Section 6
is not only Jesus, a man from Nazareth; He is the great I Am.
To say that the Lord is the I Am means that He is whatever we need. It is like having a blank check on which you may fill the amount that you need. If you need light, you simply fill in light, and the Lord will be your light. If you need com fort, the Lord will be your comfort. This kind of check will never bounce, for there is never a shortage of deposits in the heavenly account. Be bold to write in a big amount. What you write in is up to you. The Lord is everything you need. Now it's up to you to fill in what you actually need. He is the great I Am.
BEFORE ABRAHAM AND GREATER THAN ABRAHAM
As the great I Am, the eternal, ever-existing God, the Lord is before Abraham and greater than Abraham (8:53). The Jews did not under stand this and argued with the Lord. "The Jews then said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham came into being, I am" (8:57-58). The grammar here is awkward, for the Lord said, "Before Abraham came into being, I am." According to grammar,