Every day God reveals himself to us. He beckons us to come closer, to see Him for who he is. He gives us glimpses of his glory through that sunset we cannot stop looking at, that thunderstorm that leaves us breathless. Creation clearly displays God’s power and glory. (Romans 1:2)
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
Not only does God reveal himself to us through His creation, but He shows us on a deeper, more personal level his character through Scripture. It is through the Bible that we see God’s interactions with His creation, and ultimately, we see him through his son, Jesus.
Before Moses, God was known by the Israelites as Elohim or El, an impersonal title, and one that didn’t wholly communicate God’s nature. It wasn’t until God introduced himself to Moses at the burning bush, that impersonal became personal.
God Reveals Himself through His Name
God called Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt to the promised land (Exodus 3:10). Moses, not convinced that he was the man for the job, presented to God a hypothetical; he said, “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?” (v.13).
Names possessed a special significance during biblical times. They were more than just what you called someone; they described a person’s essential character. By asking God his name, Moses wanted to know about God. What did God bring to the table? Why should the Israelites believe him?
God answered Moses. He said, “I AM WHO I AM.” This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” (v. 14) The Israelites considered God’s name, “I AM WHO I AM” or “YAHWEH” so sacred that they would not dare utter it out loud.
I AM WHO I AM. What’s in a name? Everything actually. God’s name represents who God is, his essential character. If we want to do more than just believe in God’s existence, if we’re going to really know Him, we need to understand what his name says about him.
There are three characteristics we can take away from God’s name: “I AM WHO I AM”
1. God is All-Powerful
“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3)
Everything that exists, exists only because God exists. It follows then that we are not here by accident. We are here for a purpose. We are here because God created us, he wanted us, “and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
2. God is Self-Sufficient
“For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains. Psalm 50:10-12
God does not depend on anyone or anything for his existence or to exercise his power. He does not need us and is not made better by us. God does not say to us, “you complete me,” but we say to him, “you complete us.”
Paul in Acts sums this up well when he says, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:24).
God doesn’t need us. At first, this thought might prick at our prideful hearts. But the more we know God, the more we see the beauty of God’s self-sufficiency. You see, although God doesn’t depend on us or need us, He wants us. God doesn’t love us more or less because of what we can do for him. He just loves us because we are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10).
3. God is Eternal
Eternity is hard for us to understand because all we know has a beginning and an end. We measure everything by time: seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries. Time is the way we make sense of things, yet God is outside of time.
God is without beginning or end. He is eternal. “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90:2 “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.” Psalm 90:4
God exists in the past, present, and future, all at the same time. He sits outside of time; he knows the beginning from the end. Nothing surprises him. He sees it all and understands how everything is connected.
Understanding God’s eternal nature gives us comfort in knowing he goes before us, paving the way for us, preparing us for what is to come. We can find peace in knowing that it is because of God’s eternal nature that He can promise us eternity. “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life” (1st John 2:25).
God is the Great “I AM”
God may have introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush, but he showed that he was who He said he was through his interactions with the Israelites. He rescued them from slavery in Egypt and led them through the desert to the promised land. It was YAHWEH’s power on display in the miracles that freed them. It was YAHWEH’S self-sufficiency showcased when not even the grumbling of the Israelites or the shortcomings of Moses could thwart his plans for his beloved children. It was YAHWEH’S eternal nature that allowed him to see the past, present, and future all at the same time and work things out for the good of the Israelites.
Jesus is the Great “I AM”
God’s revelation of who he is comes full circle in the New Testament when Jesus introduces himself as the great “I AM.” Jesus said to the Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). The Jews immediately recognized this as blasphemy and tried to stone Jesus to death for claiming he was Yahweh (John 8:59).
Jesus is the great “I AM.” There is power in the name of Jesus. Through his power, Jesus upholds and maintains and propels the entire physical and spiritual universe to its predetermined goal (Hebrews 1:3).
Jesus is the great “I AM.” There is self-sufficiency in the name of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t depend on anything or anyone for His existence. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17)
Jesus is the great “I AM.” There is eternity in the name of Jesus. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
God introduces us to himself through his creation, the beautiful sunrises, and sunsets, the mountains in all their glory, the smile of a baby. We can’t help but be drawn to him. But to really know God, to understand the majesty of his name, we must look further; we must look to his Word where God reveals the “mysteries hidden for ages and generations,” the mystery of the Gospel, the name above all names, the great “I AM,” the all-powerful, self-sufficient, eternal Jesus Christ.
Written by Stephanie Solberg
