Jesus identified Himself as the “I AM” who spoke to Moses.

“Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”  John 8:58 

Because “I AM” is a noun, a verb is required.  The word “is” can be added as this verb.  Therefore, it can be said, “I AM is the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).  Jesus, as the “I AM” in the burning bush, is expressing the eternal fact that He is the “ever present one,” not the “I was,” or, “I will be.” Rather, Jesus is a present reality who desires to reveal Himself to us.

When Jesus said, “before Abraham was, I AM,” the Jews understood what He was saying - that He is God - and they took up stones to kill Him.

“Jesus answered and said to him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.”  John 14:23

When we worship the Lord Jesus Christ - the eternal “I AM,” we literally move out of time into eternity.  Here, all earthly problems will fade in the glow of His presence, as the Lord works in our behalf, just as He said to Moses:

“Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”  Exodus 3:10

Moses was told that the initiative would shift from him to the Lord, and he was required only to follow.  Thus, Moses was told to remove his shoes (Exodus 3:5).  We also have gone as far as we can go in our shoes.  Just as Moses responded to the manifestation of the presence of the Lord and turned aside, we also are to “turn aside” and stand in the presence of the eternal “I AM.”

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for us to understand the concept of “eternity,” in which there is no time and all becomes a present reality.  “Time” relates to our circumstances, spread out before us, so we can act or react, thereby making decisions that will affect us for all eternity.  Thus, time is for our benefit.

Our level of spiritual maturity, or “spirituality,” relates to our ability to come into an active identity with the thoughts and actions of our Lord, and then rest in His presence as He works in our behalf.  I remember John Wright Follette saying, “I marvel at those who attempt to project what will happen next year, or ten years from now.  All that I am capable of is to ascertain the mind of the Lord for today, and then walk with Him in that.”

Few understand a visionary.  A “visionary” may not accomplish much because he looks past the present and sees the future as being a present reality.  Thus, he cannot function in, or relate to the present.  A person who is “practical” may not accomplish much either, as he can get lost in petty details and fails to see the bigger picture.  Thus, if a visionary and a practical person could be brought together in a right relationship, much would be accomplished with lasting value.

If I desire to enter into an on-going deeply spiritual, yet practical, walk with the Lord, I must pray, “Lord, what am I to say or do, that You desire at this present moment?” and then I must wait for a “present” word from the Lord.  (Come… and I will send you – Exodus 3:10).

“…I AM (is) the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me. If you had known Me, you should have known My Father also. And from hereafter you know Him, and have seen Him. Philip says to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it sufficed us. Jesus says to him, have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known Me, Philip? He that has seen Me has seen the Father….”  John 14:6-9

If someone should come to any one of us and say, “I would like to see the Lord,” we should be able to say, “If you have seen me, you have seen Jesus.”  We should live on that level of identity with Him.

Paul said, “Be you followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1).  He could say this because he had died to his life and now, the life of Jesus was manifest through his life.  The Word tells us, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The Holy Spirit lives within us, as He came to reveal Jesus through us.  To the extent that we are yielded, we will reflect the mind and life of Jesus.

“Verily verily I say to you, he that believes on Me, the works that I do, shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do because I go to My Father.”  John 14:12

This “greater work” is not that we will do greater miracles than Jesus.  Rather, it is a greater work because it will come forth and operate as a manifestation of the corporate Jesus in the earth, as an end-time witness.  Jesus said that unless a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it will abide alone.

The biggest mistake that Satan ever made was in crucifying Jesus, who could only be in one place at one time, but now is everywhere.  Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sin, but in resurrection, He also has become the progenitor of those who are so “dead” to themselves, that only He can be seen.

In the new birth, we are made partakers of the “divine nature.”  Adam never attained this.  In redemption, we have come higher.  Now, “Christ” is in us.  It is not just the will of the Father being done through one person in one place at one time.  Rather, it is the will of the Father being done in the multiplied lives of all those who have totally submitted themselves to Jesus, as the ever present “I AM.”

The “greater work” then, is the corporate expression of His will being done.  Jesus, “the light of the world” will increasingly light the entire atmosphere of the world, as His resurrection glory begins to shine out through the corporate Body of Christ.

One lit match will make some light, but multiplied thousands of matches together will make a brilliant light.  Though each one of us is insignificant in ourselves, there is the greater work, because now all that Jesus did during His time on earth will be done corporately through a people the enemy had defeated, but now have become the expression of His life in the earth.

“When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe….”  II Thessalonians 1:10

This is a “present” word.  As He was seen when Moses stood before a burning bush, the eternal, ever present “I AM” is again about to be seen, as time begins to unfold into eternity.