...“I Am” A Paper Presented to Dr. Jason Hilgeman Of Liberty University Lynchburg, VA In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for John BIBL 323 By: Keith D. Lewis March 8, 2013 The seven “I AM” sayings are a signature of John’s gospel. They are quick to the tongue of many Christians when defending a variety of doctrines. Indeed, the “I AM” sayings alone can almost summarize Jesus’ teachings about his own deity and nature. Of particular interest is the saying found in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody gets to the father except through me.” This paper will be concerned with this saying, and explore the events surrounding it, its relation to God’s revelation of himself in the Bible, and its significance to Christ’s deity. The back drop of this saying is the upper room discourse. Jesus has called all the disciples together so that he may share a last meal with them and give them his last parting directions before he dies. He has washed the disciple’s feet, implicitly announced the man who will betray him, and has foretold Peter’s denial. He has also given his “New Commandment” in 13:34: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” This I AM saying is in the middle of Jesus’ discourse. It was provoked by a question from Thomas. Jesus had just explained the he was going to “prepare a place” for them (14:3), and further revealed to the disciples, “and you know the way...
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...Ernst Käsemann’s insight that the Johannine Jesus is like a “god striding over the earth”? John presents a very different Jesus compared to the synoptic gospels. It is clear that for John Jesus has many complex elements to his personality and without all of these the picture is not complete. The above quote by Käsemann suggests that in the gospel of John Jesus’ divinity is definite and his presence is felt on the entire world through his words and actions. This allows for the human Jesus but implies the divine Jesus is imperative. The divinity of Jesus Christ is something that is very apparent in the gospel of John. Käsemann’s quote describes Jesus as a ‘God’, which offers an immediate insight into the ‘high Christology’ of Jesus in the gospel of John. The divine Jesus far outweighs the human Jesus. From the introduction of John’s gospel the divinity of Jesus Christ is immediately addressed when John writes ‘In the Beginning..,’ implying that Jesus was there with God at the start of creation. ‘Where the other gospels’ tell us about the human origins of Jesus, John speaks about his divine origin,’ which is with God in heaven, ‘Before all things the word was.’ The fourth gospel paints Jesus as a picture of total control who has descended from heaven to perform his duties to reveal God to humanity. This is evident in the final words of Jesus Christ ‘It is finished’ , implying that Jesus made the decision to end his life. Jesus is given very powerful and direct titles in...
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...RefJ. Tuzzolo THEO 104-C07 LUO Spring Semester 2010 April 4, 2010 Jesus Christ Reflection Paper I. Introduction Jesus. This one name will bring out many different emotions. This one name will bring millions of people together to worship the God who holds this name. This one name will be cursed by man. This one name will be the topic of many discussions and heated debates. This one name is the name under which man will be saved. This name is not just a name; this name is Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, Jesus Christ the Son of God. This name is the name by which millions of people live their lives on a daily basis. This name is the name in which thousands of churches love their community. Through the name of Jesus power is given to powerless, strength to the weak, love to the loveless and hope to the hopeless. II. Section One – Jesus is God Jesus Christ claimed to be God. So what? A man who walked on this earth claimed to be God. Does this claim make this statement true? The man who claims to be Jesus Christ would have to “demonstrate God-like moral attributes of holiness, love and goodness. He would also have to back up His claim with demonstrations of power, vast knowledge and omnipresence.” (The Deity of Christ). There are eight aspects to Jesus’ claim to this deity. The eight aspects are as follows: 1. Jehovistic I AM 2. Old Testament Adonai 3. Identifies Himself with God in the baptismal formula 4. Be one with the Father ...
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...his perspective as a Jew. We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles [Gal. 2:15]. The Jew in that day looked upon the Gentile as a sinner. In fact, Gentile and sinner were synonymous terms. Therefore, the rebuke that Paul gave shows the folly of lawkeeping -- how really foolish it is to try to be good enough to go to heaven, and how ridiculous to consider others to be sinners when you keep failing at your own lawkeeping. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified [Gal. 2:16]. This is a clear-cut and simple statement of justification by faith. Believe me, the legalist has trouble with this verse. This verse will upset every legal system there is today. To say that you have to add anything to faith in Christ absolutely mutilates the gospel. Notice what Paul says here. If a Jew had to leave the Law behind -- that is, forsake it -- in order to be justified by faith, Paul's question is, "Why should the Gentile be brought under the Law?" That was the great argument at the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15; "Should the Gentile be brought under the Law?" Thank God, the answer, guided by the Spirit of God, was that the Gentile was not under the Law for salvation -- not for his daily living, as he was called to a much higher plane. Could...
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... I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE -JOHN 14:6 In the Book of John we see Jesus making some very bold statements about Himself, and relating Himself to the Father. The statements all begin with “I AM.” In the Book of Exodus 3:14, God says, “I AM THAT I AM,” [1] Which in Hebrew means I am the One that shall be, I am that was. This statement always comes to those who lack faith, in the Old Testament it came with Moses at the burning bush, in the New Testament it came with the disciples on numerous occasions. One particular “ I AM” statement is the one found in [2] John: 14:7, “Jesus said unto them, I Am the way the Truth and the Life: no man comes unto the Father except through Me.” We were in need of a Savior due to our lack of righteousness that was the key of Christ explaining the way to God. [6] The mediator did not come on His own. God so loved that He “gave”, that He “sent” His Son. We begin the Chapter of Jesus speaking to the disciples in the Upper Room, [3] On page 118 of Jesus is the Christ, “Jesus was talking to the disciples about His imminent departure, finishing with “and where I am going you know the way.” [6] On page 46 of Saved from what by R.C. Sproul, “The promise of entering into Christ’s presence came initially from the lips of Jesus Himself.” While in the Upper Room, Jesus talks about His death, and...
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...there have been relevant topics that lead me to dig deeper into its true definition in my own Christian life which are hope and the deity of Christ. I reflect in this paper what I knew or shall I say what I was told to be true when it comes to the two topics of hope and the deity of Christ and the way that it was presented in the course that brought about challenging questions and eagerness to want to learn more and the need of more clarification of what God is saying opposed to what others may have told me he was saying. I’ve always thought that “hope” was wishful thinking and hoping that things would happen without the assurance that it would. My studies have given me a different approach to what Hope truly is. According to the World English dictionary “hope” is defined as; a feeling of desire for something and the confidence in the possibility of its fulfillment. From a biblical stand point hope is a secure assurance on things that are imprecise and uncertain. From a spiritual basis hope is deemed as confident expectation that the Word of God and all that he has promised has or will come to fruition. Those of us who put both faith and trust in God will give in to the confidence in knowing that there’s security and support in God and can be truly free in the certainty of the plans God has for our lives. In the bible God’s word states “I know the plans for you, declares the Lord, plans for...
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...statements that Jesus states, which are readily known as the “I am…” statements. There is an eighth claim that was also made by Jesus about Himself; when He simply states, “I am.” Theologian Elmer Towns states in his textbook, (Elmer Towns) “This is a statement of identification with Old Testament deity. Christ is implying, “I am…I am,” the self-existent One. He is claiming to be their God. The Old Testament is pointing to the coming One. Many scriptures tell that someone is coming. Who is coming? Could it be the Messiah? The people of John’s time were looking, searching, hoping for the One to come. Ray Stedman states in his commentary (Ray Stedman) “In John's day, people were stirred by the fact that John the Baptist had appeared. They asked him, "Are you the Christ?" He said, "No, but he is coming after me," and when Jesus began to preach up and down the hills of Judea and Galilee, men were saying everywhere, "Is this the One? Is this the Messiah?" The first time Jesus made this self-existent claim without explanation or without the use of a metaphor is found in John 4:26. Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well in this scripture verse. Jesus being Deity had been telling her things about herself that no one knew. The exchange between the woman and Jesus is very telling. The Deity of Christ is examined by the woman when she states to Jesus in John 4:2, “The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming, He who is called the Christ (the Anointed One);...
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...his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 19And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22Then said they unto him, Who...
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...Liberty University I AM PAPER “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.” Craig Hardin BIBL 160-BO2 The Gospel of John February 22, 2015 In the research for the writing of this paper, I began reading a book that my grandfather read as he was studying at Carson Newman University after his ordination to preach the Gospel. In the book entitled, John’s Witness to Jesus, it states in speaking of Jesus: “in each figure of speech Jesus unfolded fresh truth about himself.” There are seven “I AM’S” in the book of John that could be written about. I have chosen to write concerning Jesus and the comparison that he made to himself as the bread. One of the most miraculous happenings of the Book of John is the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand when there seemed to not be enough food to go around. Douglas Connelly writes concerning Jesus and his miracles in John; “These miracles were not performed simply to alleviate human suffering or to meet human needs; John called them signs. Like signs pointing to the right road, Jesus’ miracles pointed to the truth of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God.” Could we imagine what it would have been like during this time in history and to also have possibly have been a part of it as well? Gregg Matte reminds us: “In the fourth miracle-the only miracle found in all Gospel accounts-Jesus shows compassion for the people by filling their stomachs and opening their hearts. “ The Reverend Donald McCorkindale said something interesting in an article I read for this paper:...
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...February 10, 2003 The True Church I. Introduction II. Origin of the Word Church III. The Bride IV. A Structure V. The Branch VI. A Body VII. Other names VIII. Saints and royal priesthood IX. In Him X. Conclusion Introduction Oh, hallelujah! I am a woman inside a man’s body. I can’t wait for the day that the real me comes out. I know who my husband is and I’m ready to sit down at my honeymoon feast and stare into his eyes. Oh, how glorious the day when the real me is set free. My husband is coming in on a white horse. He is my knight in shining armor. He is going to take me away to paradise. If this sounds sickening to you, it should. The sad part about it is, this is the exact type of message that gets people to shout down a man behind a pulpit. I don’t know if they do it out of ignorance or if they do it just to get a good offering. Either way it is very unbiblical to teach such falseness. The Bible says to study to show ones self approved of God, a work man that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Anyone who studies should know who and what the true church is. Hopefully by the end of this paper, I’ll be able to give you a glimpse of that truth. The Scriptures and background is beyond the scope of a paper. Origin of the Word Church It is not the scope of this paper to go into all the history and language study of the church. It is important, though, to have a foundation that can be built upon. I encourage one to look back in history...
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...Reflection Paper 21APR11 THEO104 Phillip A Johnson #L23636707 The Authority of the Bible The purpose of this paper is to share some thoughts of what we learned over this semester. Many thoughts will come from what I have written during the class and from the Core of Christianity, Elmer Towns. The topics I chosen to discuss is Does the Bible have authority, Did Jesus claim to be God and How can we be confident that Jesus is returning. Let us first look at the word authority. Authority means “the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control, command, or determine.” ("authority.") This authority can come from a teacher, pastor, principle or anyone else that has the ability to control or command someone or something. The Biblical definition, states that authority is “the legal and/or moral right to exercise power, or power that is rightly possessed. We recognize the Bible is the most significant book in the history of civilization. In the context of Jewish history, the Bible’s impact on politics, history, and religion is without comparison. Along with establishing the covenant-based legitimacy of the Jewish people and their history, the Bible’s political impact is exemplified through prophetic politics, the power of kings, and the effects of political authority. Biblical archeology has discovered biblical structures which supports the historical validity of the Bible. The Bible’s effect on history,...
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...person come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It starts with oneself knowing that God loves you. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” God loves us so much that He had His son Jesus die on the cross to save us from our sin. Knowing we were going to live lives of a sinful nature He died for us out of His everlasting love. Therefor; the second step to the four spiritual laws is that man is sinful and separated from God. This means that we fall short of the glory of God just as Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Its clear that accepting that we are sinners is important; saying this we know already that God has died for our sins. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wage of sin is death,” we know that God has already paid this price for us as we earlier stated in John 3:16. Thirdly the step that states Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin, means that you only get into heaven by accepting Christ as you savior. John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” This means that no matter how good of a person you believe you are of how many good deeds you do, it is not enough; Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…”. Lastly step 4 says, we must individually receive Jesus as Savior and Lord....
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...gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives. The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of sin - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death! The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:8 declares, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus' death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins. The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, "for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and...
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...missed class on Friday, you have a make-up assignment. You must write me a 1-2 page paper for Wednesday. Question: Who wrote the Bible? You must discuss 1) the traditional evidence for Moses; 2) the Documentary hypothesis. This is ONLY for those who MISSED Friday. The names of God. Lord: Adonai (Hebrew) LORD: Yahweh or Jehovah or I am who I am. God: Elohim (Hebrew). God Almighty: El Shaddai. Most ancient Jews thought that Moses wrote the Torah/Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). Moses is traditionally thought to have lived in the 1200sBC. The names of God appear to differ systematically in the Torah. J source: used Yahweh/Jehovah. E source: used Elohim/God. P source: written by priestly writers. D source: The book of Deuteronomy is a separate composition. ------------------------------------------------- Genesis 27.46: Esau’s wives drove his mother CRAZY!!!!!! Welcome back! The New Testament presents Jesus as… The New Moses (but who is Moses?????????????) Exodus 1-20 The Ten Commandments: Exodus 20/Deuteronomy Genesis 1: 10 COMMANDMENTS! The covenant/allianza. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of slavery. 1. You shall have no other gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. 3. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 4. Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 5...
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...meditated. To be completely honest, I forgot about the assignment. I was laying in bed reading my bible app, and I came across a verse that I knew had deep meaning but I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant. John 8:12(ESV) says “ Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” I read this verse and My eyes drew right to Jesus’ declaration of deity. Reading this verse really softened my heart, after speaking in class about Jesus’ I AM statements. The verse was still very confusing to me thouh so i focused on it, I just kept wondering, “what is the light of life, and what does Jesus mean by “I am the light of the world.” So I thought about it for quite a while saying the verse over and over, trying to recreate the situation in my head. I started to think about what light represents; Life, joy, love, and basically anything that is good. Jesus is the beacon of all things good. At this point I recognized that I was actually meditating over scripture, and I felt tickled pink because I was supposed to do this for an assignment, and was doing it unintentionally. I started to focus on what Jesus meant when he said, “ Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness…” I’ve seen plenty of followers of Christ do evil. I do plenty of evil myself. I realized that God gave us free will. If we walk in darkness that is attributed to us not actually following Christ but following the evil one. ...
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