The Divine Summation
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.” Isaiah 43:10
I am He – So, you’re a witness. A witness to what? Everyone called to be a witness has truthful declarations to make about the verdict in the case. You are not called to simply say what’s on your mind. God’s court is not interested in hearsay. You are subpoenaed because you have reliable evidence that pertains to the outcome. You are a witness to only one critically important thing: that God is!
You are a witness to the verdict, “I am He” (in Hebrew ki anihu). What could be more important than this! God is – He is the One and only God. The court declares the verdict. Imagine what this means? No more striving to come to some understanding of what the world is all about – and why you are here. God is – and He knows. No more entertaining hope in one version after another of “fate control”. God is – and He is in charge. No more despair over the monotony of life and the inevitability of death. God is – and He redeems. God not only provides the courtroom; He provides the witnesses to His very existence. The summary of the argument is this: God is. What that implies touches every aspect of life, whether you like it or not.
Sure, you can carry the Four Spiritual Laws in your back pocket. That helps. But the witness of your life is a witness, not to God’s wonderful plan, but to the very fact that God is the only God. If there is but one God, and this God decides to reveal Himself to Mankind, then no man can afford not to seek such a God, especially since this God willingly offers what men need to know.
Do you want to be a witness? Well, actually, you don’t have a choice in the matter (remember, God chooses). Once you are conscripted into the witness declaration program, you will be equipped to give faithful testimony to who God is. Supported by the Spirit, endorsed by the Son, guaranteed by the Father, that testimony is enough for anyone to realize that God has a claim on life itself.
Oh yes, by the way, Jesus understood the power of this phrase and all that it implies. It’s only unfortunate that we can’t see it in our translation of Matthew 14:27 (where the Greek reads, “I AM,” not “It is I”) and in the numerous occurrences in John (“I am he,” “I am the truth,” “I am the bread of life,” “I am the resurrection.”)
We are called by the God Who is. What difference does that make to you today?
