Christian Living

THE GREAT I AM

by Charles (Chuck) Robey
01/07/16
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Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.(Genesis 3:13-15)

Please read the call of Moses (Exodus 3:1-22), in preparation for this devotional.

 What's in a name ? What's in your name ? And most importantly, what is in the living God of the universe's name ? And what does this most famous name, given by God Himself mean ? One commentary gives a very good detailed explanation.

"It is generally assumed that this is given to Moses as the full name of God. But perhaps it is rather a deep and mysterious statement of His nature. “I am that which I am.” My nature, i.e., cannot be declared in words, cannot be conceived of by human thought. I exist in such sort that my whole inscrutable nature is implied in my existence. I exist, as nothing else does—necessarily, eternally, really. If I am to give myself a name expressive of my nature, so far as language can be, let me be called “I AM.”

I AM, assumed as a name, implies (1) an existence different from all other existence. “I am, and there is none beside me” (Isaiah 45:6); (2) an existence out of time, with which time has nothing to do (John 8:58); (3), an existence that is real, all other being shadowy; (4) an independent and unconditioned existence, from which all other is derived, and on which it is dependent" .

You see, God exists by himself for himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity; therefore "I am Who I am", Who is, Who was and Who is to come (Revelation 1:4).

The very first mention of God's name "I Am', is probably given in (Genesis 1:7). And the book of Psalm gives seven "I am's".(Psalm 22:6) (Psalm 40:17) (Psalm 69:8)  (Psalm 69:20)  (Psalm 69:29).  (Psalm 102:7). (Psalm 102:11).

The prophetical books have numerous "I am" statements by the Lord. Isaiah 40-66, contains 35 such claims. The Book of Ezekiel contains 70 of these great assertions (more than any other single book). Jeremiah contains 21 of these statements. Then, all the smaller prophetical books of the prophets have a total of 21 "I am's. These 17 prophetical books contain a total of 154 of God's great "I am" claims.

The final such claim in the Old Testament is found in (Malachi 3:6), in which God appropriately reminds everyone that "I am the Lord, I change not."

Moving on to the News Testament, Jesus used the same phrase “I AM” on numerous occasions. In these scriptures, Jesus combines I AM with tremendous metaphors which express His saving relationship toward the world. All appear in the book of John. They are I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51); I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12); I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9); I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14); I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25); I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6); and I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5).

It is significant that the last six "I am"s, given in the book of  in Revelation, also stress His eternal existence, from eternity to eternity. (Revelation 1:8).  (Revelation 1:11).  (Revelation 1:17).  (Revelation 21:6) (Revelation 22:13) (Revelation 22:16).

Yes, God was, is and always will be the great "I am", within both  His and the Son's nature. One need only research any of the founding church creeds, in  support of this doctrine, which basically stated;

"The Lord Jesus Christ  is truly and properly God, and truly and properly man".

This expression of faith shows that  God "created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:9) and it is "in Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Furthermore, it is He who has "made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself" (Colossians 1:20).

Now, are you convinced of our Father God's power ? Have you made His son (John 3:16) the Lord of your life ? To do so, is simply a matter of your personal faith in God's free grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Author's Post Script

I AM (YHWH),  is the name revealed to Moses when Moses asked what name he should give to the Israelites if they asked what His name was.  This is the same title that Jesus used many times in the great “I AM’s” during His earthly ministry.  It is the “Self-Existent One.”  We are human beings but God is simply “Being” meaning He had no beginning and will He have no ending.  YHWH is a Tetragrammaton and contains no vowels.  In fact, God’s name was so holy that the Jews would not even dare to say it and even today, many Orthodox Jews will not even spell it out but prefer to spell it “G_d” because of their reverence for it.  God told Moses to tell them, “I AM that I AM” or I am the Self-Existent, Uncreated One meaning that “I have always been and will always be.”   Some Hebrew scholars believe it was spelled EHYEH but no one can say for certain and the pronunciation of this sacred name has been lost in time.  It could also be stated as “I AM HE WHO IS” (EX 3:14).   The Hebrew verb form of Hayah is “to be” so this is closely related to YHWH.

You see, the human mind cannot begin to comprehend God's divine deity. Nor can we completely understand His sovereign attributes. We, as followers of Christ, must take God by faith. For it is by faith, by way of God's free grace, that we became children of God (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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