iyd eipt and its Significance in Johannine Christology.

I. 14
Significant'I AM'
Passages in the

OT:

Exodus 3:14-15 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AMU [LXX: iyto itpr 6 div]; and He said, "Thus you shall say uI AM to the sons of Israel, [LXX: 6 riiv] has sent me to you."' God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "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, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

15

2 3

Exodus 6:2-8 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them. uI also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they

sojourned.

them in bondagg and I have remembered My covenant. "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, "I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. "Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Eryptians. uI will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give

5 6

"Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding

it

to you for a possession; I am the LORD."'

Deut 32:39
"See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides me; it is I who put to death and give life. have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

39

L)C(: l6ete l6ete 6tr dyri eiFtr, rcci oirc 6onv 0edq r.l"r1v 6po0

III.

The Use of 'ego eimi'inthe

LXX and'ani hu' inthe Hebrew for ISAIAH 40'66:

Isa 4I:4- "Who has performed and accomplished it calling forth the generations from the beginning? "I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last.

!4IIe."'

Isa 43:10- "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am IIe. Before me there was no God formed, and there will be none after me."

Isa 43:25- "I, even I, [LXX: 6y<6 e ipr, iy<i own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
Possible

ipl]

am the one who wipes out your transgressions for

My

LXX trans.: "I am 'I AM' who blots out transgressions"

Isa 46:4-5 Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done
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it

and

I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you.
"To whom would you liken me and make me equal and compare me, that we would be alike?

LXX: Isa 46:4 3og ynTrtog (yvpoug) iy<i eiFlr. rot B<oq dv rotcrylTrcronte, 6Ya1 eil[. iyro dvelopor ripdv, iyo inotrpcl, KcLt iYo dvnoo, iyol dvcrl,n\ropot, KCrt otgottl dpdq. Trans 46:4- *Until old age I anr, and till you grow old, I am."
Isa 47:8

"Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, who dwells securely, who says in your heart, "I am [L)O(: 6yri eipl], and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, nor know loss of

children.' Isa 5l:12

6yci eipl] am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies and of the son of man who is made like grass,

12

"f, even I, [LXX:

6y<5

ipl

Isa52;6-7
"Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, "Here I am."' [L)O(: hoti ego eimi autos ho lalon, pareimif How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces 7 peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
o'There is even evidence that the use of yrr6 e ipt in L)O( of DeuteroNote Brown JohnYoL I: Isaiah came to be understood not only as a statement of divine unicity and existence, but also as a divine name."

III.

66I

AM'

Passages in John:

JoIn4:26- l6ye r c0rfr 6'lr1ooOq,'Eyrri e lpt, 6 lal6v oor.

Context: The Woman at the Well. OT Reference: Isa. 52:6 Significance: Christ as the Eschatological Revelation of God. David Mark Ball, 'I AM' in John's Gospel. "'When Jesus says 'I am he who speaks,' he thus takes the words of Yahweh and applies them to himself. The day of which Isaiah speaks is also paralleled in Jesus' discussion about the day when true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. If the Isaiah passage is in mind, Jesus' claim is not only in the light of the messiah's coming (v.25), but in the light of the LORD's coming in redemption to Zion (Isa. 52.8,9)...Jesus' words make him out to be the fulfillment of the LORD's promise that the people would know his name, and also know that it is he who speaks. Jesus' identity as messiah is therefore an identity which includes an identification with Yahweh. (pp. 179-80).
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John 6:20- 6

6t l6yet c0roig,'Eyoi eipt, pi QoBelo0e.

Context: Jesus walks on water. Background: The name and presence of YHWH as a reason for 'no fear' in the OTGen26:24-The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham'" Gen 46:3- He said, "I am God, the God ofyour father; do not be afraid to go down to Eg;pt, for I will make you a gteat nation thereJer 1:8- "Do not be afraid of therrq for I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD. Ier 46:28- "O Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD, "For I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you, yet I will not make a fulIend ofyou; but I will correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished." Ier 42:ll- "Do not be afraid ofthe king of Babylon, whomyou are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,' declares the LORD, "for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. Note also the idea through Isaiah 43: lsa43:1,2- 'But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by rulme; you are Mine!" (2)"When you pass tluough the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you- When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. 43:5- "Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. 43:ll-12_ (l l)"I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides me. (12) "It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses," declates the LORD, "And I am God.
The comrnand of the LORD for Israel not to fear is accompanied in both Isaiah and Jeremiah by the idea that He alone is Savior. Jesus has again taken words reserved for YHWH alone and applied them to Himself. Note the contextual significance of walking on water with Isa. 43:.2;thereis protection despite the waters about to crash down upon the disciples. Jesus in the context reveals himself as Savior- a job reserved for YHWH alone according to the OT.

Morris argues that here iyrri e ipr is a means of self-identification (310 n.aa). However, he does sight Dodd as rightly pointing out it is a referent to the divine name.
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Beasley-Munay suggusts that Job 9:8 might be in mind and more obviously Ps.77:16,19: *Job 9:8- "'Who alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea;" *Ps 77:16-19- (16) The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you, they were in anguish; the deeps also trembled. (17) The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth a sound; your rurows flashed here and there. (18) The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. (19) Yow way was in [or through] the sea and your paths in the mighty waters, and your footprints may not be known.
This would be Exodus language, which highlights the second Exodus and the revelation of glory of God. This is right in ling with the Isaiahic background David Mark Ball argues for. Murray firrther correctly notes'oThere is indeed evidence that the expression N'l;'t 'lN came to be regarded as the name of God... The occurrences of 6yrri eipt in sayngs of Jesus indicate not an identification ofhimself with God but a solidarity or union with hirn, expressions of himself as "God's eschatological Revealer in whom God utters himself' (Schnackenburg 2:88). The combinations of 6yrri e ipt with various symbols may be said to summarize his role in revelation and salvation' (90).

However there is an identification of Jesus with God in the sense of the later Christological Creeds' definition that he is homoousiawiththe Father yet a distinct hypostaseis or personae. In other words, Jesus can use the sacred divine name in reference to himself precisely because of who he is. He speaks of himself in a way far beyond the ancient prophets who can similarly be described as revealers of God's coming eschatological program. Jesus is the one in whom God 'utters himself but in a way that transcends OT revelation (cf. John 1 : 1- 1 8; Heb. I : 1-4). The eschatological revelation of God is Son-revelation who is just as much the yrri e ipt as the Father is yrri e iprt.
John 8:18- Eyrri

ipr 6 pcprupt0v nepi Epcuro0 xci pcprupet nepi 6po0 6 n6p{cq pe narrip. The allusion to the OT is seen here only from the L)O(, according to David Mark BaIl. In the L)O( of Isa. 43 the LORD himse$ along with His servant, bears
e

witness and testifies that He alone is LORD and can save' ooThus when Jesus claims to be the one who bears witness, he seems to be taking on the role which was to be accomplished by the 'servant of the LORD' in Isaiah. Jesus' witness is valid because he identifies himself with the role of the servant, as well as because the Father bears witness with him." (Ball 186-7). Morris notes, "If Jesus really stands in the relationship to God in which he says he does, then no mere human is in a position to bear witness. No mere human can authenticate a divine relationship" (p 393).

JoInS:24-28 24 elnov o0v 6plv 6rt dno0cveloOe v ralE dpcpr(crq 6pt0v' 3dv ycp pri; ntore6o4re drr yui eipt, dno0qveio0e Ev tcig dpapriarq {rriv. 25 dleyov odv a0rQ, I0 r(g el; elnev cdtoig 6'IqooOg, Tiv cpXiv 6 rt rai lal6 6piv; 26 nolld d1t-r nepi 6ptiv lclelv xci xpivetv' dll'6 ndptf cq Fe <iflqO{q ottv, xdyri &
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{xouoa ncp'odroO rqOra ldrn eig tdv x6o1rov. 27 o0r Syvt'roav 6rt rdv ncrr4pc odroiq Eleyev. 2g elnev'o$v [cr3roiq] 6'lqoo0q,'Orqv 6tf uioqre rdv uidv ro0 dvOptittou, tdte yvrrioeoge drt Eyr,i eipr, xli dn; prcuroO notri o66r4v, dlld xc0riq i6(5ofiv pre 6 ncrrip roOra 1cfu0.
Linked with this declaration of "I am" is John's 'Christology from above'. Since ''I atrl it must follow that is origin is not from this earth (cf. John's Jesus is tru|y the Prologue). The NIV's translation: 'tf you do not believe that I am the on I claim to be' totally obscures the divine revelation of the name associated with Jesus. The specific content of belief is that Jesus is the "I am" (note: dtt). The context of belief is very specific, content of faitlr, while often obscured by more modern existentialist conceptions of faith" is something that the reformers did not miss with their notion of faith as notitia,
ossensus,

andfiducia.

Despite the ensuing debates regarding Lordship salvation, the claim of Christ here is that one must believe that He is the'T AM", the sacred divine name associated with YHWH in the OT. In other words, Jesus is God (John l:l;20:28) but not just any god but specifically the one and same God revealed in the OT, now in the climax of revelation shown to be triune.

lnv.25 it is still asked of Jesus, '\vho

granted to them thus they remain in darkness.

are you"? The Pharisees fail

to

see

who

Jesus is in relationship to the Father. This, according to the rest of John's gospel is because they do not know who the Father is to begin with, similarly belief has not been

Verse 28, we have the important association of the "Son of Man" title with the "I AM". Ridderbos' hesitancy to see yt'i e ipr as divine identication is noteworthy. He writes that 8:28 with the words 'believe that I am (he)' "do not refer to the ontological relationship of the Son with the Father but to his action as the one sent by the Father. Or, o'I in Calvin's words, am he" does not relate to Christ's divine being but to his office" (301). -He further quotes Calvin in a footnote "[on v.24] Some ancients have misapplied this to the divine essence of Christ. He is in fact speaking of His office towards us...[on v. 28] That I am.I have already said that this does not refer to Christ's divine essence, but to His office. This appears still more clearly from the context, where He affirms that He does nothing but at the command of His Father. For this was as good as sayng that HE was sent by God and performs His office faithtully." (qtd. Ridderbos 301 n. 150) -Unbeknownst to Calvin, the modern world runs amuck with its over zealous division and separationoffunctional vs. ontological ChrLstology. While our view of yrri eipr might be influenced by a desire to correct the avoidance of ontology, it remains best to see yti e ipr as predication of deity, perhaps 'divine essence'per
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^re

does add too much ofthe church creedal language while misunderstanding the use of the divine name in the OT. Maybe we should prefer Bauckham terminology of 'divine identity'. IN this regard we can synthesis Calvin to saw that Jesus is ontologically and functionally the 6yrri e ipr, he is sent by the Father yet he is also autotheos, which Calvin rigorously maintains elsewhere. Thus it is still proper to speak of Jesus as ontologically God.

denotes the personal name of God. We have shown how it is used in Deutero-Isaiah and other key OT phrase. It should be added that the name denoted a very specific way of describing God. He was the one who knew the end from the beginning and would act that the eschatological climax of salvation-history in order to deliver his people.
6yrrl

eipi most likely

Here John shows that the Son is Syui eipt as well as the Father. There working is not in contradiction but in consistency. It is the very plan of the Father (who is the tyui eipt) to send the Son (who is also the yri e ipr) in order to enact the Father's eschatological program. This says as much about their unity as it says about their distinction as personae. The later church was correct in concluding: Opera trinitotis indivisa sunt (the works ofthe Trinity are indivisible). Beasley-Murray, John2"d ed.; "It is significant that the absolute 3yrr1 e ipr should occur twice in this paragraph: in the context of the feast and in the related arrf'of v 58. It certainly indicates the unity of Jesus as Revealer and Redeemer with God the Father; it conceivably could also carry the further implication of Jesus as the representative of God's people binding themto the Father (so Bruce, 193)" (131).

'l

The theme echoed from the OT in this section is that only YHWH can deliver. David Mark Ball rightly notes that 'Tesus is to be closely identified with the Father is completely consistent with Johannine Christology (cf. 1.1; 10.30).'Eyti e ipr identifies Jesus with Yahweh's saving action and even with Yahweh himself...The Son's identification with the Father is so close that he can even take words from Isaiah concerning the LORD's role as the only God, and use them ofhimself. Just as knowledge of Yahweh's identity will be revealed in an act of history, so will knowledge of the Son's identification with the Father" ('I Am' in John's Gospel 193).
John 8:58- elnev

a0roiq 'IqooOE,'Apriu dpr)v

liyo 0;riv, npiv'Appqql

yevio0ar

dyr,J

elpi.

Note the distinction between the two verbs: yrvolrol (to come to be) and eipr (to be). It is important that eipr is not in the imperfect but in the present tense form of the word. John is denoting more than preexistence. (cf. John 1:l-'Ev opXfr frv 6 ldyog). Rather he is associating the divine name with Jesus. Jesus expressly claims to be "I AM". 'Apriv dpilv ldyt'r Opiv may highlight the pronouncement of revelation. Jesus has revealed himself in the name reserved for YHWH alone.

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Abraham was the one clearly called by YHWH while he was still a pagan worshiping other gods. David Mark Ball points out the reference to Abraham in Targum Isaiah 43:10-13: 'oI am he that is from the beginning, yea the everlasting ages are mine, and beside me there is no god. I even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior. I declared to Abraham your Father what was about to come; I delivered you from Egypt... Yea from everlasting I am He, and there is none that delivereth from my hand."

*Leviticus 24:16-o'Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death." -If Jesus was not who he said he was, then the Jews had every right to stone him. There willingness to stone him shows a lack of faith in hirn, which is typical of the portrayal of Jews in John's gospel.
Augustine- "As man he flees from the stones, but woe to those from whose hearts stone God flees (cited in Schnackenburg, 2:224).

of

John 13:19- dn' dprr l6yur 0plv npd ro0 yevr6o0cr, fvq ntotedo4re 6rcv ydvr;rat

drt

Eyoi

eipt.
is quoted: "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me." The context of the Psalm may be important: (10) But you, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them. (11) By this I know that you are pleased with me, because my enemy does not shout in triumph over me. (12) As for me, you uphold me in my integrity, and you set me in your presence forever. An possible allusion to Isaiah 43:1G-"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am IIe. Before me there was no God formed, and there will be Psalm

4l:9

none after me." Just as the YHWH in the Old Testament chose the twelve tribes of Israel to be His witness, so Jesus chose twelve disciples, one of whom would betray Him. Israel was called to believe in YHWH alone. In light of the eschatological climax of God's salvation history and the revelation of Himself this faith must now be faith in Christ. In John's gospel only those who place faith in Christ are he ones who actually know the Father and have faith in him. This might contextual refer back to Isaiah 40-66 (or any general OT that proclaims that only YHWH knows the future). In this major section it is YHWH alone who

knows the end fromthe beginning. Here Jesus being able to say ahead oftime what will come to pass is an indication ofwho He is. Prediction ofthe future is not evidence of deity per se since a true prophet of YHWH could tell the future. Yet all ofthis combined, especially in light of Jesus laying down His life for His
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disciples (as the ebed YHWII) carurot go unnoticed. Note also- Ezek24:24 "Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord

GOD." dnerpiOqoav c0rQ,'l4ooOv rdv Nc(opalov. l6ye t cdroig,'Eyr,i elpt. eiorrire r 6i xci'lod8cq 6 napc6t6o0g c0rdv pet'ctirr0v. 6 rriq odv ej lnev or3roiq,'Eyrri elpt, dnfrlOov eig rd 6n(otl xai dneoov lqrc(. t^ t 7 n<ihv odv En4ptirrlorv adrodg, Tivc (rlretre; oi 6i e lncv,'Iqoo0v rdv Na(opclov. 8 dnerpi04'lr1oo0E, Einov 0ptv 5rt 6yr,i e tpt' e i odv Ept (qrelre, dQere rodtouE 6n<iye rv'
This might be seen as the climax of the "I AM" statements in John's gospel. Here the very name is the reason the guards are repealed. The carefirl reader who has been tracking John's Christology up until this point (including but not limited to the 'I AM's) see that Jesus is clearly the one who lays down his life of his own accord. His been seized is not only apart of his messianic mission but the very function of his being sent by the
Father.

John 18:5-8

Clearly the guards were unable to seize Jesus except that he has allowed them. Contextually, Jesus stops Peter from resisting. It is now "Jesus' time" where are throughout the whole gospel it was not yet. It is appropriate that as the proper time there is one more reminder that Jesus is the "I AM". The irony should not be missed. As the guards want to seize Jesus, Jesus reveals the true identity of the one whom they wish to seize.

BrovtnJohnvol.Il *The adversaries of Jesus are prostrate ontheir face before his 66I AM" as a divine majesty, as so there can be little doubt that John intends
name...The Johannine scene illustrates that Jesus has God's power over the forces of darkness because he has the divine name" (818).

David Mark BaIl notes that Jesus response functions on two levels, yes he is Jesus ofNazereth but he there is more to him in light of the environment in which they were written. "In that environment, the Gospel writer can take simple words and, by the way they are formulated (8.24,28; 13.19) as well as by the reactions to them (8.58; 18.5,6,8), allude to a background where Yahweh alone is God and Saviour. In the Gospel, these words are taken up by Jesus and applied to himself' (201).

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IV. Conclusion
Ball's conclusion (p. 203): "By using the words Syui eipt, Jesus takes upon himself a phrase that speaks ofthe fact that Yahwetr, the one true creator God will come to his people and save them. As such the phrase is eschatological, expressing the time when the LORD will come to Zionand when the messenger will proclaim 'The LORD reigns' (52.6,7)... While the words 'I am' may not be profound in themselves, the way that they are formulated n Joln points the reader to these words in Isaiah for a correct understanding ofwho Jesus is. The use of the phrase in Isaiah fits well with John's own Christology and suggests that John saw the events and words of Jesus' life as a fulfilment of that day when Israel would see the salvation of Yahweh. By the way he uses iyr'i e ipr he wishes his readers to see the
samg.tt Jesus has identified Himself with the divine name both in the functions he carries out but

also in the way that the divine name of yt5 e ipr is applied directly to his person. This use of Eyui e ipr in such a way to denote who is remains thoroughly consistent with Johannine Christology in its entirety but most significant with such assertions that "the Word was with God and the Word was God" or he claims to be equal to God, or the climax with Thomas' confession to Jesus as 'My Lord and my God." John shows that Jesus is fully and completely God who became flesh. Truly we have beheld his glory. John's use of yr,i e i;rt shows us that Jesus is YHWH, the living sovereign creating and saving God. This God, although one essence, is three persons: Father, Son and Holy

Spirit.

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