📖 Biblical Definition
Christ's third I-AM predicate-statement: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:9). Used twice in John 10's good-shepherd discourse: door of the sheepfold (v 7) and door for individual entry (v 9). The exclusivity ("any man enter in" by Christ alone) and the threefold promise (saved, go in and out, find pasture) are central.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
John 10:7-9 third I-AM: door of sheepfold; exclusive entry; threefold promise.
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Christ's third I-AM predicate-statement (John 10:7, 9): "I am the door of the sheep... I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Set within the good-shepherd discourse of John 10. In ancient Palestinian sheep-folds, the shepherd would lay his body across the entrance at night — the shepherd was literally the door. Christ takes that practice and applies it metaphorically: He is the door. Three promises follow entry through Him: (1) saved; (2) go in and out (freedom of access); (3) find pasture (provision).
📖 Key Scripture
John 10:7 — "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep."
John 10:9 — "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
John 14:6 — "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Pluralism softens "the door" to "a door"; Christ's claim is exclusive.
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Modern pluralism wants to soften "the door" to "a door" (one of many ways into the sheepfold). The grammar is exclusive: I am the door. The same chapter introduces the false shepherds and thieves who climb up some other way (10:1) — and Christ contrasts Himself with them. The exclusivity is structural to the imagery.
Recover the exclusivity: there is one door. Through Him is salvation. Around Him is illegitimate. The door-language preaches the gospel.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek egō eimi hē thyra.
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['Greek', 'G2374', 'thyra', 'door, gate']
['Greek', 'G4263', 'probaton', 'sheep']
Usage
"I am THE door (exclusive)."
"Threefold promise: saved, in-out, pasture."
"Shepherd as literal door of sheepfold."