When Jesus Speaks He Shapes Reality
Imagine standing in a crowded room when the person you admire most leans in and says three words that change everything. That is what happened when Jesus looked at the Pharisees and said “before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). He did not call himself a good teacher or a prophet. He used the name God gave Moses at the burning bush. He claimed eternity.
A few chapters later he told Philip “he who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He did not offer an abstract lesson. He offered himself as the living portrait of God. Every word out of his mouth carried divine weight.
And in John 10:30 he said “I and My Father are one.” Those listeners reacted by picking up stones for blasphemy. They understood exactly what he meant. Jesus was not playing a part. He was declaring his identity.
Apostolic Echoes The Early Church Speaks Out
After Jesus returned to heaven the apostles did not shrink back. They pressed the same claims in fresh language. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15‑17
“ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created… And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
Think about that. Creation itself happened through Jesus. The stars, the planets, even your beating heart ..all depend on him.
Hebrews 1:3 adds:
“ Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power.”
This is not poetic flair. It is a sober statement that Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature and the one who holds the universe together.
Paul went on in Philippians 2:6‑7 to explain why this matters:
“ Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”
He laid aside glory to walk among us. Fully divine yet fully human.
Prayer with Power Authority in His Name
We all know what it means to pray. We whisper our hopes. We confess our failures. We ask for help. But Jesus reframed prayer when he said in John 14:13
“ Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
He did not mean a magic phrase. He meant partnership with the One who commands heaven and earth. To pray in his name is to align our will with his. It is to tap into divine authority rather than our own limited strength.
Jesus the Mediator Only Bridge to God
If you stand at the edge of a chasm you need a bridge to cross. That is what Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:5 NKJV:
“ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
No ancient priest. No celestial committee. One mediator. One man. And that man is also fully God.
Peter put it this way in Acts 4:12
“ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Salvation depends on the person of Jesus. Not on ideas about him. Not on what he taught. On who he is.
Believing in His Identity Changes Everything
Jesus did not hide his identity behind clever parables. He declared it again and again:
“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
“I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
“I am the true vine” (John 15:1).
Each “I am” is a claim to divine lordship. Each claim demands a response. To treat him as a good teacher is to miss the point. To see him as less than God is to risk more than your pride.
He warned in John 8:24
“ If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Life or death hinges on his identity.
An Invitation to Know the Living God
What if the One who ordains the stars wants a conversation with you? What if the Word who was in the beginning reached down to speak your name? That is the heart of the gospel.
Jesus invites us to believe not just in him but to believe who he said he is. He is God entering the human story. He is the bridge over sin’s chasm. He is the source of life, the power behind our prayers, and the mediator we cannot do without.
To know Jesus as God is to step into a story far larger than ourselves. It is not a doctrinal exercise. It is a personal encounter.
When you pray in his name you join his work. When you trust in his identity you cross the chasm. When you believe that he and the Father are one you meet the living God face to face.
That is the quest to know who Christ is. And the only question left is will you believe.
