When God met Moses at the burning bush, He revealed His Name to Moses: God said to Moses, “I-AM-THE-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’”
(2Mo 3:14 MSG)
When Jesus was walking on the water and met the disciples in the midst of the storm and the night, He said: Don’t be afraid. I am.
When the people came to get Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, asking which one Jesus was, He answered: I am, and they all fell to the ground.
We are made in God’s image and likeness. Jesus is the head and we are the body. Does the head listen to another name than the rest of the body?
I can, without shame or fear, say that I am. My name is I am. I am a son of God. I am Christ in the earth, maybe the only one some people will ever see.
Jesus prayed in John 17 that we may be one with Him as the Father and He are one. At the cross he proclaimed: It is finished. All is accomplished. Is it fair to say then that we are now one with Him and by inclusion with the Father? Is it OK to say that we have been restored to our former condition from before the fall? Is it true then that we are again of His likeness and character?
Judging from my everyday walk and experience, all outside of Christ cries that this is not the case. It sounds like a lie. Yet let me explain to you the difference of fact and truth. Facts are temporal and subject to change. Just think of today’s opinion on whatever from science that is overhauled tomorrow. Truth is a person and never changes. Jesus said: I am the way, the truth and the light.
Therefore it is true that we are whatever Jesus is apart from his headship. We are of His character and nature. Yet we do not believe it and therefore it is only partially fact. Wherever we come into agreement with the truth, facts will align and truth will be manifested and walked out.
What is the nature of Jesus? Jesus said: I am peace. One of His titles is Prince of Peace. Therefore we are peace. Live it, and the atmosphere changes when you come into a room. Peace will abound. Why?
Jesus also said: I am the light. And He said: You are the light of the world. When light comes on, darkness does not flee, it just disappears. Darkness does not exist, it is just the absence of light. Therefore, when peace appears, strive and struggles just disappear.
Jesus called Himself the way. The early church, before being called Christian or Christ-likes, was called “the way”. Jesus, when asked a question, told a story. The story only was to be understood by the hungry. “I am the water of life” is all that is needed to the thirsty, “I am the bread from heaven”, all to the hungry. Yet it is a road of discovery, a road to be discovered. So, when we are the way for people to Jesus, we are no programs with 7 steps, we are stories told that mean everything to the needy.
There are a few things that Jesus did not give to everybody. In Ephesians 4 it says that He gave of Himself apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 asks the question: so are all apostles, prophets, teachers, and implies the answer no. Jesus is the great apostle of our faith, as much as He is the greatest prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher there ever was. Yet, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that all gifts will cease. Ephesians 6 continues to say that He gave until. There will be an end to the ministry gifts. They are facts, temporal, not eternal truths. That is the difference to the things we all are in Christ:
We are love, hope, faith, kindness, truth, patience, self-control, peace…
It is not my first name, but my last name is Christ. One with him.