Bulletin
"I AM WHO I AM"
Exodus 3 provides the account of God calling Moses to lead the Israelite people out of Egyptian slavery. Moses understood that the Israelites had lived for generations in an idolatrous society and would have questions about the God who had chosen him to lead them. In verse 13, Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God’s reply in verse 14 is both profound and a little cryptic. “I AM WHO I AM; Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
I would never presume to claim inside knowledge of God’s every intention behind the name, I AM. However, there are characteristics of God revealed in Scripture that I believe are reinforced by this beautiful phrase.
Jehovah answers to no one. His response to those inquiring about His identity is, “I AM WHO I AM.” The obvious assumption behind their question was that Moses was being sent by one of many gods, when, in fact, Jehovah God is not one of many. There is no other like Him. He is who He is!
Jehovah is the one God who actually exists. Isaiah ridiculed the idea of cutting down a tree, burning half to cook your food and falling down to worship the other half! (Isaiah 44:14-17). When men ask, “Which god is worthy of worship?”, only one God is capable of answering, and His answer is, “I AM.”
Jehovah is eternal. The Psalmist wrote, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:1-2). At any point on the line of infinity, Jehovah God is the only being who can proclaim, “I AM.”
“I AM” is a term only the true Creator could rightfully use to describe Himself. That is precisely why the Jews of Jesus’ day became so upset when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” In applying the title “I AM” to Himself, Jesus was, in fact, claiming to be divine. But His claim was not blasphemy because it was true. In his introduction to the life of Jesus, John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
Only the Godhead of Scripture, comprised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is I AM. He is, He is eternal and He answers to no one.
- I_Am_That_I_Am.docx (15.02 kB)
