Last Friday I led a Bible Study session at our National Ministry Kura (School) in Christchurch. The Kura gathers ministers and leaders from across Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa (The Māori Anglican Church in Aotearoa-New Zealand). The study focused on the seven “I Am” sayings found in the Gospel of John, introduced with the statement “I Am that I Am” from Exodus 3:14 (which is the only time in the Bible that God names Himself), and concluding with the so-called hidden “I am” statement in John 8:58.

The point of this study is that when God named Himself, he used a verb and not a noun. He didn’t describe Himself as a title, or a status, or even a label. He chose instead to name Himself as an activity.

Activity is Integrity. We are not what we merely say we do, but instead are what we actually do, every day, week, month, and year.

God didn’t say “I was”, or “I’m aiming to be”. He said “I am”. Jesus was able to say the same thing because He was a practitioner. He was actually doing.

What are you doing? What’s your activity? If I asked you to describe yourself as an action, how would you end this sentence?: “I am ….”