Winter 2003
The Eternal Now
Wade E Taylor

“And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to
the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The
God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they
shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I
say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT
I AM: and He said, Thus shall you say to the children
of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:13-14.

Moses had turned aside to stand before a bush that burned, but was not consumed. The Lord spoke to Him from within this manifestation of His presence, and revealed Himself as the One who is ever present with us, and also, as being willing to meet with us, in our time of need.

Jesus identified Himself as the “I Am” who spoke to Moses.

“Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58.”

“Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth,
the life.” John 14:6.

Because “I am” is the noun, a verb is required. The word “is” can be added as this verb. Therefore, it can be said, “I am is the way, the truth, and the life.”

Jesus, as the “I am” in the burning bush, is expressing the eternal fact that He is the “ever present one,” not “I was,” or “I will be.” Rather, Jesus is a present reality who will reveal Himself to us. When Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am,” the Jews understood what He was saying, that He is God, and they took up stones to kill Him.

“Jesus answered and said to him, If a man love Me,
he will keep My words: and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him, and make Our abode with
him.” John 14:23.

When we worship the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal “I am,” we literally move out of time into eternity. Here, all earthly problems will fade in the glow of His presence, as the Lord works in our behalf, just as He said to Moses,

“Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh,
that you may bring forth My people, the children of
Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10.

Moses was told that the initiative would shift from him to the Lord, and he was only required to follow. Thus, Moses was told to remove his shoes.

Just as Moses responded to the manifestation of the presence of the Lord and turned aside, so also, we are to “turn aside” and stand in the presence of the eternal “I am.” It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for us to understand the concept of “eternity.” Here, there is no time, and all becomes a present reality. “Time” is our circumstances spread out, so we can act or react, thereby making decisions that will affect us for all eternity. Thus, time is for our benefit.

Our level of spiritual maturity, or “spirituality,” relates to our ability to come into an active identity with the thoughts and actions of our Lord, and then rest in His presence as He works in our behalf. I remember John Wright Follette saying, “I marvel at those who attempt to project what will happen next year, or ten years from now. All that I am capable of is to ascertain the mind of the Lord for today, and then walk with Him in that.”

Few understand a visionary. A “visionary” does not accomplish much because he looks past the present and sees the future as a present reality. Thus, he cannot function in, or relate to the present. A person who is “practical” does not accomplish much either, as they get lost in petty details and fail to see the bigger picture. Thus, if a visionary and a practical person can be brought together in a right relationship, much will be accomplished with lasting value.

If I desire to enter into an on-going deeply spiritual, yet practical walk with the Lord, I must pray, “Lord, what am I to say or do, that you desire at this present moment?” And then I must wait for a “present” word from the Lord. (“Come … and I will send you”).

“… I AM (is) the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes
to the Father but by Me. If you had known Me, you should
have known My Father also.”

“And from hereafter you know Him, and have seen Him.
Philip says to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it
sufficed us. Jesus says to him, have I been so long time
with you, and yet have you not known Me, Philip? He
that has seen Me has seen the Father.” John 14:6-9a.

If someone should come to any one of us and say, “I would like to see the Lord,” we should be able to say, “If you have seen me, you have seen Jesus.” We should live on that level of identity with Him.

Paul said, “Be you followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (I Cor 11:1). He could say this because he had died to his life and now, the life of Jesus was manifest through his life. The word tells us, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 2:5). The Holy Spirit lives within us, as He came to reveal Jesus through us. To the extent that I am yielded, my life will reflect the mind and life of Jesus.

“Verily verily I say to you, he that believes on Me, the
works that I do, shall he do also and greater works than
these shall he do because I go to My Father.” John 14:10.

This “greater work” is not that we will do greater miracles than Jesus. Rather, it is a greater work, because it will come forth and operate as a manifestation of the corporate Jesus in the earth, as an end-time witness. Jesus said that unless a corn of wheat fall into the ground and dies, it abides alone.

The biggest mistake that Satan ever made was in crucifying Jesus. He could only be in one place at one time. Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sin, but in resurrection, He has become the progenitor of those who are so “dead” to themselves, that only He can be seen.

In the new birth, we are made partakers of the divine nature. Adam never had this. In redemption, we have come higher. Now, “Christ” is in you. It is not just the will of the Father being done through one person in one place at one time, now it is the will of the Father being done in the multiplied lives of all those who have totally submitted themselves to Him, as the ever present “I AM.”

The “greater work” then, is the corporate expression of his will. Jesus, “the light of the world” will increasingly light the entire atmosphere of the world, as His resurrection glory begins to shine out through the corporate Body of Christ.

One lit match will make some light, but multiplied thousands of matches together will make a brilliant light. Though each one of us is insignificant in ourselves, there is the greater work, because now all that Jesus did during His time on earth will now be done corporately through a people the enemy had defeated, but now have become the expression of His life in the earth.

The eternal “I am” is again about to be seen, as he was by the multitudes of the past, as time unfolds into eternity.