Yahusha is a “spitting image” of His Father! JUST LIKE many sons on earth look EXACTLY LIKE their earthly fathers! This verse does NOT by any means imply that the SON is ALSO His Own FATHER. That’s absurd!
Joh 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 

Just like an earthly father can NOT father himself to be his own son, just so this same earthly physical law applies to our Heavenly Father and His Son! – 1Co 15:46 

 
Hi Connie,

The teaching that Jesus quoted the personal name of God (“I am”) in John 8:58 and applied it to Himself is respectfully in error. The phrase “I am” is not a name. No author applied it as such in the Bible. If I say “I am who I am” this does not make it a name. God is stating that He is who He is. God has one exclusive name. It is Yahweh (Deuteronomy 4:35).
 
The Greek phrase Ἐγώ εἰμι (“I am”) is found 47 times in the New Testament. Others in the New Testament used the phrase “Ἐγώ εἰμι” without any reference to Yahweh (Exodus 3:14). This includes the disciples (Matthew 26:22), Judas (Matthew 26:25), false Christs (Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8), the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:19), the former blind man (John 9:9), the Apostle Peter (Acts 10:21), and the Apostle Paul (Acts 22:3, 26:29). Because the phrase “Ἐγώ εἰμι” was regularly used in sentence with no reference to Exodus 3:13, one should exercise exceptional caution applying it to Exodus 3:14. Even in the English language we use the phrase “I am” within sentences. A search in Koine Greek indicates that Jesus used the phrase “Ἐγώ εἰμι” 39 times. Not one use is a quote or illusion to Exodus 3:14. 
 
Jesus stated earlier in the chapter that the Jews were seeking for a reason to kill Him. Jesus stated why: “you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you” (John 8:37). In John 8:40, Jesus provides another reason why the Jews wanted to kill Him, “but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God…” Notice he heard this truth from God. Not that he is almighty God.
 
This background information is essential for understanding John 8:58-59. Because the Jews were already seeking a reason to kill Jesus, his statement in John 8:58 to pre-exist Abraham (“58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was I am”) further infuriated them. While it is possible that Jesus is claiming to exist in the mind of God before Abraham, I prefer the interpretation that Jesus had a pre-human existence in another life form.
 
Another important point should not be overlooked. Trinitarians who believe that the Jews were seeking to kill Jesus because He claimed to be the “I am” of Exodus 3:14, take sides with those in the context (John 8) who wanted to kill Jesus. As I former Trinitarian I did not realize I sided with a false argument made by those who wanted to kill Jesus.

It’s also not certain that the accusers stated that he was making himself God (in the absolute sense). It could be they were accusing Jesus of making himself “a god.” Koine Greek did not have an indirect article “a.” The context and grammar spoken at that time in history would decide how the word “god” was understood.
 
The context of John 8:57 contains a question posed to Jesus about His age in relation to Abraham. I think that Jesus is saying in verse 58 that He lived BEFORE Abraham (“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am”). I think that Jesus’ claim of preexistence to Abraham (who some Jews believed was their father) was the point of the conversation where the Jews could no longer hold back their hatred and furry.
 
In Christ!

How in your viewpoint do you deal with the “I AM” claims that Jesus made if he is not God?

You did not deal with the evidence presented. Instead, your two suggestions don’t teach the doctrine of the Trinity.

Because others outside the Father and Jesus were worshiped in the Bible, the worship of Jesus is not a valid argument. Also, the word ‘worship’ in Hebrew and Greek doesn’t have the same meaning in western culture.

A search in the Old Testament for the word ‘worship’ (Hebrew Lemma: חוה) produces 170 results. But a search in most translations of the Old Testament in English produces fewer results. The ESV only uses the word ‘worship’ 111 times. This divergence is because there is no English equivalent word for the Hebrew word חוה (lemma).

The Old Testament is unwavering that man was not to worship any other god. It says, “14 “(for you shall worship [Hebrew lemma: חוה] no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)” (Ex 34:14). This verse is just one of many where the Hebrew lemma חוה is used to donate worship that was only to be applied to God.

Most Christians are not taught in Trinitarian churches that humans are sometimes worshiped in the Bible. One verse of many says, “8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage” (1 Sa 24:8).

On the surface, this verse as translated does not communicate that king David worshiped King Saul (‘paid homage’). But Hebrew has the same word ‘worship’ (Hebrew lemma חוה) that was to only be applied to God (Ex 34:14). So king David fell down and worshiped King Saul. There are several such verses in the Old Testament. Here are just a few: 1 Samuel 28:14, 2 Samuel 2:9, 1 Kings 1:53, 1 Chronicles 29:20, etc.

David’s worship of King Saul appears to contradict verses such as Ex 34:14 where only God was to be worshiped. But there is no contradiction. Most Christians interpret the Bible with a western mindset far removed from the historical culture when written. Man was not to worship any person as God. The worship of others not as God was not forbidden. While exclusive worship as almighty God only belonged to God.

This thread continues into the New Testament. The wise men bowed down and worshiped Jesus (Matthew 2:11). But they worshipped Jesus as the messiah. A messiah is not God. A messiah is sent and anointed by God. The Old Testament is explicit that the messiah would not be Yahweh: Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Micah 5:4, Psalm 2:2,7, 45:7,89:26, 110:1, Isaiah 42:1-3, 53:6, 61:1, Jeremiah 30:9.

In Philippians 2, after describing how God exalted Jesus because of his faithfulness, it instructs how Jesus is to be worshipped: “11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Php 2:11). Jesus should be worshipped because God exalted him. It gives great glory to God the Father when Jesus is worshipped as Lord.

I don’t have time now to expand in detail on your claim for the “first and the last.” The short answer is that Jesus is “first and the last” in the context of the one who died and lives (Revelation 1:18, 2:8), while the Father is the “first and the last” in the context of the exclusive God (Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12). One should not mistake Jesus for the Father.

Is worshipped? God the Father (Yahweh) YES Jesus Christ YES

[Only God] Exodus 34:14, Matthew 4:10 [Jesus worshipped] Matthew 2:11, 14:33, Luke 24:52, John 9:38

Is “the First and the Last”? God the Father (Yahweh) YES Jesus Christ YES

Isaiah 44:6, Revelation 1:11,17

I wrote that it demonstrates the Lord Jesus is God.

1 Kings 8:38-39 (NASB)
whatever prayer…is made…then hear in heaven….for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men.

Only God fully knows the hearts of all so only God is the proper recipient of prayer.

The Lord Jesus is the proper recipient of prayer which demonstrates the Lord Jesus is God.

I wrote, “the Lord Jesus is the proper recipient of prayer” to which you countered by referring to the fact that people can pray to Baal.
That is my point. Baal was prayed to, but it was “not proper” to do so.
The Lord Jesus is the proper recipient of prayer which demonstrates He is God. That is the difference.

It’s a shame you resorted to an argument which I already refuted in my first post.

No, it doesn’t demonstrate that he is God. People can pray to Baal, but that doesn’t make him God.

The reason you have to come up with these arbitrary rules is that NOWHERE in the Scripture does it say “Jesus is God.” Not in John 1 or John 20. Not in Colossians 1 or Philippians 2. Not a single place. But over and over again YHWH is called the one God very clearly with an “IS” statement.

The Biblical authors weren’t trying to keep a special secret. You just read that INTO the text because it’s what you’ve been taught. If you’d never have heard of a trinity, you wouldn’t read it into the text.

It’s a shame people refuse to actually read the Scriptures, cover to cover, to see what they say instead of traking bits and pieces out of context to try and prove what they don’t say.

If you, disciples, have seen me. you have seen the Father. He came to His own, the Jews, but His own received Him not.
May I ask, Who owns a nation?