Before We Can Understand What Jesus Declares, We Must Understand Who He Is
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. — John 1:1
Who is Jesus Christ?
It is a question that every believer should continually return to. We can become familiar with the teachings of Jesus, recognize His miracles, memorize His words, and understand many of the events surrounding His earthly ministry. Yet, there is something foundational that must remain at the center of our faith: knowing who Jesus Christ truly is.
In the opening episode of our new I AM series on the Through the Refiner’s Fire Podcast, Craig and the brothers are joined by Pastor Victor Manny Pena for a conversation that takes us beyond the manger in Bethlehem and beyond the earthly ministry of Jesus. We go all the way back to the beginning.
Our starting point is John 1:1–5.
This passage establishes the foundation for understanding Jesus Christ as the eternal Word, the One who was with God, who was God, and through whom all things were created.
Before examining the declarations of Jesus throughout John’s Gospel, including I am the Bread of Life, I am the Light of the World, I am the Good Shepherd, and I am the Resurrection and the Life, we must first understand the identity and authority of the One making those declarations.
This is not simply an academic discussion about biblical terminology. It is a conversation about the very foundation of our faith and the implications of knowing Jesus Christ.
1. The Great I AM: The God Who Never Had to Become
Our discussion begins in Exodus 3:14, when God reveals Himself to Moses through the declaration:
I AM WHO I AM.
This declaration reveals something profound about the nature of God. He is self-existent. He is eternal. He does not depend upon anything outside Himself to exist, and He does not need to become something in order to establish who He is.
As we discussed during the episode, God did not create mankind because He was missing something. Creation was not an attempt to fulfill a deficiency in His existence.
He always was, and He always will be.
Antonio brought this into the conversation by drawing a contrast between God’s identity and humanity’s ongoing struggle to establish its own identity.
We spend much of our lives trying to become something. We pursue education, careers, promotions, relationships, positions, and recognition. We often measure our worth by what we accomplish and what others think of us.
But the Great I AM never had to search for Himself.
That truth should cause us to reconsider where we are looking for our own identity.
If our Creator is the source of our existence, why would we attempt to establish our identity apart from Him?
2. I Am Because He Is: Finding Our Identity in Christ
One of the most meaningful discussions in this episode centered on the identity of the believer.
Manny referenced a teaching by the late Tim Keller concerning the difference between an identity rooted in Christ and one rooted in personal accomplishments.
Consider the difference between being a physician, an athlete, a pastor, or a professional. These positions and callings often involve years of preparation, work, sacrifice, and achievement.
But they are not the foundation of who we are in Christ.
Being a pastor is a calling. Being a physician is a profession. Being an athlete is a role. These things may describe what we do, but they should never replace our identity in the Lord.
The statement that captured this part of the conversation was:
I am because He is.
When our identity is established in Christ, our confidence is no longer dependent upon our achievements. We do not have to continually prove our worth through the positions we hold or the things we accomplish.
Instead, we recognize that our dignity and identity come from the One who made us.
This does not mean that our gifts, responsibilities, or callings are unimportant. Rather, they are brought under the greater purpose of worshiping and glorifying God.
Whether we are working, serving, leading, teaching, or pursuing a profession, everything should ultimately be done for His glory.
A question worth examining: Have we allowed what we do to become more important than who we belong to?
3. Jesus Christ: The Eternal Word Who Was With God
John does something intentional in the opening of his Gospel. He does not begin with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. He takes us back before His earthly ministry and establishes His existence from the beginning.
John 1:1–5 declares that:
- The Word was in the beginning.
- The Word was with God.
- The Word was God.
- All things were made through Him.
- In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Craig emphasized that Jesus is not merely someone who appeared in history to teach people about God. He is the eternal Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.
This is foundational to understanding the declarations of Jesus throughout John’s Gospel.
Jesus’ identity is not established by the opinions of people, the expectations of culture, or the interpretations of those who encountered Him. His identity is established by who He is.
The conversation also explored the significance of the expression I AM in the context of Exodus 3:14 and Jesus’ declarations throughout the New Testament.
The Jewish audience would have understood the connection between God’s revelation to Moses and the significance of Jesus identifying Himself in this manner.
The declaration was not an ordinary statement of self-description. It carried a profound claim concerning His divine identity.
Jesus was not attempting to become someone. He was revealing who He already was.
4. Jesus and the Fulfillment of God’s Revelation
Another important part of the discussion examined the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament.
The conversation explored how Jesus fulfills the patterns, promises, and prophetic expectations found throughout Scripture.
We discussed Jesus in relation to Adam, Moses, David, Joshua, and Israel, considering how these biblical figures and their stories point toward the greater fulfillment found in Christ.
This brings us back to John’s opening words.
When John declares that the Word was in the beginning, he is establishing that Jesus did not simply enter into God’s story at Bethlehem. He was already there.
Antonio also discussed the idea of progressive revelation: how God made Himself known throughout the generations, revealing more of His character and purposes as the biblical story unfolded.
Adam knew what had been revealed to him. Abraham received further revelation. Moses encountered God and received His commandments. David experienced and proclaimed God’s faithfulness.
And then Jesus Christ came, revealing the Father in the fullness of His divine identity.
This is why we cannot separate the Old Testament from the New Testament. The Scriptures testify to Christ.
The more we understand the whole counsel of God, the more clearly we can see how the story of Scripture points toward Jesus.
5. Jesus Is the Word: The Authority of God’s Truth
Ronnie brought another important connection into the discussion by examining the relationship between Jesus and the Torah.
The conversation referenced Exodus 18:20, Deuteronomy 32:45–47, and Psalm 119.
In these passages, God’s Word is presented as instruction, truth, and life for His people.
This led to a discussion about Jesus’ declaration in John 14:6:
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
The significance is that Jesus is not simply pointing people toward a set of instructions. He is revealing Himself as the fulfillment and embodiment of the truth and life that God has revealed.
He is the living Word.
This also reinforces His authority. Jesus is not merely a messenger who speaks about God’s truth. He speaks with divine authority.
The Word that created all things became flesh.
That truth changes the way we approach Scripture. We should not treat God’s Word as a collection of suggestions that we can accept or reject according to personal preference.
Instead, we must recognize the authority of Christ and submit ourselves to what He has revealed.
6. The Holy Spirit: We Need More Than Natural Understanding
Manny emphasized the importance of the Holy Spirit in understanding the things of God.
During the conversation, he referenced A.W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy and the reality that God is incomprehensible.
What we know about God is what He has made known to us.
This is an important distinction.
We can study Scripture, examine historical context, investigate language, and learn about the culture surrounding biblical events. These things are valuable. However, knowing information about God is not the same as knowing God.
The conversation referenced 1 Corinthians 2:14, which teaches that the natural person does not receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned.
This led to an important observation:
There is a difference between knowing facts about a person and actually knowing that person.
We can become familiar with biblical information while still failing to submit ourselves to the Lord.
We need the Holy Spirit to illuminate the truth of God’s Word, teach us, counsel us, and guide us.
Our goal should never be simply to accumulate knowledge. It should be to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ and become increasingly transformed by His truth.
7. Jesus: The Mediator Between God and Mankind
One of the powerful connections made during this conversation came from Job 9.
Job recognized the greatness and holiness of God, but he also wrestled with his own suffering and inability to understand what was happening in his life.
In that chapter, Job expresses the need for someone who could stand between himself and God.
This prompted a connection to the gospel.
Who can stand between sinful humanity and a holy God?
Who can reconcile us to the Father?
Jesus Christ.
Antonio brought out the beauty of Christ’s role as the mediator, the One who identifies with humanity and reconciles us to God.
The eternal Word humbled Himself and became flesh.
The One who existed before creation entered into His creation. The One through whom all things were made took on human nature.
This is the beauty of the gospel.
Jesus did not merely come to offer advice or provide another religious philosophy. He came to accomplish what mankind could never accomplish for itself.
He is central to the entire story of redemption.
As the conversation reminded us, when we look throughout Scripture, we find that it testifies of Him.
8. In Him Was Life, and the Life Was the Light of Men
John 1:4–5 declares that in Christ was life, and that life was the light of men.
Craig connected this declaration to Genesis 1, where God spoke into darkness and commanded light to appear.
The conversation explored how creation demonstrates God’s authority. He did not need to struggle against another power to bring order into existence.
He spoke, and creation responded.
Ronnie further developed this thought by discussing the significance of God’s provision. From the beginning, God provided what His creation needed.
We depend upon Him for life, breath, and existence.
As Acts 17:28 reminds us, in Him we live, move, and have our being.
Jesus is not an addition to an otherwise complete life. He is the source of life itself.
The light of Christ also reveals what would otherwise remain hidden in darkness.
Without the illumination of God’s truth, we cannot properly understand who God is, who we are, or how we ought to live.
9. Who Has the Authority to Define Good and Evil?
One of the most thought-provoking sections of the episode examined Genesis 1 and the significance of God’s authority over creation.
Ronnie discussed the Hebrew expression tohu va-vohu, commonly translated as formless and void, and the surrounding ancient creation narratives.
The point raised was that Yahweh did not need to battle another god or defeat a sea creature to establish order.
He spoke.
His authority was sufficient.
This led into a discussion about light, illumination, and the importance of allowing God to define what is good and what is evil.
A key part of Ronnie’s observation concerned the fall of Adam and Eve.
The issue was not simply gaining awareness that good and evil existed. It was humanity’s desire to determine good and evil independently of God.
Rather than submitting to the Creator’s authority, mankind sought to establish its own standard.
This is a struggle that remains relevant today.
We live in a world where people often determine truth according to personal feelings, preferences, culture, and individual opinions.
But if God is the source of goodness, then we cannot place ourselves above Him and establish our own definition of what is right.
We must allow His Word to be the authority.
10. God’s Word Is Not a Restriction on Freedom
The conversation concluded by bringing together the relationship between God’s Word, His authority, and the freedom found in obedience.
Psalm 119 presents God’s Word as a lamp and a light that guides our steps.
James also speaks about the law of liberty.
This is an important perspective because people often view God’s commandments and instructions as restrictions that prevent them from experiencing freedom.
But what if the opposite is true?
What if freedom is found in living according to the design and instruction of the One who created us?
The discussion emphasized that God’s instructions are not intended to harm His people. They reveal the way we should walk.
When we reject God’s authority and attempt to define life according to our own standards, we move away from the light He has provided.
But when we submit to Christ, the living Word, we find the truth that leads us into life.
The Word of God is not our enemy. It is our guide.
And Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of that truth.
Questions for Personal Reflection
As we reflect on this first episode of the I AM series, consider these questions:
- Is your identity established in Christ, or are you allowing your accomplishments, career, relationships, and positions to define you?
- Do you truly understand the significance of Jesus declaring Himself to be the Great I AM?
- When you read Scripture, are you simply gathering information, or are you allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate God’s truth?
- Have you ever allowed your circumstances or suffering to influence your understanding of God’s character?
- Do you recognize Jesus as the eternal Word through whom all things were created?
- Are you submitting to God’s definition of what is good and evil, or are you establishing your own standards?
- Do you view God’s commandments as restrictions, or do you recognize them as instructions that lead you into freedom?
- If Jesus is truly the source of life, light, and truth, does your everyday life reflect that reality?
Key Takeaways From This Episode
1. God does not need to become anything. He is the self-existent, eternal Great I AM.
2. Our identity is found in Christ. What we do should never become more important than who we belong to.
3. Jesus is the eternal Word. He existed in the beginning, was with God, was God, and became flesh.
4. Scripture reveals Christ. The Old and New Testaments are connected through God’s unfolding revelation and redemptive purpose.
5. We need the Holy Spirit. Information alone cannot replace spiritual understanding and a genuine relationship with God.
6. Jesus is our mediator. He is the One through whom we are reconciled to the Father.
7. Jesus is the source of life and light. Our understanding of truth and our direction in life must come from Him.
8. God’s Word leads us into freedom. True freedom is not found in defining our own standards but in walking according to God’s truth.
Final Thoughts: Knowing the One Who Says I AM
This first episode establishes a foundation for everything we will explore throughout the I AM series.
Before Jesus declares that He is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, or the Resurrection and the Life, we must recognize who He is.
He is not simply a teacher who appeared in history. He is not merely a prophet who pointed people toward God.
He is the eternal Word.
He is the One who was in the beginning.
He is the One through whom all things were made.
He is the One in whom life is found.
And He is the One who became flesh and dwelt among us.
The implications of this truth extend into every part of our lives. If Jesus is who Scripture declares Him to be, then our response cannot simply be admiration. It must be surrender, trust, obedience, worship, and transformation.
We cannot continue allowing the world to define us when our identity is found in the One who created us.
We cannot establish our own standards when the Creator has already revealed what is good.
And we cannot claim to follow Christ while refusing to submit to His Word.
I am because He is.
May this series encourage us to know Jesus more deeply, understand His Word more faithfully, and live lives that bring glory to His name.
Be edified, and may God be glorified.
Through the Refiner’s Fire Podcast
Where faith is sharpened, truth is professed, and believers are transformed.
Listen to the episode: I AM: The Word – Part 1
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