I know that in the Bible, Jesus (peace be upon him) never explicitly states "I am God". However, when I told this to a Christian, they said that Jesus said "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). They claim that 'I am' is God's special name, and by saying 'I am', Jesus was identifying himself with God. The Greek for "I am" is 'ego eimi', which is what the New Testament uses. The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) translates "I AM WHO AM" in Exodus 3:14 (which is where the name comes from) as 'ego eimi ho ôn'. Where God tells Moses to say "say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent you", the Greek used for 'I AM' is 'ho ôn', not 'ego eimi'. 'ôn' is the present participle, indicating a progressive action (being).

In spite of this, how would one respond to the Christian's claims that Jesus using the name "I am" makes him God?