Jesus said in John 8:58, "Before Abraham was, I am." This is a very important verse because it is one of the places we use to show that Jesus is God. We maintain that Jesus attributed the divine name of God ("I AM" from Exodus 3:14) to Himself, but this verse alone may not be sufficient to prove His deity. There are a combination of other verses that contribute to the doctrine. Nevertheless, there are many non-Christian groups that deny that Jesus is God. Therefore, when they come to this verse, it must be dealt with. The reason is simple. If Jesus did say, "I am," it would give strong evidence that Jesus was claiming to be God.
Ego Eimi means "I am."
In Greek, the words recorded in John 8:58 are "'prin abraam genesthai ego eimi." Literally, this is "Before Abraham was existing, I am." "Ego eimi" is literally, "I am." This is the present tense. To say "I have been" is to use the perfect tense. In Greek, his would have been "aemane," but Jesus didn't use it here. He used the present tense "ego eimi" which is "I am."
"Unless you believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins" (8:24)