God reveals His sacred Name in Exodus 3:14, which gives us insight into His nature and attributes. Because He is “I Am”, He is there, He is eternal, He is omnipotent, and He is immutable. Not only does the Name “I Am” apply to God the Father, but also to Jesus Christ!
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Christ – The Great “I Am”
Exodus 3:13-15
Exodus 3:1-15: “Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”
4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 ¶The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.
8 “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
9 “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”
13 Then 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?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.´”
15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `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, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.
When we meet Moses in Exodus chapter 3, he is 80 years old. He spent the first 40 years of his life in the palace, as the favored adopted son of Pharoah’s daughter. Then he spent the next 40 years on the backside of the desert shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep. He went from the highest high to the lowest low. In the Egyptian mindset, no one was lower than a shepherd. From Prince to Shepherd. From Palace to Desert. Moses tried to deliver his brethren, but he made a mess of things, and had to flee so that he was not tried for murder.
And now that he has been humbled, God appears to him in a burning bush and speaks to him. God tells him in verses 7-10, that He has seen the affliction of His people and have given heed to their cry and have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. Well, how will God deliver the Israelites? He says in verse 11, “Therefore, come now, and I will send YOU to Pharoah, so that YOU may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
At this point Moses objects, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt.” Moses no longer has confidence in his own ability. He has tried to deliver the Israelites, but failed miserably. He no longer thinks of himself as someone who is high and mighty. At this point in his life, he shrinks back from God’s call. “Who am I to bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” What is God’s reply? “Certainly I will be with you.” You see the question should not be “Who are you?” Rather, it should be “Who is with you?” It doesn’t matter how weak, how ignorant, how unskilled in speech, how untalented I am. The only thing that really matters is that the Lord is with me! That makes all the difference in the world. And it is not only true in Moses’ life. It is true in every person’s life down to the end of the world. God gave Moses a huge task, but He has given us an even greater task – making disciples of all the nations. But He did say, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Those 11 apostles may have shook their heads and say, “Lord, there is only 11 of us, and millions and millions of people. There’s no way we can make disciples of all the nations!” But Jesus’ words “and lo, I am with you always” made all the difference in the world.
And today, they can make all the difference in the world in your life. Has the Lord called you to a task that you feel is just too big for you? Remember this, HE is with you. That alone is enough. You may not be adequate, but He is!
Well, Moses isn’t entirely convinced yet. He says in verse 13, “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?”
At this point, we are treading on holy ground, because it is right here that God reveals to Moses His name. Today when we give someone a name, we just choose a name that sounds good to us. However, in Bible days, parents gave names to their children that had significance. Each name had a special meaning. When God gave a person a name, He gave a name that had to do with who that person would be. God changed Simon’s name to Peter. He went from “shifting sand” to “Rock”, because Jesus knew that was what Peter was going to become. God changed Abram to Abraham (father of a multitude), because Abraham would become the father of many nations. So too, God’s name has a special meaning. God’s name tells us something about Him, His nature, His attributes.
You can be sure that the name God gave Himself is very, very, important. The generic title “God” appears about 2,800 times in the Old Testatment, whereas “LORD” appears about 6,800 times! God aims not to be known merely as a generic Deity, but as a specific person with a Name that carries His character and mission.
God tells Moses that His name is “I am who I am” or “I Am” for short. The sons of Israel would not even pronounce God’s actual name, because they considered it too holy to utter. Whenever they copied the Scriptures, when they came to God’s name they would just print the consonants (YHWH), and leave out the vowels, so that no one would know how to pronounce His name. To this day, no one knows how to pronounce God’s name. Scholars used to think that it should be pronounced “Jehovah” but more now believe it should be “Yahweh”, but no one knows for sure.
Well, this morning we are going to get into really deep waters, because we are going to delve into what the theologians call Theology Proper. Theology Proper is the study of God Himself. Not just God’s ways, and deeds, but God’s nature, character and attributes. And these are deep waters, because no one has ever or will ever plumb the depths of God! Romans 11:23 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” God’s nature and ways are unsearchable and unfathomable. However, just because we can never plumb the depths of the knowledge of God, that doesn’t mean we should not make every effort to go deeper. We can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, this morning, let’s meditate on the name of God – “I Am”. What are the implications of God’s name?
1. God Is There
What I mean by that, is that God exists. If God’s Name is “I Am”, then surely He exists. Now, you are probably thinking that this is so obvious that I shouldn’t even need to bring it up. And, you’re right. However, the reason I need to bring it up, is because most people live as though God does not exist. Yes, they will profess to believe that God exists. If you asked them point blank, “Do you believe there is a God”, they would answer, “Of course!” Yet, they live as though God didn’t exist at all.
Most people who say they believe in God, do not seek to find out His will and then do it. They do not spend time seeking to know God. They do not spend time worshiping Him. They do not pore over the pages of Scripture so they can know His will.
Wouldn’t you agree, that the more honor, and beauty, and importance a person has, the more esteem, and respect and admiration you give them? Well, let’s fast forward to the Judgment Day. On that Day, God is going to say to millions of people, “You said during your life that you believed that I exist. Is that true? Then why did I have such an insignificant place in your life? Why didn’t you consult Me about decisions you made? Why didn’t you make it the ambition of your life to know Me, and commune with Me, and worship Me, and walk with Me? You said you believed in Me, but you lived as if I didn’t exist at all.
Folks, do you know what the Bible says about atheists? Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” The Bible says that atheists are fools. Why? Because deep down every person knows that there is a God. But since they don’t want to be accountable to God for the way they live, they suppress that truth. They hold it down, like the kid who puts his little brother in the garbage can, and then puts the lid on top, and sits on it. Listen to how the apostle Paul puts it in Romans 1:18-20, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” What is Paul saying? He’s saying that everyone knows there is a God just by looking around at the universe He has created. The heavens declare the glory of God.
My friends, God’s name is “I Am”. He is. He exists. And one day every person who has ever lived will stand before Him to receive an eternal sentence – either Heaven or Hell.
2. God Is Eternal
Now, if you think about this for a long time it will blow your mind. Try to imagine a Being who never began to exist, but just always was. It’s crazy, huh?! Try to imagine before the earth was created, before the stars and the galaxies were formed. Imagine a time before angels existed. Before all of that there was God. The little child asks you, “Where did God come from?” Of course, the answer is, “God didn’t come from anywhere. God always was.” That’s what is included in the Name, “I Am.” Now, we have no categories for a Person that always was, and always will be. Every single thing we know about, had a beginning. Every person, every tree, every animal, every planet, every star. There is only 1 Being in the entire universe who never had a beginning – God.
Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 93:2 says, “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.”
In Genesis 21:33, we are told that Abraham called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” In 1 Timothy 1:17, Paul writes, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
God is uncreated. No one made Him. He makes everything. He is the “I Am.”
3. God Is Omnipotent
Now, this truth can be deduced from the fact that God is eternal. You don’t even have read in Scripture where the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” to understand that God is the Creator. How? Well, if God is eternal, then that means He existed before there was anything else, because everything else had a beginning. If He existed before anything else, then logically, everything else came into existence because of Him. And if God is Creator, then He is Omnipotent.
Our universe is so vast that our minds can’t even conceive of its immensity. Our own sun is just an average size star. Another star, UY Scuti, is 1,700 times the size of the sun! It is thought that there are about 100 billion stars in our own galaxy, The Milky Way. However, it is believed that there are about 100 billion galaxies! There is no way that our little puny minds can conceive of the vastness of this universe. Yet, before it existed, God existed. And God brought it all into being. He simply spoke, and it was!
God’s power is beyond understanding. Think about the incredible amount of energy produced by the sun. Well, multiply that by 100 billion, and then that by 100 billion, and you have scratched the surface when it comes to God’s power. God never needs recharging. He doesn’t need a backup system. He never needs to plug into anything. Everything in the universe plugs into Him. Suffice it to say, that God can do anything that is consistent with His nature.
4. God Is Immutable
Now, what do I mean by immutable? Well we all know what a mutation is, right? It’s when a plant or animal experiences a change in its being. Well, immutability is to be unchanging. This is another of God’s attributes. He does not change.
Notice, God didn’t tell Moses that His name was “I Was”, or “I Used To Be”. Moses, you should have seen me 50,000 centuries ago. Man, I was really at my prime then! But neither does God say His name is “I Will Be.” He doesn’t tell Moses, “I’m evolving into a higher God being. Stick around, and you’ll really see something in the future! No, God says His name is “I Am.” The implication is that what God is now, He has always been, and He will always be.
And, that is exactly what the Scriptures teach about God. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” Psalm 102:25-27 says, “Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.” James 1:17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” All of these texts teach us that what God was, He still is, and always will be.
Oh, this is good news. This means that if God is loving and kind and gracious now, He will never change into a mean-spirited, cruel tyrant in the future. He cannot change for the better, and He will not change for the worse, so we can have confidence in our relationship with Him.
Conclusion
We have seen that God is there, that God is eternal, that God is omnipotent, and that God is immutable.
Now, go with me to the New Testament book of John, chapter 8:56-59, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” Wow, there is so much packed into those verses. Jesus said, “before Abraham was born, I am.” Jesus picked up the very name of God from Exodus 3:14, and applies it to Himself. Jesus is claiming to be Jehovah! If you have any doubts, just look at how the Jews responded to His claim, They picked up stones to throw at Him. They believed He had just blasphemed, and so they were going to execute Him by stoning. Friends, this must be the most exalted claim Jesus Christ ever made! Many people say that Jesus never claimed to be God. Well, what is He doing in John 8:58?! He’s claiming to be Jehovah God!
And that’s not all. Take a look at John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.” Wow! Not only did Jesus claim to be the I Am, but he also said that anyone who didn’t believe that He was the I Am would die in their sins! Gang, it is vitally important that you believe the truth about Jesus – that He is God! If you don’t believe that, you will die in your sins.
Now, there are only three options. Either Jesus was wrong, because He was lying. Or, He was wrong because He was insane (like a man who thinks that he is a poached egg). Or He was right. We have no record that Jesus ever lied or approved of lying, so we can safely discard the first option. Furthermore, Jesus never acted in a way that would qualify Him as insane. The only rational choice is that Jesus was right. He claimed to be God, because He was God.
Now, let’s look again at the character of Jesus.
A. Jesus Is There. Jesus did not begin to exist when He was born in Bethlehem. He has always existed, and will always exist. If Jesus exists, then stop living as if He doesn’t! Repent of living for yourself, and your will, and your desires, and your plans, and your dreams. Instead, live for Christ’s will, and purposes, and glory. Seek His will in your daily decisions, and act on it. Spend time in prayer, and worship.
B. Jesus Is Eternal. If Jesus is self-existent, and uncreated, and eternal, and immortal, then don’t fall into the traps of the cults who deny His Deity. One of the marks of a cult is that they will deny the Deity of Jesus Christ. No, Jesus is not the first and greatest creation of God. No, He is not the spirit brother of Lucifer. No, he is not just a great religious leader or prophet. He is Jehovah, without beginning and without end, the one to be worshiped by all mortals!
C. Jesus Is Omnipotent. The Bible specifically says that Jesus created the world. If that is the case, then He is omnipotent. If that is true, then He is able to do whatever you ask Him, as long as it is consistent with His will. Therefore, pray with expectancy, and faith, and without doubting. He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. Look to Him! Trust Him! Ask Him for great things!
And if Jesus is omnipotent, then He is all-sufficient. He can meet any and every need we have. Just consider the “I Am” statements in John. Jesus said
“I am the bread of life” – the One alone who can feed your hungry soul
“I am the light of the world” – the One alone who can guide you through this dark world
“I am the door” – the One alone who can give you entrance into the kingdom of God
“I am the good shepherd” – the One alone who can lead, care and protect you
“I am the resurrection and the life” – the One alone who can raise you to new life
“I am the way, the truth, and the life” – the One alone who can take you to heaven
“I am the true vine” – the One alone who can cause you to bear spiritual fruit
Folks, Jesus is All-Sufficient! He can meet any need in your life. Look to Him!
D. Jesus Is Immutable. That is why Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Jesus character and nature will never change. If Jesus is Immutable, then trust Him! You can lean on Him now and forever. He will not change so He will never let you down. His Word is true, and will always be true. If He was faithful to you in the past, He will be faithful to you in the future. If He was loving to you in the past, He will be loving to you in the future. You can look into the future with confidence, because Christ will not change!
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