In John 8:58, Jesus made what might seem to be a rather unusual statement about Himself. He said, “…Before Abraham was, I am.” Please notice that Jesus was not merely stating His pre-existence, although that attribute of Christ Jesus is certainly true. Had that been the only point of His statement, He could have simply stated that fact. However, Jesus specifically referred to Himself as “I AM.” Why would Jesus refer to Himself in this way?

The late Roy Hession explains with the following:

Without any doubt He is taking us back to that day when Moses, bowing before God at the burning bush, asked what name he should give the God who was sending him to the Children of Israel. God’s reply then was, “I AM THAT I AM. Thus shalt thou say unto the Children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you…Jehovah, God of your fathers, hath sent me unto you: this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations” (Exod. 3:14, 15). Thereafter, God’s personal name became Jehovah, which comes from the same Hebrew root as I AM, and means the same.

The meaning of this great name, Jehovah, that is, I AM, which Jesus claimed for Himself is twofold. It means first of all that He is the Ever-present One, who stands outside of time, to whom there is no past nor future, but to whom everything is present.

This special revelation which this name gives is that of the grace of God. “I am” is an unfinished sentence. It has no object. I am—what? What is our wonder when we discover, as we continue with our Bibles, that He is saying, “I AM whatever My people need” and that the sentence is only left blank that man may bring his many and various needs, as they arise, to complete it!1

Let’s consider for a moment the first meaning of the term “I AM.” As mentioned above, Jesus is the “Ever-present One.” How do we relate that to our day? For one thing, God gives us a blessed promise with the words, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:5b-6). Regardless of how difficult our life may become, or the depths of our sorrows and trials, God is there to guide and comfort us. King David put it this way:

Psalm 139:7-12:  7“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”

What about the second meaning of the term “I AM?” In this second meaning, we find that God is the All-sufficient One. “I AM,” is an incomplete sentence, having no object. God allows His needy children to fill in the blank, so to speak. Please notice that God is sufficient for our legitimate needs, not our selfish wants. Do you need patience? God says to you, “I AM your patience” (James 1:3). Do you need comfort? God says to you, “I AM your comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Do you need wisdom for some pending problem? God says to you, “I AM your wisdom” (James 1:5). Do you need strength for the trials ahead? God says to you, “I AM your strength” (Phil. 4:13). You see folks; the child of God has all that Jesus is for all that they need. He is the All Sufficient One, who through the Apostle Paul said, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8).

Do you feel forsaken and alone today? Place you faith and trust in He who is the Ever-present One. Jesus will not forsake you in time of distress. Do you have needs, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, that if something doesn’t happen, you’ll go under? Then look to Jesus who is the All-sufficient One. God’s Word says to you, “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). God may be using your trials at present to point you to this one basic truth that I’ve talked about today: God is “The Great I Am.”

1Roy and Revel Hession, We Would See Jesus, (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1984), pp. 24-26.