“I AM WHO I AM”

<Ex 3> 13 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?”

14 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.’”

15 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.

16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

God: “I AM WHO I AM”.

• “I AM”: Hebrew “imperfect” tense – Active, Present, Continuous.

1) God is self-existent and transcendent.

• God is the Creator, everything exists through God.
• God not just exists, but He exists on His own.
• God transcends time, He exists eternally in the past, present, and future.
• He alone is worthy of the most holy name and highest praise.

2) God is self-sufficient and independent.

• He depends on no one but everything else depends on Him.
• He is completely sufficient in Himself to accomplish what He wills.
• [put this point in same slide as the next point, to show the contrast] Moses: “Who am I?” – reveals his complete
• God: “I AM WHO I AM” – indicates God’s total sufficiency.

3) God is actively present and immanent.

• He is near us and not far from us.
• Jesus’ name is “Immanuel” – “God with us” <Mt 1:23>.
• God is present with, yet distinct from, His creation.
• His transcendence does not mean we cannot draw near Him.
• Him immanence does not mean we can belittle Him.
• God’s presence is our strength.
• Mission of Moses as tough as the Great Commission Jesus gave us:
  • Jesus told His disciples, “All authority has been given to me… go and make disciples of all nations… And surely I am with you always…” <Mt 28:18-20>
• The God who commissions us also goes with us and empowers us.

4) Jesus also introduced Himself with “I AM” statements. [flash the below 7 statements all at once, i.e. no need animation]

• “I am the bread of life” <John 6:35>
• “I am the light of the world” <John 8:12>
• “I am the gate” <John 10:9>
• “I am the good shepherd” <John 10:11>
• “I am the resurrection and the life” <John 11:25-26>
• “I am the way and the truth and the life” <John 14:6>
• “I am the vine” <John 15:5>

• 8th mention: “before Abraham was born, I am!” <John 8:58>
• Jesus is also a member of the Trinity God, who calls Himself “I AM”.

Is the God you know the same as this “I AM” God?

• “I AM WHO I AM” is very different from “I am whoever you want me to be”!
• We must conform to God, and not redefine who God is to suit ourselves.

Problem: God is the Great “I AM”, but we want to be our own “I am”. 

• We often place too much emphasis on ourselves.
• Surrender our “I” to the Great “I AM”.