Who did Jesus actually claim to be? This detailed Quick Facts study examines the meaning of “I am He,” the accusation that Jesus was making Himself God, Jesus’ response that He said “I am Son of God,” and the later charge in John 19:7 that He made Himself the Son of God. It also compares different beliefs about Jesus and finishes with His own question: “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
QUICK FACTS: “UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM HE, YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS”
PART ONE — What Did Jesus Mean by “I Am He”?
Few statements made by Jesus could be more serious than His warning in John 8:
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
— John 8:24, BLB
These are extremely serious words.
Jesus is telling His listeners that believing who He truly is matters.
But this immediately raises the question:
WHO DID JESUS MEAN BY “I AM HE”?
Did Jesus mean:
“Unless you believe that I am Almighty God, you will die in your sins”?
Or was Jesus telling them that they must believe He truly is:
THE CHRIST — THE SON OF GOD?
This distinction is extremely important because some Christians interpret Jesus' words ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi), “I am,” as a declaration that He is God, connecting them with God's words to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
But notice something first.
Jesus did not say:
“UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM GOD, YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS.”
The word “God” is not there.
So before inserting that meaning into Jesus' words, we need to examine how egō eimi is actually used in John's Gospel and, most importantly, allow the context to tell us what Jesus meant.
QUICK FACT 1
DOES “EGŌ EIMI” AUTOMATICALLY MEAN “I AM GOD”?
The Greek expression behind Jesus' words is:
ἐγώ εἰμι — EGŌ EIMI
It means simply:
“I am.”
Some Trinitarian interpreters connect Jesus' use of these words with Exodus 3:14, where God speaks to Moses.
From this they argue that Jesus' statement:
“Unless you believe that I am…”
means:
“Unless you believe that I am God…”
But there is a serious problem with making egō eimi itself proof that the speaker is claiming to be God.
The same expression can be used simply to identify oneself.
And John's Gospel gives us a perfect example.
QUICK FACT 2
THE BLIND MAN ALSO SAID “EGŌ EIMI”
In John 9, Jesus heals a man who had been blind from birth.
Afterward, people argue about whether this really is the same man:
“Some were saying, ‘This is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but he is like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am he.’”
— John 9:9
The words translated “I am he” are:
ἐγώ εἰμι — EGŌ EIMI
The same Greek expression.
Was the formerly blind man claiming:
“I AM GOD ALMIGHTY”?
Of course not.
He was simply saying:
“I am he.”
“I am the man.”
“I am the person you are talking about.”
This establishes an important fact:
THE WORDS “EGŌ EIMI” DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN “I AM GOD.”
The context determines whom the speaker is identifying himself as.
This was also one of the central comparisons in my original research.
So now we must ask:
WHAT DOES THE CONTEXT IDENTIFY JESUS AS?
QUICK FACT 3
JESUS HIMSELF EXPLAINS “I AM HE” TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN
John gives us an extraordinary example that helps answer our question.
Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.
During their conversation she says:
“I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When He comes, He will declare to us all things.”
— John 4:25, BLB
Notice exactly whom she is talking about:
THE MESSIAH — THE CHRIST.
Jesus then answers:
“I who speak to you am He.”
— John 4:26, BLB
Again Jesus uses:
ἐγώ εἰμι — EGŌ EIMI
But this time there can be little doubt about the immediate subject of the conversation.
The woman says:
“MESSIAH IS COMING.”
Jesus answers:
“I AM HE.”
In other words:
I AM THE MESSIAH.
I AM THE CHRIST YOU ARE WAITING FOR.
Jesus is not answering a question about whether He is Almighty God.
He is identifying Himself as the promised Messiah—the Christ.
This same connection between John 4:25 and Jesus' egō eimi response in John 4:26 formed a major part of my earlier research.
QUICK FACT 4
JOHN 8:28 GIVES US ANOTHER IMPORTANT CLUE
Now return to the very chapter we are investigating.
A few verses after Jesus warns:
“…unless you believe that I am He…”
Jesus says:
“When you shall have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and from Myself I do nothing; but as the Father taught Me, I speak these things.”
— John 8:28, BLB
Look carefully.
Jesus again says:
“I AM HE.”
But immediately afterward Jesus tells us:
“FROM MYSELF I DO NOTHING.”
And:
“THE FATHER TAUGHT ME.”
That distinction is extremely important.
Jesus is the One being taught.
The Father is the One teaching Him.
Jesus therefore distinguishes Himself from His Father in the very sentence containing “I am He.”
This should make us extremely cautious about changing Jesus' words into:
“Then you will know that I am Almighty God.”
That is not what Jesus actually says.
Instead, the context continues to distinguish Jesus from:
THE FATHER WHO SENT AND TAUGHT HIM.
QUICK FACT 5
SO WHO DID JESUS SAY HE WAS?
Fortunately, we don't have to guess.
Jesus gives us His own description later in John's Gospel.
After some of His opponents accused Him of blasphemy, Jesus said:
“Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am Son of God’?”
— John 10:36, BLB
Read that carefully.
Jesus identifies Himself as:
“SON OF GOD.”
He also tells us:
THE FATHER SANCTIFIED HIM.
and:
THE FATHER SENT HIM.
Again we have two clearly distinguished identities:
THE FATHER
and
HIS SON.
Jesus does not say here:
“I told you that I am God Almighty.”
He describes His claim as:
“I AM SON OF GOD.”
QUICK FACT 6
JOHN TELLS US EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS
Perhaps the clearest evidence comes near the conclusion of John's Gospel.
John actually tells his readers why he wrote the book:
“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
— John 20:31, BLB
This is enormously important when interpreting John 8:24.
Jesus warned:
“UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM HE…”
And John later tells us what his Gospel was written to make us believe:
JESUS IS THE CHRIST.
JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.
And notice the consequence:
“…THAT BELIEVING YOU MAY HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME.”
This is why correctly understanding Jesus' identity is such a serious matter.
BUT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION WE STILL NEED TO ADDRESS
At this point, many Christians will quite reasonably respond:
“But I already believe Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God!”
And they are right.
Trinitarians say Jesus is the Christ and Son of God.
Modalists say Jesus is the Christ and Son of God.
Jehovah's Witnesses say Jesus is the Christ and Son of God.
Yet these groups understand Jesus' identity in very different ways and add very different theological claims concerning who He is.
So our investigation cannot finish merely by asking:
“Do you call Jesus the Christ?”
or:
“Do you call Jesus the Son of God?”
We must ask the deeper question:
WHAT DO THOSE WORDS ACTUALLY MEAN?
And:
HAVE WE ADDED ANOTHER IDENTITY TO JESUS THAT JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES DID NOT TEACH?
That brings us directly to 1 John 2:22, the Trinity, Modalism, Michael the archangel—and the remarkable accusation made against Jesus by His Jewish opponents.
CONTINUED IN PART TWO…
QUICK FACTS: “UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM HE, YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS”
PART TWO — HAVE WE ADDED ANOTHER IDENTITY TO JESUS THAT JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES DID NOT TEACH?
In Part One, we examined Jesus' serious warning:
“…unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
— John 8:24, BLB
We also saw that the Greek expression egō eimi — “I am” does not automatically mean “I am God.”
The formerly blind man uses the same expression in John 9:9, while in John 4:25–26 Jesus uses “I am He” immediately after the Samaritan woman speaks about the coming Messiah, the Christ.
Most importantly, John tells us why his Gospel was written:
“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
— John 20:31, BLB
But now we need to address an important objection.
QUICK FACT 7
“BUT I ALREADY BELIEVE JESUS IS THE CHRIST AND THE SON OF GOD!”
A Trinitarian Christian could quite reasonably say:
“I believe Jesus is the Christ.”
“I believe Jesus is the Son of God.”
And that is true.
But Trinitarians are not alone.
Many different faiths and Christian movements use these same biblical titles for Jesus.
Trinitarians believe Jesus is the Christ and Son of God, but additionally teach that He is God the Son, fully God within the Trinity.
Modalists believe Jesus is the Christ and Son of God, but understand the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as manifestations or modes of the one God rather than three distinct divine persons.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus is the Christ and Son of God, but additionally identify Jesus in His prehuman existence with Michael the archangel.
These beliefs are obviously very different from one another.
But they raise the same important question:
IS IT ENOUGH SIMPLY TO SAY THE WORDS “CHRIST” AND “SON OF GOD” IF WE THEN ADD ANOTHER IDENTITY TO JESUS?
That is the question we need to investigate.
QUICK FACT 8
JOHN WARNS ABOUT DENYING THE FATHER AND THE SON
John writes:
“Who is the liar, except the one denying that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one denying the Father and the Son.”
— 1 John 2:22, BLB
Notice the identities John preserves:
THE FATHER
and
THE SON.
This verse does not specifically mention the Trinity, Modalism, or Jehovah's Witnesses. We therefore should not pretend that John was explicitly naming these later theological systems.
But his warning raises a very serious principle.
It is possible to use religious language about Jesus while nevertheless misunderstanding or denying His true identity and His relationship with the Father.
So we must ask:
WHO IS THE FATHER?
And:
WHO IS THE SON?
Jesus gives us an extraordinarily clear statement:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent.”
— John 17:3, BLB
Jesus distinguishes between:
HIS FATHER — “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”
and:
JESUS CHRIST — THE ONE WHOM HE SENT.
Whatever theological conclusions we reach, we must allow this distinction to stand.
QUICK FACT 9
HAVE WE ADDED SOMETHING TO JESUS' IDENTITY?
This is where the question becomes uncomfortable—but important.
Scripture repeatedly identifies Jesus as:
THE CHRIST.
THE MESSIAH.
THE SON OF GOD.
THE SON OF MAN.
THE ONE SENT BY THE FATHER.
Yet different religious traditions add further explanations of His identity.
The Trinitarian says:
“Jesus is also God the Son, eternally one God with the Father and Holy Spirit.”
The Modalist says, in effect:
“Jesus reveals the same one God manifested as Father, Son and Spirit.”
The Jehovah's Witness says:
“Jesus existed before His human life as Michael the archangel.”
The important question is not whether these groups sincerely believe their doctrines.
They do.
The question is:
DID JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES ACTUALLY TEACH THESE IDENTITIES?
If they did, we should believe them.
If they did not, then we should be extremely cautious about adding them to the simple biblical confession concerning Jesus.
QUICK FACT 10
JESUS HIMSELF SAID: “I AM SON OF GOD”
This brings us to John 10.
Some of Jesus' Jewish opponents accused Him:
“…because You, being a man, make Yourself God.”
— John 10:33, BLB
This verse is frequently quoted as evidence that Jesus claimed to be God.
But there is an obvious problem.
THESE ARE NOT JESUS' WORDS.
They are the words of His opponents describing what they believed His words meant.
So what happens when Jesus responds?
He says:
“Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am Son of God’?”
— John 10:36, BLB
Now compare them:
THE JEWS' ACCUSATION:
“YOU…MAKE YOURSELF GOD.”
JESUS' OWN EXPLANATION:
“I SAID, ‘I AM SON OF GOD.’”
This distinction cannot simply be ignored.
Jesus also says that:
THE FATHER SANCTIFIED HIM.
THE FATHER SENT HIM.
Again, we have the Father and His Son.
QUICK FACT 11
THE JEWS' FINAL CHARGE IS REMARKABLE
Now move forward to Jesus' trial before Pilate.
Jesus is about to be crucified.
John records:
“Therefore when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’ Pilate says to them, ‘Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to the law He ought to die, because He made Himself Son of God.’”
— John 19:6–7, BLB
Did you notice what happened?
Earlier their accusation was:
“YOU, BEING A MAN, MAKE YOURSELF GOD.”
John 10:33
Jesus answered:
“I SAID, ‘I AM SON OF GOD.’”
John 10:36
But when they finally explain their religious charge against Jesus to Pilate, they say:
“HE MADE HIMSELF SON OF GOD.”
John 19:7
That is remarkable.
QUICK FACT 12
DID THE JEWS FINALLY UNDERSTAND JESUS' CLAIM?
We need to be careful here.
John does not explicitly tell us:
“The Jews finally realised their earlier accusation was wrong.”
So we should not claim the text proves that.
But we can state what the text actually records.
In John 10:33:
They accuse Jesus of making Himself God.
In John 10:36:
Jesus describes His own claim as “I am Son of God.”
And in John 19:7:
Their stated charge before Pilate is that Jesus made Himself “Son of God.”
That comparison deserves serious consideration.
It certainly means we should not quote John 10:33—the accusation of Jesus' opponents—as though Jesus Himself had said:
“I AM GOD.”
He did not.
When Jesus answers their accusation, His recorded words are:
“I SAID, ‘I AM SON OF GOD.’”
QUICK FACT 13
ARE WE MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE?
This brings us to a difficult but necessary question.
Jesus' opponents heard His words and interpreted them as:
“YOU…MAKE YOURSELF GOD.”
But Jesus responded by describing His claim as:
“I AM SON OF GOD.”
Could Christians make a similar mistake today if we allow our theological systems to tell us what Jesus must have meant, rather than first allowing Jesus to identify Himself?
This question applies to everyone.
If we say Jesus is:
God the Son,
the Father Himself,
Michael the archangel,
or give Him any other additional identity, we should be prepared to answer:
WHERE DID JESUS OR HIS APOSTLES ACTUALLY TEACH THAT?
This is not about insulting sincere believers.
It is about testing every doctrine against Scripture.
QUICK FACT 14
ARE WE SAYING THESE PEOPLE WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS?
NO.
This needs to be absolutely clear.
We are not declaring that every Trinitarian will die in their sins.
We are not declaring that every Modalist will die in their sins.
We are not declaring that every Jehovah's Witness will die in their sins.
Nor are we claiming authority to determine the eternal judgment of individual people.
God judges people—not us.
But neither should we weaken Jesus' warning:
“…unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
— John 8:24, BLB
Jesus clearly teaches that His identity matters.
Therefore, if we attach an additional identity to Jesus that He and His apostles did not teach, that is something we should take very seriously.
The correct response is not to condemn one another.
The correct response is:
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
TEST WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT.
AND FIND OUT WHO JESUS REALLY IS.
QUICK FACT 15
JOHN TELLS US WHAT WE ARE TO BELIEVE
We keep returning to this verse because it is so important.
John tells us exactly why his Gospel was written:
“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
— John 20:31, BLB
John does not leave us without an identity for Jesus.
He gives us one:
JESUS IS THE CHRIST.
JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.
And Jesus Himself says:
“I am Son of God.”
— John 10:36, BLB
So perhaps instead of asking whether our denomination has the correct theological formula, we should ask a much simpler question.
And remarkably, it is the very question Jesus Himself asked.
FINAL QUICK FACT
JESUS NOW ASKS YOU: “WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”
Jesus turned to His disciples and asked:
“But you, who do you say I am?”
— Matthew 16:15, BLB
What an important question.
And it is just as important today.
Imagine Jesus asking you personally:
“WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”
Not:
What does your denomination say?
Not:
What does your church creed say?
Not:
What did later theologians decide?
But:
“WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”
Simon Peter answered:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
— Matthew 16:16, BLB
And what did Jesus do?
Did Jesus correct Peter?
Did He say:
“Peter, that isn't enough. You must also confess that I am God the Son”?
No.
Did He say:
“Actually Peter, I am the Father”?
No.
Did He say:
“Before becoming a man, I was Michael the archangel”?
No.
Instead Jesus answered:
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father who is in the heavens.”
— Matthew 16:17, BLB
Think about that.
Peter confessed:
“YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”
And Jesus said that this truth had been revealed to Peter by:
“MY FATHER WHO IS IN THE HEAVENS.”
THE FINAL QUESTION IS NOW YOURS
We began with Jesus' warning:
“UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM HE…”
John 8:24
So who is “He”?
John tells us:
“JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD.”
John 20:31
Jesus says:
“I AM SON OF GOD.”
John 10:36
Peter says:
“YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”
Jesus warned, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). This final part broadens the question beyond Christian disagreements about the identity of Jesus. It asks people of every faith—and those with no religious faith—to consider the New Testament testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It does not declare the judgment of individual people, which belongs to God, but asks every reader to consider Jesus’ personal question: “But you, who do you say I am?”
ONE FINAL IMPORTANT NOTE
JESUS’ WARNING IS FOR EVERYONE
Matthew 16:16
And Jesus says Peter's confession was revealed by:
HIS FATHER IN HEAVEN.
So before adding God the Son, the Father Himself, Michael the archangel, or any other identity to Jesus, there is one question every one of us should honestly ask:
DID JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES ACTUALLY TEACH IT?
Because ultimately this isn't about winning a Trinity debate.
It isn't about defeating another denomination.
It isn't about proving that we are cleverer than somebody else.
It is about answering the question Jesus Himself asks:
“BUT YOU, WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”
And considering whether we are prepared to accept the answer revealed to Peter:
“YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”
Research by Simon Brown
wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com
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