23 Oct '11 20:38>1 edit
As I AM God is everything we need. This God used a word picture of a very large female mammory gland, a large breasted mother - to signify that He was the Allsufficient One - El Shadai, in Genesis 17.
This was after a period of 13 years of silence. Or at least we have no record of God speaking to Abraham for 13 years between Genesis 16 and 17. Abraham had tried to fulfill God's promise in his own natural strength and produced Ishmael. This kept God from speaking to him for a long 13 year period of silence. And then ...
"And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him,
I am the All-sufficient God; Walk before Me, and be perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exeedingly .. etc." (See Genesis 17:1,2)
The word picure is a large set of female breasts from the Hebrew. The All-sufficient one is the "Big Breasted" One. God say 'b]"Walk before Me and be perfect"[/b].
I use to think that God was commanding Abraham to live a perfect life on his own strength. God was not demanding that Abraham be a perfect man in his natural strength. God was telling Abraham that He was the All sufficient supply, like a mother with big breast which contain an all powerful "milk" to nourish and uphold mankind in every way.
If we depend upon the Allsufficient God we can walk before God as perfect. This is also the word which I believe is sometimes translated "God Almighty".
El Shadai is the Big Breasted One who can perfectly supply man, perfectly uphold man and be everything that man needs.
"I AM" spoke by God in Exodus and by God incarnate in John 8 is along the same priniciple. God can be EVERYTHING man needs. And through uniting with Him man can walk before God as He willed man to walk.
As I Am, God is everything we need. To the words "I AM" we can add whatever we may need.
Are you tired? The "I AM" of Jesus Christ can be your rest.
Are you hungry? The "I AM" can be your food.
In the New Testament Jesus Christ used many things to describe Himself:
"I am the true vine" (John 15:1)
"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35)
"I am the light" (John 8:12)
As "I AM", God is everything - heaven, earth, air, water, trees, birds, cattle. No this is not to teach pantheism. This is not to teach the material universe is God.
This is to teach that everything positive in the universe has its reality in God who is the great "I AM". God is the reality of every positive thing.
This also implies that God must be YOU and God must be I. God, through His incarnation as the Lord Jesus, has gone through a process in which He can become YOU. When you receive Jesus Christ into your being, you set off a eternal chain reaction in which God is becomming YOU.
God is building Himself into those who receive Christ. And God is building them into God for an eternal organic mingling of divinity and humanity. We can receive Christ and proclaim - 'Lord Jesus, You are me."
"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)
That means that your human innermost being, your spirit can unite with the Holy Spirit who is God, to become one united and mingled spirit - "one spirit".
In this way Jesus can become you. That is Jesus comes into you as "life giving Spirit" and GIVES God to you. He gives God to you as your life.
This was after a period of 13 years of silence. Or at least we have no record of God speaking to Abraham for 13 years between Genesis 16 and 17. Abraham had tried to fulfill God's promise in his own natural strength and produced Ishmael. This kept God from speaking to him for a long 13 year period of silence. And then ...
"And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him,
I am the All-sufficient God; Walk before Me, and be perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exeedingly .. etc." (See Genesis 17:1,2)
The word picure is a large set of female breasts from the Hebrew. The All-sufficient one is the "Big Breasted" One. God say 'b]"Walk before Me and be perfect"[/b].
I use to think that God was commanding Abraham to live a perfect life on his own strength. God was not demanding that Abraham be a perfect man in his natural strength. God was telling Abraham that He was the All sufficient supply, like a mother with big breast which contain an all powerful "milk" to nourish and uphold mankind in every way.
If we depend upon the Allsufficient God we can walk before God as perfect. This is also the word which I believe is sometimes translated "God Almighty".
El Shadai is the Big Breasted One who can perfectly supply man, perfectly uphold man and be everything that man needs.
"I AM" spoke by God in Exodus and by God incarnate in John 8 is along the same priniciple. God can be EVERYTHING man needs. And through uniting with Him man can walk before God as He willed man to walk.
As I Am, God is everything we need. To the words "I AM" we can add whatever we may need.
Are you tired? The "I AM" of Jesus Christ can be your rest.
Are you hungry? The "I AM" can be your food.
In the New Testament Jesus Christ used many things to describe Himself:
"I am the true vine" (John 15:1)
"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35)
"I am the light" (John 8:12)
As "I AM", God is everything - heaven, earth, air, water, trees, birds, cattle. No this is not to teach pantheism. This is not to teach the material universe is God.
This is to teach that everything positive in the universe has its reality in God who is the great "I AM". God is the reality of every positive thing.
This also implies that God must be YOU and God must be I. God, through His incarnation as the Lord Jesus, has gone through a process in which He can become YOU. When you receive Jesus Christ into your being, you set off a eternal chain reaction in which God is becomming YOU.
God is building Himself into those who receive Christ. And God is building them into God for an eternal organic mingling of divinity and humanity. We can receive Christ and proclaim - 'Lord Jesus, You are me."
"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)
That means that your human innermost being, your spirit can unite with the Holy Spirit who is God, to become one united and mingled spirit - "one spirit".
In this way Jesus can become you. That is Jesus comes into you as "life giving Spirit" and GIVES God to you. He gives God to you as your life.