Who is God? I AM that I AM (Part 4)

I AM 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. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26).  

               In the beginning, I AM created a perfect universe. There was no sickness, pain, misery or death. These terms would have been foreign if used because everything was full of life and beauty. The first time that the Bible mentions anything concerning death is when I AM told Adam to stay away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  The Bible says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17). This death was not an immediate death, but one that would have lasting consequences upon all of mankind and a separation of man from God. The fall of man and its ramifications was probably more than Adam could have ever possibly imagined when I AM first issued this warning. Unfortunately, Adam did not heed the warning and the world suffered the greatest separation from God, resulting in the breakdown of life and ending in death. The Bible says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

               Despite man’s disobedience, I AM had a plan of salvation, which would save man from spending an eternity without Him. Jesus would come and be the sacrificial lamb to take on the sins of the world. During the interim period, from the time of Adam till Jesus’ return, there would be much death that man would see and encounter. Nevertheless, there was and still is hope in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

               Due to I AM being the Creator of all things, He is also the Resurrection and the Life. I AM is the Life Giver for He gave life to the first man. The Bible says, “The Lord God forms the man from the dust of the ground and breathes into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Adam’s very breath was given from I AM; so, he literally was breathing the air of I AM. Therefore, when the breath of a person is gone, there is no life in them. Cells cannot function, the organs shut down, and the brain ceases to function when there is a lack of oxygen. Even if an individual is hooked up to a machine that breathes for them, the body requires some form of oxygen. The body becomes totally incapacitated when it is deprived of it. The Bible says, “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).

               I AM used a powerful illustration with the prophet Ezekiel showing that He was the Life Giver when Ezekiel was in a valley of dry bones. The Bible says, “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them,’ ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:4-6). Why is it important to understand that I AM is the Life Giver?

               When we look at the world and see the dying condition that it is in, it can be easy to give up and lose hope. All around us is death, cold hearts, suffering, heartache, struggles, and injustice. Nevertheless, we can have faith in knowing that I AM is able to restore all that is dead, broken, and seemingly irrepairable because He is the one who gives the breath of life. The Bible says, “I looked and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it,’ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army’” (Ezekiel 37:8-10). In this illustration, I AM was giving hope to Israel whose situation was seemingly a valley of dry bones. He was letting them know that their situation was not dead, but He was and still is the Resurrection of dead circumstances and would breath into theirs once again. The Bible says, “Then you, my people will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:13-14).

               While Jesus was on earth, He performed many miracles – one of which was the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, had taken ill; therefore, the two sisters immediately sent word to Jesus. When Jesus heard the news, He did not leave his location for another two days, for He knew that God would get the glory in the end. The Bible says, “When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it’” (John 11:4). Sometimes, there are circumstances that arise in life in which we desire for them to be worked out right away. Nevertheless, I AM oftentimes waits until they have become seemingly dead to us to stretch our faith. In so doing, it teaches us to rely totally on Him, our Life Giver, for He can resurrect any of our seemingly dead circumstances as He did with Lazarus. The Bible says, “After he had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up’” (John 11:11).

               Jesus was letting the disciples and others around know that He was not confined by time or circumstance. He was showing them that I AM is the Resurrection and the Life. The Bible says, “So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead and for your sake I am glad I was not there so that you may believe. But let us go to him” (John 11:14-15). If Lazarus had not died, Jesus’ followers would not have known that He could raise the dead. Not only was Lazarus dead, but it had been four days since his death and his body had not been embalmed, therefore, his body would have started to decay and smell. Nevertheless, this did not stop I AM. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been ill, after he had died, after he had started to decay and after his body had started to smell. The I AM that I AM showed that nothing is impossible for Him including being bound by death. The Bible says, “When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out! The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go’” (John 11:43-44).

               One day, there will be no more sickness or death. Those who make a choice for I AM will be welcomed into His glorious kingdom where we will live forever when He comes back to take His children home. The Bible says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Because He died, we can live. I AM paid the ultimate price for our salvation. He took on death Himself and got the victory to death and hell. Now, we have a choice to choose eternal life and not eternal death.