In these times of darkness God is calling us to get to know Him as the Great I AM! In the Bible, the term “I AM” is used to refer to God’s personal Name, revealed to Moses in Exodus 3: 13-15: “And Moses said to God, Behold, I shall go forth to the children of Israel and shall say to them, The God of our fathers has sent me to you; and they will ask me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? And God spoke to Moses, saying, I AM THAT I AM; and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” God emphasized that I AM is His name forever—to all generations so He is calling us to draw near to Him—to truly know Him and His promises and He will draw near to us. (James 4:8) God will not disappoint us and He desires to show us His glory!
As I began my search into the understanding of the Great I AM, I was led to read it in the Septuagint since it predates our current translations. The Name I AM is interpreted as “I am THE BEING…Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you.” “Am” is the first person singular of the present tense of “be.” Therefore, the Speaker names Himself—a Present God who has come to fulfill His covenant and keep His promise to the afflicted posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God had identified Himself as the LORD God initially in Genesis 2: 4. That was the first appearance of the Hebrew Yahweh and the English Jehovah and follows the creation of man. It was God (Elohim, plural) who said in Genesis 1: 26: “Let us make man in our image,” but when man, as in Genesis 2 is to fill the scene and become dominant over creation, it is the LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) who acts which is the redemption name of Elohim—LORD—the Redeemer—Jehovah—Yahweh—Jesus Christ. It was in Exodus 3: 18 which connects with the redemption of the covenant people out of Egypt: “…and ye shall say unto him, the LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us; and now let us go, we beseech thee…that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.” God then declares that “I will stretch out My hand…I will smite Egypt with all My wonders…I will free you…I will give you favor.” (Ex. 3: 20-21) Notice that it was not by the power of men but by the Great I AM that deliverance, power and favor come to God’s children!
When the Bible speaks of the oneness of God it refers to His Divine essence. Romans 1: 20 says: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” This means that all the characteristics of Divine essence are resident in each member of the Godhead: Sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, unchanging, and truth are possessed equally by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Since each person in the Trinity possesses identical essence, these characteristics are what unite the three as one God—the Great I AM. If we are truly to know Him, we must examine the characteristics of His Divine Nature.
I AM:
Sovereign—The sovereignty of God refers to the fact that God is in complete control of the universe and is the ultimate source of all power, authority, and everything that exists. (Deut. 4: 39) This rule is exercised through God's authority as king, His control over all things, and His presence with His covenantal people and throughout His creation. The sovereignty of God is absolute, irresistible, and infinite, and it makes Him superior to all other gods and makes Him, and Him alone, worthy of worship. God's sovereignty is distinct from fatalism, which denies human free will. The doctrine of God's sovereignty is seen as a means of comfort and assurance, confident that evil will not triumph and that God's good plans for his people will be fulfilled.
Righteous-God is absolute righteousness and holiness. “There is none holy as the LORD.” (I Samuel 2: 2) His Righteousness is independent and incomparable. God’s righteousness is free from sin (2 Cor. 5: 21, 1 John 1: 5) The “glory of God” is the essence or perfect character of God. We do not measure up to His perfect righteousness, yet we are “Justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3: 24).
Justice—God’s holiness included His justice as well as His righteousness. As a part of His justice, God is fair; it is impossible for God to be unfair. God has two avenues by which He expresses His love to believers: First to mature believers in blessing; and second to carnal or apostate believers through the function of divine justice or discipline. (Heb. 12: 10)
Love—Since God is eternal and unchanging, His love is unchanging and enduring, and in the same quantity which He possessed from eternity. The basis of grace is love. To the person who believes in Christ, both love and eternal life come by grace. (Romans 8: 38-39)
Eternal Life—God is absolute existence. (Ex. 3: 14) There never was a time when God did not exist. God has neither beginning nor end, He existed in eternity past, and He will exist forever. (Psalm 90:2)
Omniscience—God is all knowing and all-knowledge. (I Sam. 2:3) God’s knowledge is not related to or limited by time. He has always known everything—every thought, every motive, every event and every action of every person in the world billions of years before they ever came on the scene. He knows the end from the beginning. (Isa. 46:10)
Omnipresence—God is ever-present. God is not limited by time or space. He is both in heaven and the earth simultaneously. (Jer. 23: 24) It would be a sobering thought for the unbeliever to realize that he cannot escape the presence of God; but comforting for believers to know that He will never leave them nor forsake them. (Heb. 13:5)
Omnipotence—God is all-powerful, limitless in ability. God has a power, which, like His love, is totally devoid of human props. God is also limitless in His authority. By His power, He rules and upholds all things (I Chron. 29:11) God is mighty to save and to those who believe in Christ, He makes known “what is the exceeding greatness of His power according to the working of His almighty power.” (Eph. 1: 19)
Unchanging—God is perfect absolute stability, the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, “faintest not, neither is weary.” (Isa. 40: 28) He cannot change (Ps. 102: 25-27, Mal. 3: 16, Heb. 1:12) Because He does not change, His love is unchangeable. Because of His eternal life, His love is undying and enduring. God’s word is unchangeable (Ps. 119: 89, I Peter 1: 25); and His works are unchanging (Ec. 3: 14). God gives us two unchangeable things—the person of Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:8) and Bible Doctrine (Heb. 6: 17-18).
Truth—God is absolute truth, which is an expression of His righteousness. “A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.” (Deut. 32:4) His truth is manifested in His ways, His works, and in His Word. (Eph. 1: 13)
God identifies Jesus, His Son, as Emmanuel—God with us. The Gospel of Matthew begins and ends with the truth that Jesus is God with us. (Mt. 1:23 and 28: 20) Jesus’ ‘I AM” statements reveal that Jesus is God in the flesh. John 1:14 tells us what really happened 2000 years ago and what it means to us today. The Word became flesh; that is God was united with a human nature in one person, and was truly man and truly God who lived in history as Jesus Christ. He came into the world to save sinners in order to fulfill God’s plan.
Jesus said I AM:
The Bread of Life (John 6: 35) The Light of the World (John 8: 12) The Door (John 10: 9) The Good Shepherd (John 10: 11, 14) The Resurrection and the Life (John 11: 25) The Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14: 6) The Vine (John 15: 1-5) To know Jesus is to know God—the Great I AM. Jesus will pick us up in victory—He is our freedom and deliverance—He will not disappoint—He will not turn His back—Jesus is with us—get into the Word—lean on God and His promises. “The LORD (Jehovah), He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave your nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deut. 31: 8) “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.” (Hebrews 1: 1-3) “Saving faith is resting faith, the trust which relies entirely on the Savior.” (John Stott)