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Understanding Jesus as the I AM and His Eternal Divinity

How can Jesus have life that is 'underived' yet still be called a Son?

AdventAI

What does it mean that Jesus was the I AM

AdventAI

Jesus being the "I AM" signifies His absolute divinity, His eternal pre-existence, and His perfect unity with the Father John 10:30.

The Divinity of Christ

  • Absolute Equality with God: Jesus Christ is the expression of the thought of God and the express image of His person Hebrews 1:3. By divine right and eternal inheritance, He bears the name of "God" and is in very substance the nature of God.

  • Eternal Pre-existence: He existed long before His advent to this world, having been in the presence of the Father from the beginning. His goings forth have been from of old, even from the days of eternity.

  • The Creator and Upholder: As the "I AM," He is the one through whom the Father spoke all things into existence, including the heavens and the earth Psalm 33:6, 9. He currently upholds all things by the word of His power Hebrews 1:3.

God Manifest in the Flesh

  • The Union of Two Natures: To save humanity, the eternal Word was made flesh and dwelt among us John 1:14. He clothed His divinity with humanity, employing human faculties so that He could be comprehended by mankind.

  • The Flash of Majesty: Even while appearing as a common mortal, His divinity occasionally flashed through His veil of flesh, such as when He cleansed the temple or stood before His accusers. During His trial, His voluntary confession of His Sonship with God was a revelation of the glory of His divinity.

  • The Only Way to Know God: Because Christ is the "I AM," He was the only one able to represent the Deity to the world. No verbal description could reveal God; it required Christ to live out the character of God in human flesh.

The Significance for Our Salvation

  • The Purpose of the Law: Christ is the "I AM" who serves as the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes Romans 10:4. What the law could not do because of our sinful flesh, Christ accomplishes for us Romans 8:3.

  • Infinite Sufficiency: In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, providing every resource needed for our redemption Colossians 2:9. Because He is divine, His obedience and sacrifice possess the power to take away the sins of the whole world.

  • Unity with the Father: Unity with the Father is an essential part of His divinity; to claim He has any interest separate from the Father is to deny His identity as the "I AM" John 10:30.

Understanding Jesus as the "I AM" is vital because those who reject His divinity cannot have a true conception of the plan of redemption or the character of God. By beholding Him, we see a perfect Savior ready to take away our sins and clothe us in His own righteousness.

Sources · 13
  1. SITI November 20, 1884, page 697.15The Signs of the Times, vol. 10Ellet Joseph Waggoner
  2. GC88 524.2The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)Ellen Gould White
  3. ECE 566.3Ecclesiastical EmpireAlonzo Trevier Jones
  4. 9MR 126.1Manuscript Releases, vol. 9 [Nos. 664-770]Ellen Gould White
  5. CHR 24.2Christ and His RighteousnessEllet Joseph Waggoner
  6. 7BC 904.11EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7Ellen Gould White
  7. RH March 26, 1901, par. 12The Review and HeraldEllen Gould White
  8. 3SP 120.1The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3Ellen Gould White
  9. KCMS 1.1Kansas Campmeeting SermonsAlonzo Trevier Jones
  10. 13MR 147.1Manuscript Releases, vol. 13 [Nos. 1000-1080]Ellen Gould White
  11. ARSH September 18, 1900, page 600.20The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, vol. 77Alonzo Trevier Jones
  12. NIRec August 17, 1909, par. 14The Northern Illinois RecorderEllen Gould White
  13. 7ABC 440.2EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7AEllen Gould White

If his life was original, unborrowed, underived; then how could he have been brought forth from the father

AdventAI

Jesus possesses eternal, self-existent life as the second person of the Trinity, yet He is also truly the Son of God, a relationship that remains a sacred mystery to human understanding.

The Nature of His Life

  • Original and Underived: In Christ is life that is original, unborrowed, and underived. This life is not a physical life but immortality, which is the exclusive property of God.

  • Self-Existence: Jesus is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God who has life in Himself just as the Father has life in Himself John 5:26.

  • Distinct from Creation: Unlike humans, who receive a "streamlet" of life from the fountain, Jesus is the fountain itself. His existence cannot be measured by human computation or figures.

His Eternal Relationship with the Father

  • From Everlasting: There never was a time when Jesus was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He existed as a divine being in union and oneness with His Father from everlasting.

  • The Mystery of Sonship: While He is called the "only begotten Son," this does not imply He is a created being. He is the Word who was with God and was God from the beginning John 1:1.

  • Unpenetrated Mysteries: The blending of Christ’s natures and the specific details of His pre-existence before "the beginning" are mysteries that we cannot penetrate and do not need to know. We should admit that we do not know if He was a "Son" in a human sense at that point, as His divine life is not reckoned by human computation.

The Scriptural Harmony

  • Equal with God: He was equal with the Father from the beginning and is the express image of His person Hebrews 1:3.

  • The Only Begotten: Being the "firstborn of every creature" shows His pre-eminence and lordship over all things, as all things were created by Him and for Him Colossians 1:15-17.

  • Divine Assurance: The fact that His divinity is underived provides the believer with the absolute assurance of eternal life, as only a divine Savior could atone for sin.

While we see the terms "born" or "brought forth" in Scripture, they emphasize His unique position and pre-eminence rather than a beginning of existence Micah 5:2. We are encouraged to accept His own statement of eternal existence: "Before Abraham was, I am" John 8:58. 😇

Sources · 16
  1. Ev 616.2EvangelismEllen Gould White
  2. BDOC 66.6The Godhead for Seventh-day AdventistsEugene Prewitt
  3. MM 7.3Medical MinistryEllen Gould White
  4. 5BC 1130.3EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5Ellen Gould White
  5. ST April 8, 1897, par. 2The Signs of the TimesEllen Gould White
  6. EVRR39An Enduring Vision - Revelation RevealedAustin Cooke
  7. BDOC 65.4The Godhead — for JohnEugene Prewitt
  8. SpTB19 23.1The Spirit of SacrificeEllen Gould White
  9. 7ABC 440.4EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7AEllen Gould White
  10. Ev 615.4EvangelismEllen Gould White
  11. 1SM 247.2Selected Messages Book 1Ellen Gould White
  12. BEST September 15, 1889, page 281.4Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, vol. 4Ellet Joseph Waggoner
  13. 7ABC 441.8EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7AEllen Gould White
  14. RH March 17, 1904, par. 15The Review and HeraldEllen Gould White
  15. 7ABC 438.5EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7AEllen Gould White
  16. SOTW 14.2The Saviour of the WorldWilliam Warren Prescott