He who Is

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.
Revelation 1:4

In the introduction to the book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John begins with a benediction from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come. The blessing came from Jesus Christ who occupies all the aspects of the time-line

The title “He who is” is significant in two distinct ways. The first, in a very real sense, is a title of God. Yahweh told Moses that His name was “I am” (Exodus 3:14) and Jesus took this title for Himself on a number of occasions (John 8:24 and 58, 9:9, 18:5). Grammatically speaking, the term is given in the first person singular. The same term, to be referred to in the third person, would be “He is” or a more literary phrase “He who is.” John starts his book of Revelation focusing on Jesus Christ the Divine.

The name communicates the same message as “I am” which is that He is eternally present - always existing. His relationship with Abraham was as fresh and contemporary as it was with Moses or the Apostle Paul. Therefore, Christ’s role as He who is means that He is also there for me. The Savior doesn’t grow old or get too busy.

The second aspect of the title is the reality of the Son of God. Jesus is. He exists. He is here and now. He is real.

Too many people today regard Jesus as a myth. There are even theologians that don’t literally believe the miracles and stories of the gospels, so are prone to mix fiction with these facts. Christ takes on the person of a folk hero that is famous and interesting, but not real.

The Lord was not only a historical figure that lived and breathed 2,000 years ago, He is alive and well today. Believers still walk and talk with Him and can testify that He is real. In fact, just today I had a conversation with Him who is.