John 8:58

no one has ever seen God, but the one and only son who is himself God and at the father's side has made him known.

At first glance, it might seem strange. Jesus keeps insisting on his identity to this group of Jews. He might look desperate to gain followers, like he needs their support to push his agenda. That's not the case. Instead, Jesus is graciously revealing himself, just as God has always revealed himself to his people. When Jesus starts a statement with, truly, truly, I say to you, like he does here, he's emphasizing the truth of his claim based on his own knowledge and authority. He's making an inerrant, authoritative statement as the all-powerful, all-knowing, speaking God. Truly, truly, I say to you, I am. That is Jesus's name, and that is how he is to be remembered. So for us as a church, we have a responsibility. We have a responsibility to rightly remember Jesus, to profess Jesus as he has revealed himself, to pass along this revelation for generations to come. The gospel writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, they wrote down the words and the works of Jesus so that he may be remembered. The early church fathers, they pushed back against heresies and defended the nature of Christ so that he would be remembered. Today, our job as Christians, it's no different than the saints who have gone before us, to name and proclaim the one true God as he has revealed himself in Jesus. Our verse tonight, it calls us to proclaim that Jesus is fully God. As I am, Jesus is the eternal creator, God of the universe. Which brings us to point two, that Jesus is the eternal God. See, when God reveals himself as I am, he revealed the very essence of his existence to us. He tells us that he has existed for eternity, that there has not been a moment in time when he has not existed. Now, just because this has been revealed about God, it doesn't mean that we can comprehend it fully. This is an incommunicable attribute of God, which means that we as humans, we don't share in this attribute with him. Because God is infinite, self-existing, without source or beginning. And in our verse, we learn that Jesus, as the fully divine Son of God, He shares one undivided nature with God the Father. Jesus has always existed. Jesus is eternal. For us, there was a time before we existed, a time before we were created, a time before we truly knew God. But not so with Jesus. His relationship to God is not that of a creature to the creator. It's the relationship of the eternally begotten son to the eternal father. The early church labored to rightly profess and protect the doctrine of God the son. And because of that, we have tools like the Nicene Creed that we recite here on Sunday mornings. And while the historic creeds are not scripture, they are an essential part of the Christian faith. They synthesize the truths that we read about in God's word. They're instruments for us to proclaim and promote and protect the person and work of Christ. In the Nicene Creed, for example, we read that Jesus is

begotten of the Father before all ages.

Jesus is

God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

This is what we profess as a church about Jesus Christ. That in eternity past, Jesus was there. At the onset of creation, Jesus was there. I mean, think about that. The heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, the stars, the land, the sea, the plants, the animals, they're all made through Jesus. Mankind, the image and likeness of God, was made through Jesus. You, you were made through Jesus. Jesus gave you breath. He gave you sight. He gave you smell. He made your heartbeat. He made your hair color. He made every little bone in your hand. Jesus knows you. He knows you better than any friend, any sibling, any parent, doctor, or therapist ever could. He knows your desires, your needs. He knows what's best for you. Christian, be comforted by that. Remember that if you're tempted to ignore his commands and give in to sin. Remember that the eternal God made you knows you and has revealed himself to you in Jesus for your good and for your salvation. Anything else that claims the same thing, it's a false God. It's an idol. The one true God, he is the God who truly works salvation for us. He is the God who truly saves. It brings us to our third And final point, that Jesus is the only Savior. The name I Am, it points us to the salvation of God. In Exodus, God calls himself I Am as he sets the stage to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. Later in Isaiah, God again calls himself I Am in contrast to false idols and to assure Israel of another deliverance and a coming Savior. We see this clearly in Isaiah 43, 10 through 12, which says,

you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, my servant whom I've had, who I have chosen that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he before me. No God was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord. And besides me, there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange God among you, and you are my witnesses, declared the Lord, and I am God.

As I am, Jesus is the one true God that saves, and there is no other Savior besides the Lord Jesus. For the sake of our salvation, Jesus came down from heaven. He was made man, was crucified, died, and buried. On the third day, he rose again according to the scriptures. He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom shall have no end. If you're here tonight and you're not a Christian, I hope you understand why we worship Jesus. He is God and He is worthy to be worshiped. He alone is able to save you from your sins. So listen to Him. Trust in Him. Place your faith in Him for salvation. And Christian, as we remember who Jesus is and what He's done for us, it should lead us to rejoice. I mean, the day that Abraham looked forward to and rejoiced in we get to look back on that day and remember. The salvation and deliverer that Isaiah prophesied about, we get to look back on and remember. Our God and our Savior has come. He has accomplished salvation for us so that we could be just as he is, eternally glorified in God's kingdom as members of God's family. So Christian, remember Jesus and rejoice in Jesus, the I am. Let's pray. Jesus, you are a great and gracious Lord. We rejoice in the words you've spoken to us and the salvation you've worked for us. We pray that we're emboldened to contend for the faith that was once delivered to all the saints. We pray that this church would be a pillar and buttress of truth for generations to come. Pray that even now we work to make your glory known to the world. Jesus is in your precious name we pray. Amen.