“I Am” of John 8:58 Explained
Brother Bob Pellien: In John 8:58, it’s recorded: “Jesus said to them most assuredly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I AM.” Does this mean Jesus said He’s God?
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Brother Bob: The Bible. The basis of our faith in the Church Of Christ, which answers questions about proper worship, the right relationship with God, and most importantly, salvation. That’s in the Bible!
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Brother Bob: I’m Bob Pellien, and welcome to the program, That’s in the Bible.
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Brother Bob Pellien
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Bob: You know, dear friends, some believe that Jesus taught that He is God, in John 8:58, but we here in the Church Of Christ, we do not believe that. Why not? Let’s delve into this together. We received these comments and questions on YouTube regarding this topic. First was:
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Please help me to ask him about John 8:58 before Abraham was I am.
–Kamsi Johnson
Brother Bob: Thank you, Kamsi. Kamsi was not the only one, though, who had a concern about what’s recorded there in John 8:58. Let’s read another YouTube comment which reads:
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… “Before Abraham was, I AM.” So Jesus seems to think He was Jehovah (see John 8:58). That’s good enough for me.
–GizmoFromPizmo
Brother Bob: Let’s find out together first what is actually written in that verse, John 8:58. So let’s go to it, and together let’s read that, John 8:58:
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
[John 8:58 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: So, let’s first state the obvious, which is that the verse does not say that Christ is God. And as we learned, dear friends, from previous lessons, we’re not allowed to just inject our own opinion. So, let’s frame our response then around these two main concerns:
Christ’s phrase “before Abraham was, I AM” allegedly means that He existed before Abraham, and others use this then as evidence that Christ is therefore God. So our first question will be:
In what way is Christ before Abraham?
And the second interpretation that many have is that by Christ saying “I AM,” He allegedly is saying He is God, because God said “I AM” in Exodus 3:14. So our second question then is to be this:
Is the “I AM” that Christ said the same as the “I AM” that God said?
To begin with, what then did Christ mean when He said, “before Abraham was, I AM”? We cannot go along with the interpretation that He existed as a person before Abraham. Why not? Because the Bible doesn’t teach that. It does teach, however, that Christ is Abraham’s seed, and that’s recorded in Galatians, chapter 3, verse 16.
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Galatians 3:16
New King James Version
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
Brother Bob: Consider then, how could Jesus Christ have lived ahead of Abraham since he is Abraham’s seed or Abraham’s descendent? Clearly then the YouTube commenter’s understanding is in error. What then did Christ mean? In what manner was He before Abraham? We turn to the writings this time of Apostle Peter, in I Peter 1:20. The Bible says:
Christ was chosen [destined; foreknown] before the world was made…
[1 Peter 1:20 Expanded Bible]
Brother Bob: The Bible explains that Christ is ahead of Abraham, not as a person but in God’s plan of creation. Christ was already chosen, already destined, foreknown, planned by God even before the world was made. So, since Christ was already in the mind of God, even before the foundation of the world, but did not yet physically exist, when did God’s plan to create Christ finally happen or come into fulfillment?
For that, we turn to the answer of the Holy Bible, and that’s recorded in the Book of Galatians, chapter 4, verse 4, when it says:
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
[Galatians 4:4 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: So only then, dear friends, when Christ was conceived and born of a woman named Mary, did He then come into existence as a person. Christ was the very first in God’s plan of creation, yes, though He was not the first to be created by God. It’s, therefore, in this biblical context, that Christ’s statement, “before Abraham was, I AM,” should be understood. Christ was already in God’s mind, in His plan of creation, even before Abraham was born. Clearly He was before Abraham in that sense.
Now does the fact that Jesus was foreknown, or was chosen by God before His birth, mean that He was personally present with God since the beginning and, therefore, part of God or God the Son? Absolutely not. But why are we so sure about that? Consider, that’s not even the only recorded instance of God planning or speaking of someone before they were born. For example, the prophet Jeremiah was already chosen by God before he was born. That’s recorded in Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 5.
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Jeremiah 1:5
New King James Version
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Brother Bob: But that does not mean, of course, that he had already existed with God. If then Jeremiah would not be considered God, of course nobody would consider Jeremiah God, because of his existence being foreknown by God. Why then, would anyone then assume the same thing about Jesus? In fact, you know, dear friends, even Christians were already chosen by God even before the foundation of the world. Where can we see that? Let’s turn and let’s read that in Ephesians, the Book of Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 4 and 5. It reads this way:
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
[Ephesians 1:4-5 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: Therefore, dear friends, to insist then that Christ is God, because of such foreknowledge, would be also then to assert that all of us as Christians are gods as well. And of course, that’s absurd.
So let’s now address the other argument. Some are interpreting that by Christ saying the words, “I AM”, He allegedly is saying, He is God, because God said, “I AM”, as He was expressing His name in Exodus 3:14. So, let’s find out what is really written in that verse, Exodus 3:14:
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
[Exodus 3:14 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: So, here people then simply draw the wrong conclusion that because God said, “I AM” and Jesus said, “I AM,” in two very different instances, that means Christ and God are one and the same. Is this interpretation the correct way to understand these verses?
Now, if we will go along with the reasoning of some that Christ is God because he said, “I AM”, then we once again run into a contradiction within the Bible, because Christ is not the only one who said, “I AM.” In John, chapter 9, verse 9, we can read what the formerly blind man said when people questioned who he was. Let’s read his response in chapter 9, verse 9:
Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.”
[John 9:9 New American Bible Revised Edition]
Brother Bob: Now does the fact that the formerly blind man said, “I AM” mean that he is God? Of course not. In fact, even Apostle Paul would then have to be given consideration as God because of what he said when describing himself in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 10:
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1 Corinthians 15:10
New King James Version
But by the grace of God I am what I am, …
Brother Bob: We’re starting to see here, dear friends, that this simple line of reasoning used by some to prove Christ is God, is a very, very weak argument. A person describing himself, by merely using similar words that God used, does not make that person God.
So in the YouTube comment when we read, “So Jesus seems to think He was [God],” that would be a wrong interpretation of what Christ said, of course. So to review, or let’s say to summarize our discussion, let’s answer the questions posed earlier.
In what way is Christ before Abraham? Christ was the very first in God’s plan of creation, though He was not the first to be created by God. In this manner, He was before Abraham.
Is the “I AM” that Christ said the same as the “I AM” that God said? Not at all. The “I AM” that God said, in Exodus 3:14, is how God described Himself to the people through Moses. Christ was simply saying, “I AM” in the same manner that the blind man and even Apostle Paul also describe themselves.
This is how we should understand this verse. Friends, That’s in the Bible.
If you were taught something different about John 8:58, we’re glad that you now know the truth. We’d like you to continue learning the truth here with us in the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church Of Christ. To do so, please visit us online.
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Brother Bob: You can browse the different topics, or set up an appointment to meet with a minister of the gospel. If you have any questions about the Bible or salvation please email them to us.
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Brother Bob: I’m Brother Bob Pellien.
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Brother Bob Pellien
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Bob: Thanks for watching. See you next time, right here on That’s in the Bible.
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