Zulluwth - Ehyeh: the Resurrection and the Life

Ehyeh:

the Resurrection and the Life

Jeffrey Brian White

When Yahweh revealed himself to Moses at the bush that burned with fire without being consumed on Mount Sinai, Moses asked him what his name was so that he might tell the Israelites who was sending him. Yahweh's answer was »I Am that I Am... tell them that I Am has sent you.« In the Gospel of John, Jesus is recorded to have applied this name to himself. In the Hebrew text, the name is Ehyeh and means »I am«. Moreover, following similar constructs containing the name Yahweh in the Old Testament, such as Yahweh Tsebaot 'Yahweh of Hosts', Yahweh Rapha 'Yahweh Healer', Yahweh Elohim 'Yahweh God', etc., Jesus combined this name Ehyeh, in Greek rendered egô eimi, with various titles to identify himself and illustrate what he does or becomes to the believer in him.

»Jesus said unto her, I AM THE RESURRECTION, and THE LIFE: he that BELIEVETH in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live...« (Jn 11:25, KJV)

Ehyeh the Resurrection and the Life: "I am, I become, I will be the Resurrection and the Life...". We could easily connect this statement of Jesus with one of Paul's: »But the righteousness which is of FAITH speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the WORD OF FAITH, which we preach; That IF THOU SHALT CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH THE LORD JESUS, AND SHALT BELIEVE IN THINE HEART THAT GOD HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, THOU SHALT BE SAVED. For with the heart man BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.« (Ro 10:6-10, KJV) Faith. Believing. It is, of course, by HIS faith that we LIVE (Ga 2:20). Beloved, the Spirit of God desires to implant the Faith of Christ in your heart and mine. And he wants to do it repeatedly, leading us out of faith into faith, from glory to glory. Each cycle of this is intended by the Father to produce a greater measure of the Life of Christ in us. Note the progression: »faith out of hearing, but hearing through utterance of Christ« (Ro 10:17, selftrans.). We believe because we hear and we hear because the Anointed One speaks. Yahweh creates the »hearing ear« (Pr 20:12). Jesus wants us to believe that he is the Resurrection and the Life and cause us to partake thereof. Now, note that he said »he that believeth in me«. Literally, we could translate the Greek source text »the one believing INTO me...«. Do you realize the force of this statement? It denotes continuality in believing. As importantly, if not moreso, it gives a direction, »into« him. No one can be 'in Christ' unless that one first believes into him. We are born out of the Spirit of Jesus, and we believe into him, into Christ. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that they (and he) were once dead in trespasses and sins, but thereafter were quickened together with Christ and made to sit in heavenly places with him (Ep 2). We are like them. When we first believed at conversion, we believed into Jesus. We began to walk in that »newness of life«. God raised our spirits from death. Although, in the context of John 11, Martha and the others (including the Pharisees) did believe in the future resurrection »in the last day«, Jesus was teaching them about his identity as the Resurrection as a present reality. Following the revelation he received from the Father through the Holy Spirit, when he arrives, he says, »Lazarus, come forth!«, and Lazarus comes forth out of his tomb clothed with burial clothes. At the word of the Lord, Lazarus was literally raised from death and made alive. And so it is with us, when Jesus speaks to us, to our spirits, through the Spirit of God, he is speaking a living word which energizes some part of the New Creation Man to rise up out of the death of the Old Man into newness of life. Piece by piece by piece this occurs. »If any wills after me to come, let him contradict himself and take up the cross of himself according to day and imitate me. For whoever would will the psyche of himself to save, shall utterly destroy the same, but whoever would utterly destroy the psyche of himself for sake of me, this shall save the same. For what is a human benefiting, if one be gaining the whole cosmos, but himself be utterly destroying - the suffering of loss.« (Lu 9:23-25, selftrans.) As we believe him that speaks from heaven, we believe into him, that is, into a greater partaking of the nature of God by grace through faith. For example, let's say the Spirit of Truth reveals to me that I have pride in my heart. That pride is death, is it not? So I confess my sin, the pride, and Jesus cleanses me of all unrighteousness in this specific thing in that specific moment. Now that the pride is washed away by the Blood of Jesus, space is created for him to plant his own righteousness in that area, and he puts humility and meekness where that particular pride once resided. That humility is an aspect of his Life. When complete, he has raised me from the death, manifested as pride, unto Life, manifested as humility. But I need to believe the Lord when the Spirit shows me the pride. If I harden my heart and disbelieve the revelation, I will not enter into his life, nor will I rise from death in that area. As I believe the Lord to conform me to the image of the Son, I experience salvation of my inner man, my psyche or soul, as a direct result of him rising from the dead.

As Paul said in Romans, we must believe that he was raised from the dead, for we are saved through belief of the truth and Jesus was, in fact, raised by God from the dead. When the women reached the tomb where he was laid after his death, they discovered an empty tomb. He was resurrected physically. He was able to tell Thomas, who doubted, to go ahead and touch his wounds. Thomas then confessed, »My Lord and my God!« (Jn 20:24-29). No doubt, Thomas' faith in Jesus revived at that time. As his faith revived, he experienced resurrection in his inner man. Jesus' resurrected body was composed of flesh and bones (Lu 24:36-43), just as it was before he died, but now it was energized and sustained by the Spirit of God, not by the blood which he poured out on the cross, that is, it became a SPIRITUAL BODY. As Paul said, »It is sown a NATURAL BODY; it is raised a SPIRITUAL BODY. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; THE LAST ADAM WAS MADE A QUICKENING SPIRIT. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: THE SECOND MAN IS THE LORD FROM HEAVEN. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.« (1C 15:44-49, KJV) Jesus Christ, the Lord from heaven, became that QUICKENING SPIRIT, having a SPIRITUAL body which is physical, tangible. And the Holy Spirit with which Jesus baptizes us, is specifically called the Spirit of Jesus (Ac 16:7)! Thomas' doubt had to die and had to be confronted by the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. His faith had to be grounded in this fact of Jesus Christ. »But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE.« (1C 15:20-22, KJV) As soon as Thomas believed concerning the fact of Jesus' resurrection, he believed into Jesus in some way and faith replaced doubt in his heart. Praise God!

Jesus was declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection. And so will be the Sons of God to come. Now, let's just briefly look at this Vivifying or Life-giving Spirit as it pertains to the Sons of God. »There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk... after the Spirit. For the law of the SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS hath made me free from the law of sin and death... they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit... TO BE SPIRITUALLY MINDED IS LIFE and peace... But ye are... in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you... And if Christ be in you... THE SPIRIT IS LIFE BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS... if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that RAISED UP CHRIST FROM THE DEAD shall also QUICKEN YOUR MORTAL BODIES BY HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLETH IN YOU... if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, YE SHALL LIVE. For AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THEY ARE THE SONS OF GOD. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the SPIRIT OF ADOPTION, whereby we cry, ABBA, FATHER. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also GLORIFIED together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN US. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD... the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the GLORIOUS LIBERTY of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY.« (Ro 8:1-2,6,9-11,13-19,21-23, KJV) Amen!

Although I am not going to comment the above statements from Romans, I do want to say that every resurrection mentioned in Scripture speaks of Jesus Christ in some way. And the fact that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life is foundational truth, as it mentions in passing in Hebrews 6:1-2. »Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have BELIEVED in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by THE FAITH OF CHRIST, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor... I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the LIFE which I now live in the flesh I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, who loved me, and gave himself for me.« (Ga 2:16-18,20, KJV) Selah.

Beloved of God, Jesus died on the cross as the Atonement for our sins and to make the way for us to have direct access to Yahweh through the Holy Spirit and to make us partakers of his resurrection. All he asks is that we believe that we have been crucified with Christ and raised with him in his Resurrection in order to partake of his eternal Life. He is the great I AM, Ehyeh, unto all who believe and call upon the name of Jesus. Praise God!

Ehyeh: the Resurrection and the Life

A Siunaus Publication Jeffrey B. White, Author