A Warning: Don't Domesticate Jesus

Modern Christianity has a dangerous tendency to turn Jesus into:

• A life coach (helping you reach your potential)
• A therapist (making you feel better about yourself)
• A political activist (confirming your ideology)
• A cosmic vending machine (give you what you want when you pray)

This is not the Jesus of the "I AM" statements.

The Jesus who said "I AM" is the same God who:

• Created the universe by speaking (Genesis 1)
• Destroyed the world in a flood (Genesis 6–8)
• Struck Uzzah dead for touching the ark (2 Samuel 6:7)
• Said "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy" (Romans 9:15)
• Will judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1)

This is not a tame God. This is not a safe God.

In his Narnia chronicles, C.S. Lewis captures this through Mr. Beaver's description of Aslan — not safe, but good. The two truths held together without dissolving either one.

Jesus claimed to be God. That claim demands a response.

Not: "Is this helpful for my life?"

But: "Is this true? And if it's true, how do I respond to the Creator of the universe standing before me in flesh?"

Now: The Individual "I AM" Statements

With this foundation, let's examine each statement. Remember:

You're not reading about God. You're reading the words of God.

When Jesus speaks, YHWH speaks. When Jesus acts, God acts. When Jesus forgives, God forgives. When Jesus judges, God judges.

This is God incarnate. The eternal I AM in human flesh.

Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory — the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

— John 1:14 (NET)