John: I Am Statements

Encountering page 99

ELWELL, WALTER AND YARBROUGH, ROBERT W., Third Edition (2013) Encountering The New Testament, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic.

John 8: 58 is a key verse in regard to the theology that God the Son exists externally:

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Strong's Concordance eimi: I exist, I am Original Word: εἰμί

Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: eimi

Phonetic Spelling: (i-mee')

Short Definition: I am, exist Definition: I am, exist.

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1510 /eimí ("is, am") – in the present tense, indicative mood – can be time-inclusive ("omnitemporal," like the Hebrew imperfect tense). Only the context indicates whether the present tense also has "timeless" implications. For example, 1510 (eimí) is aptly used in Christ's great "I am" (ego eimi . . . ) that also include His eternality (self-existent life) as our life, bread, light," etc. See Jn 7:34, 8:58, etc.

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'1. to exist; a. passages in which the idea of the verb preponderates, and some person or thing is said to exist by way of distinction from things non-existent:'

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'πρίν Ἀβραάμ γενέσθαι, ἐγώ εἰμί, John 8:58'
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before Abraham became (was) I am

John 8:58

New American Standard Bible (NASB) 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham [a]was born, I am.”

Footnotes: John 8:58 Lit came into being

Bauer mentions within the definition εἰμί: 'be, exist of God', in regard to 8: 58 (223)...

Of Christ, before Abraham was, I am. (223). It is listed in a present tense, as in Jesus Christ is eternal.

BAUER, WALTER. (1979) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Translated by Eric H. Wahlstrom, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.

ELWELL, WALTER AND YARBROUGH, ROBERT W., Third Edition (2013) Encountering The New Testament, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic.

MARSHALL, ALFRED (1975)(1996) The Interlinear KJV-NIV, Grand Rapids, Zondervan. 

STRONG, J. (1890)(1986) Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Burlington, Welch Publishing Company.