and made covenants with their forefathers. This identification of God as the God of your fathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would cause the Israelites to remember and raise the expectations of the promises made to their forefathers.
The covenant was first made with Abraham.
Genesis 12:1-3 NIV The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 17:8 NIV The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
He renewed the covenant with Isaac
Genesis 26:1-5 NIV Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”
He renewed the covenant again with Jacob and later changed his name. Jacob became known as Israel, “prince of God.”
Genesis 28:11-15 NIV When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Genesis 32:27-28 NIV The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
So God’s name also meant that he is the God of the past.
When God said "am who I am",God was saying I am God of the present, the past and I am the God of the future.
Earlier it was mentioned that the Hebrew word God used as his name was ’ehyeh. That the word can also be translated as “I will be who I will be.”
At any time in the near or distant future, God will still be God.
God was telling Moses that he was not only here now, but that Moses, the people of Israel, and their descendants could always count on God being with them.
God is not bound by time. Whatever promises he has made in the past will be kept in the future. Even if the generation of Moses is not present to see the fulfillment of a promise, the people can be sure that God will always and forever be present to keep his word.
God comes to us today to let us know that he will be present tomorrow, and tomorrow after that, and tomorrow forever.
The writer of Hebrews said this;
Hebrews 13:8 NIV Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Conclusion
God said to Moses what he says to us today: “I am the God of the past.” Even though you were not perfect, I still worked with you, loved you, and saved you.
“I am also the God of the present.” I am not locked in an ancient book, tradition, or history. What I did for Moses, I can and want to do for you today. I want to be your God, and I want you to be my people.
Finally, “I am the God of the future.” I am going before you. I will not change. I will keep my promises to you because I will be with you tomorrow and forever.
God is the only One who can accurately describe Himself as “I AM.”. John in his gospel wanted to be sure that his readers knew that Jesus was that great I AM.
John 8:58 NIV “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Let's pray,
God, thank you for your presence with us. You promise to never leave us or forsake us. Even on days that are long and leave us feeling weary and empty, we know that you have not left us. On the days when our circumstances have consumed us, you hold us. You are with us and will not let us go.
Thank you that you are walking beside us showing us the many , ways that You are present. You are the great I AM. the God who walks with us.
Amen.
Sermon Audio
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