The 7 I Ams of John

The Seven "I am" Statements 1. "I am the bread of life" a. (John 6:35) The first of the seven "I am" statements recorded in the Gospel of John, each one emphasizing (John 6:35)an important aspect of the personal ministry of Jesus. This statement tells us that Christ is the substance that nourishes (John 6:35) spiritual life (John 6:53). b. Jesus promises to welcome all who come to Him in repentance and faith (John 6:37). Also see the study about Faith and Grace c. When reading John 6:38-40 it is important to understand the relationship of the Father's will to human responsibility. * It is not God's will that any believer fall from grace (Gal. 5:4) and subsequently be separated from God. Neither is it His will that any individual in the world should perish (II Peter 3:9) or fail to come to the truth and be saved (I Timothy 2:4). * However there is a great difference between God's perfect will and His permissive will. He does not abrogate the human responsibility to repent and believe, even if it means His perfect will is not done. * God's desire that all believers might be saved on the last day does not relieve them of the responsibility of obeying His voice and following Him (). Jesus in sorrow prayed on the night of His betrayal that "those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition." ie., the one headed for eternal destruction (John 17:12).

d. John 6:44 Here the Father is the Spirit of the invisible God and Jesus is the visible body of God. If you understand this you will see how John 6:44 and John 12:37 do not conflict. As a matter of fact, together, they show the oneness of God. 2. "I am the light of the world" e. (John 8:12) Jesus is the true light (John 1:9); as such, He removes darkness and deception by illuminating the right way to salvation. f. All those who follow Jesus are delivered from the darkness of sin, the world, and Satan. All those who still walk in darkness do not follow Him (I John 1:6-7). g. "He that followeth me" is a present participle and has the idea of a continuous following. Jesus recognized only perservering discipleship. h. "If ye continue in my word" (John 8:31). Jesus never encouraged His disciples to place confidence in the mere fact of past faith or experience. It is only as we continue in His Word that confidence in salvation is warranted. Genuine disciples of Christ continue to obey the words of Christ (John 8:31; John 14:21-24; John 15:6-8). 3. "I am the door" i. (John 10:9) Jesus is the door for the sheep. Those who enter through Him will be saved. They will have abundant eternal life and have all they need to be delivered from sin, guilt, and condemnation. Jesus is the only door for salvation; there is no other (Acts 4:12). 4. "I am the good shepherd" j. (John 10:11-14) Jesus declares Himself to be the promised good shepherd (Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:23; Ezekiel 37:24). k. This metaphor illustrates Jesus' tender and devoted care for His people. It is as if He is saying, "I am toward all who believe in me, as a good shepherd is toward his sheep (caring, watchful, and loving)." l. The distinguishing mark of Christ as the good shepherd is His willingness to die for His sheep. This emphasizes the uniqueness of Christ the shepherd: His death on the cross saves His sheep (Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). Christ is called the "good shepherd" in John 10:11, the "great shepherd" in Hebrews 13:20, and the "chief Shepherd" in I Peter 5:4. m. Be sure to note that the minister who serves merely to earn a living or to obtain honor is the "hireling" of John 10:12-13. The true pastor cares for his sheep, while the false pastor's first thought is for himself and his position before others. 5. "I am the resurrection, and the life" n. (John 11:25) For the person who believes in Jesus, physical death is not a tragic end. It is instead the gateway to abundant eternal life and fellowship with God. "Yet shall he live" refers to the resurrection; the "shall never die" of verse 26 means that the resurrected believer will never die. He will have a new body, immortal and incorruptible (I Corinthians 15:42,54), one that cannot die or deteriorate (Romans 8:10; II Corinthians 4:16). Also see the study on Resurrection of the body 6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life" o. (John 14:6) 7. "I am the true vine" p. (John 15:1) In this parable or allegory, Jesus describes Himself as "the true vine" and those who have become His disciples as "the branches." By remaining attached to Him as the Source of life, they produce fruit. God is the gardener who takes care of the branches in order that they may bear fruit (John 15: 2,8). God expects all of us to bear fruit. q. Jesus speaks of two categories of branches: fruitful and fruitless. * The branches that cease to bear fruit are those who no longer have the life in them that comes from enduring faith in and love for Christ. These branches the Father takes away, He separates them from vital union with Christ (Matthew 3:10). When they stop abiding in Christ, God then judges and rejects them (John 15:6). * The branches that bear fruit are those who have life in them because of their enduring faith in and love for Christ . These branches the Father prunes in order that they might become more fruitful. That is, He removes from their lives anything that diverts or hinders the vital lifeflow of Christ into them. The fruit is the quality of Christian character that brings glory to God through life and witness (Matthew 3:8; 7:20; Romans 6:22; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:9; Phil. 1:11). r. After a person believes in Christ and is forgiven, he receives eternal life and the power to abide in Christ (John 15:4). Given that power, the believer must then accept that responsibility in salvation and abide in Christ. Just as the branch has life only as long as the life of the vine flows into it, so the believer has Christ's life only as long as Christ's life flows into him through his abiding in Christ. The conditions by which we abide in Christ are: * Keeping God's Word continually before our memories and minds and making it the guide of our actions (John 15:7) * Maintaining the habit of constant close communion with Christ in order to draw strength and grace from Him (John 15:7) * Obeying His commandments, abiding in His love (John 15:10), and loving one another (John 15:12,17) * Keeping our lives clean through the Word, resisting all sin, and yielding to the direction of the Holy Spirit (John 3; 17:17; Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Peter 1:22). s. The parable of the vine and branches makes it unmistakably clear that Christ did not believe "once in the vine, always in the vine." Rather, in this parable Jesus gave His disciples a solemn but loving warning that it is indeed possible for true believers to ultimately abandon faith, turn their backs on Jesus, fail to abide in Him, and thus to be cast into the everlasting fire of hell (John 15:6). t. We have here the foundational principle governing the saving relationship of Christ and the believer, namely, that it is never a static relationship based solely on a past decision or experience. Rather, it is a progressive relationship as Christ dwells in the believer and shares with him His divine life (John 17:3; Col. 3:4; I John 5:11-13). u. In summary, three important truths are taught in this parable. * The responsibility of abiding in Christ is placed upon the disciples (John 5:4). This is our response to God's prior gift of divine life and power given at conversion. * Abiding in Christ results in Jesus' continued indwelling (John 15:4), fruitfulness of the disciple (John 15:5), success in prayer (John 15:7), and fullness of joy (John 15:11). * The consequences of failure to abide in Christ are fruitlessness (John 15:4-5), removal from Christ and destruction (John 15:2,6).

The Seven “I AM” Statements In John

Now let’s look at the seven “I am” statements to see what they’ll tell us. Here’s the first one.
1. The Bread Of Life

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
The context was the Manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16:13-18). By this statement we know it was meant to be a model of the Messiah. Whoever partakes of Him will never again know spiritual hunger. Like the manna of Exodus 16 every one who seeks Him will find Him (Matt. 7:7-8), but each of us has to find Him for ourselves. No one can receive Him for us, nor can we receive Him for anyone else. We all get an amount sufficient for our salvation. No one is lacking, none of Him is wasted.
As for our thirst, remember how Jesus told the woman at the well that the water He offered would cure her thirst forever. Pointing to Jacob’s well, before which they were standing, He said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
And then on the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39)
The Psalmist wrote, As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1) In Jesus our spiritual hunger is satisfied and our spiritual thirst is quenched. Once we have the Holy Spirit, our search for spiritual fulfillment comes to an end, and we never need any other sustenance. The God shaped hole in our heart is finally filled.
2. The Light Of The World
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Literally this means that those who join Jesus as one of His disciples will not be ignorant of spiritual matters but will have the power of understanding especially of the spiritual truth that brings eternal life. When we take the time to learn and apply these truths in faith we discover that the old adage is true. Whatever the spiritual question, Jesus is the answer.
Are you feeling down trodden or discouraged? Overcome by the worries of life?
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:4-7, 19).
Do you carry a burden of guilt because of your sins?
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
Do you have money problems?
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38). “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:11)
Or health problems?
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:14-16).
I’ll say it again. Whatever the spiritual question, Jesus is the answer.
3. The Gate
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
This is a reference to the Kingdom and recalls the words of the 23rd Psalm, “He makes me lie down in green pasture.” Salvation is found through Jesus, He is the gate to the Kingdom. Having entered through Him we will have the freedom to come and go as we please, dwelling in a state of peace in the midst of plenty. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
4. The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
No one expects sheep to be responsible for themselves. Owners hire shepherds for that purpose. A Shepherd’s job is to accept responsibility for the safety and well being of his flock. Most shepherds only take that to the point where it would threaten their personal safety, rightly deciding that their life is worth more than that of a sheep. A few would be willing to risk their lives to protect their sheep, but our Shepherd knowingly and willingly died to save us, because there was no other way.
5. The Resurrection And The Life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
This is an amazing statement. The Lord had already said that whoever believes in Him would not perish but would have eternal life. (John 3:16) Here he provided more detail, saying that even though a believer experiences physical death, he will still have life. He was referring to the resurrection of those who die in faith. And then He said there would be some would never die, but would pass from this life directly into the next one. If we didn’t already know about the rapture, we wouldn’t see this, but since we do we can understand that He was talking about that one generation who will be alive when He comes for the Church, and will receive eternal life without dying first. And once again the Lord confirmed that the single qualification for eternal life is to believe that His death paid the entire price for our sins.
6. The Way, The Truth, And The Life
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
There is no other way into the presence of God than by accepting the Lord’s death as payment in full for our sins. As Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Jesus is the only remedy God has provided for man’s sin problem. He is the only way to eternal life. This is the truth of God’s Word.
7. The Vine
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
It’s important to understand that salvation is not a fruit bearing event, so in this statement Jesus was talking about our life after we’re saved. Of course a non believer cannot bear fruit, and even after we receive salvation believers are not automatically fruitful. But if we yield our life to Him, (Romans 12:1-2) and respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit He sent to guide us (John 14:26) we can bear much fruit.
If not our lives will be unfruitful, because without Him we can do nothing of spiritual value. We’ll still be saved, but we’ll be of no more use to the work of the Kingdom than the unfruitful branches the gardner discards at pruning time. Paul confirmed this in 1 Cor 3:12-15. The unfruitful believer will be saved, but as one escaping through the flames.
This is not a matter of success or failure from a worldly stand point. It’s a matter of motive. Many of us will see some of our greatest accomplishments burn in the fires of judgment because we achieved them with wrong motives, like self satisfaction, or recognition from others, or even a desire to “make points” with God. Only those things that are prompted by the Holy Spirit and where our only motive is gratitude for all we’ve been given will survive. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. (1 Cor. 4:5)
These are the seven “I am” statements in John. Like the miracles they reveal the Gospel, but now the message concerns what comes after salvation. I call it part two of the Lord’s message to us.
Jesus is the One who spiritually sustains us (1). Through Him we gain spiritual understanding and wisdom for living (2). He has given us free access to the Kingdom (3), having paid our entrance fee with His life (4). Whether we die before the rapture or are taken live in it, He has guaranteed our eternal life with God (5). He is the only one who can do this (6) and for the balance of our life on Earth, the things we do in His strength, out of gratitude for what He’s done for us, are the only things that matter (7). Selah 01-23-10

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Jesus' seven "I am" statements directly relate to the seven objects described and placed in the Isrealite tabernacle during the Exodus.

John 6:35 and 48: "I am the bread of life" - The Table of Shewbeard (or Showbread, depending on translation). Showbread was a symbol of fellowship between God and man. It was also called "bread of the presence". Jesus fellowshiped with man in the flesh.

John 8:12 and 9:5: "I am the light of the world" - The Menorah, or the lampstand. Candles, light, Jesus, light... the correlation is fairly easily drawn. Ironically, the menorah was the ONLY source of light in the holy place in the tabernacle, just as Jesus is the ONLY source of light in the darkened world.

John 10:7: "I am the gate for the sheep" - The tabernacle gate was the ONLY way to enter into the courts just as Jesus is the ONLY way to enter into heaven. Entering the gate was significant to the Isrealites because it was viewed as the only way to find forgiveness and fellowship with God.

John 10:11-14: "I am the good shepherd..." - The altar of incense, also called the brazen altar, sat in front of the holy of holies and seperated the holy place from the holy of holies. The incense was a symbol of intercession. Christ is our intercessor as he goes on to state after the "I Am" statement, "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep."

John 11:25: "I am the resurrection and the life..." - The ark of the covenant was the ultimate symbol of atonement for the Isrealites, just as Jesus is our ultimate source of atonement; through His resurrection, we have life!

John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." - The altar of burnt offerings, or brazen altar of the tabernacle, was situated directly inside the gate and was where the offerings were sacrificed. The offerings were symbolic of the Isrealites belief that the first step for a sinful man to approach a holy God was to be cleansed by the blood of an innocent creature. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God who was sacrificed such that we may approach the holy God.

John 15:1,5: "I am the true vine..." - The laver, or basin, was a place for washing. This is the only part that is a bit of a stretch, but there is some correlation. First, the water as a giver of life. Second, it symbolizes the need for daily cleansing, such that we may stay in the Lord, and we may bear fruit, because as Jesus continued to state, "apart from me, you can do nothing."

So, there you have it. Seven "I Am" statements and seven tabernacle items. Of course, there are NUMEROUS other interpretations, but since I like irony, I like this one the best!

You're welcome! :)