Mensa Otabil - I AM
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Exodus 3:4, and God said to Moses, «I am who I am.» And He said, «Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'» This is the moment of revelation. Moses had asked God, «What’s your name? What am I going to tell the children of Israel about your name?» And God says, «Go tell them I AM WHO I AM.»
It’s a powerful description of God because the gods of Egypt are described by their scope. There’s a god of thunder, there’s a god of lightning, there’s a god of the sun, a god of the moon, the god of the Nile, and a god of grain, and all of that. So that shows your scope. God says, «I am God by myself. I am who I am.» In other words, what I am is not limited or related to what I do for people; what I am is limited or related to who I am. I am self-contained. There is nothing that gives me identity except myself. He is the uncreated one who created all things, and this revelation of God to Moses is to let Moses know there may be a thousand gods in Egypt, but I am one, and my one is bigger than the thousand because the thousand is related to things they do, but I am who I am.
There are three implications of «I am who I am.» First is that He is a self-existing one; He has always been and will always be. He is uncreated, but He creates all things. He is the life that gives life to all things. He’s the first cause; He is the first mover. Nothing exists before Him; all things exist after Him. He is the self-existing one, «I am.»
The second thing about «I am who I am» is that He is a self-sustaining one. In other words, He does not need anything to make Him who He is. He sustains Himself. He’s not sustained by our sacrifice; He’s not sustained by our worship. The other gods require you to sustain them. You need to give them something for them to keep on being God. You need to give them food; you need to give them something. God doesn’t need anything. He doesn’t need our worship; He doesn’t need our sacrifice; He doesn’t need anything from us. Why? Because He is self-sustaining. He sustains Himself; He exists all by Himself. If He were sustained by us, then when we withdraw something from Him, He would lose His godship. But He doesn’t lose His godship, so to speak, because He sustains Himself.
«I am that I am» also means He’s a self-expressing one. He takes His own counsel; He makes His own decisions, and He operates all by Himself. He expresses Himself by His own wisdom, by His own counsel, and does what He wants to do. «I am what I am.» This is the one going to deal with Egypt. So, centuries later, Jesus Christ came and used the same phrase " I am,» and He would take that name and apply it to people. If you need bread, «I am the bread of life.» If you need light, «I am the light.» If you need water, «I am the water.» I am everything, not because of your need, but because of who I am. But who I am can satisfy all your needs. He completes us absolutely; there is nothing we need that He is not. «I am who I am.» That is the God we worship.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I bow before You and worship Your Holy Name. You are who You are, the same yesterday, today, and forever. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»