I AM

 I AM

 

In Exodus 3:13-14 Moses asked God who should he tell the Israelites sent him. In answer God tells Moses, "I AM who I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you.” This is a very familiar verse, but I wonder if we realize the brilliance and depth of God’s answer. This answer to Moses can keep us busy exploring its meaning and depth for millennia and still not come to a complete understanding. The Hebrew (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה‎ Ehyeh asher Ehyeh.) denotes the following: “I am because I am: a statement of Divine Aseity.’ Aseity articulates God is the only being who is the cause of His own existence. Everything else is because He created it. ‘I will be what I will be:’ A statement of Divine Eternity. There was never a time when God was not, and there will never be a time when He will not exist. ‘I will be there.’ A statement of God's utter faithfulness and immutability.” (John D. Garr Ph.D. Th.D.)

Considering the meaning of I AM leads us into deep and complex thinking. I AM is not limited to a particular time or place but is true and valid through and beyond time. God created time for humans. God lives outside of time so God always IS. The first we hear of time is in Genesis 1 where God created the heavens and earth. God separated light from darkness and called it one day, one day is darkness then light. God continued to create, calling each section of creation a day, night then day, there was nothing but chaos then God created. Before God created night and day ”the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2a, NIV). Until God created ‘one day’ time did not exist. Once God created time, existence could be thought of as past, present and future. When God created humankind, time was already part of the environment God created for them. Because time has always been part of our environment it is very difficult for man to understand time not existing. People even think of eternity as a function of time, time everlasting, end of time, etc. God interacts with people both in time and beyond time.

I AM. God never changes. I AM sends the message God is not an “it” but a living being with a personality who can be interacted with in real time. The name I AM can lead to great reflection or just taken as is with no further thought. What a person does with the response can have a great influence on their interpersonal relations with God and each other.

GOD IS before the creation of the heavens and earth. Before He made Adam then Eve, God was present. The Scriptures, especially Daniel and Revelation, attest God will be there far beyond the existence of the Earth, Heavens, or time. I AM sends the message that regardless of time, circumstance or where we are physically, mentally, philosophically, or emotionally, God is already there. Whatever happens, wherever it happens, whenever it happens God is there. God is constantly present, calling to us, helping us, offering comfort, providing for us, and always loving us. We can be in the depth of the earth or in deepest space, God IS and is there. God is not bound by time, location, or distance. God is there.

Knowing YHWH is always there and never changes is truly a blessing for those who have been saved through the blood of Christ. Knowing God always loves us as individuals is very comforting. We can always depend on God for truth and constancy.

I AM, no beginning and no end, always.