God “is” “I AM”. “Is” meaning ; “existing in this moment of time“, and “the substance, characteristics, and/or character of a thing”. God “is” a “right now”, “in this moment” God; alive, active and available to us. His “substance”, “characteristics”, and “character” is “I AM”.But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,…..” Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
Exodus 3:13-15 (NKJV) Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 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.’ ”
God said also to Moses, This shall you say to the Israelites:
The Lord, the God of your fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has sent me to you! This is My name forever, and by this name I am to be remembered to all generations.
Exodus 3:13-14 (Complete Jewish Bible) Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’”
The Hebrew word translated “I AM” is “hāyâ” (haw-yaw’), also expressed as “Ehyeh” in the Complete Jewish Bible. This word is used over 3,500 times in the Old Testament, and has a variety of applications: “to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)” (Strong’s Greek & Hebrew Dictionary).
One of the most debated uses of hāyâ occurs in Exodus 3:14, where God tells Moses His name. He says: “I am [hāyâ] that I am [hāyâ].” Since the divine name Jehovah or Yahweh was well-known long before (cf. Genesis 4:1), this revelation seems to emphasize that the God who made the covenant was the God who kept the covenant. So Exodus 3:14 is more than a simple statement of identity: “I am that I am”; it is a declaration of divine control of all things. (Vines Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words)
Exodus 3:13-15 (Amplified Bible) “And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you!
God said also to Moses, This shall you say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has sent me to you! This is My name forever, and by this name I am to be remembered to all generations.”
The Israelites relationship with God goes back to the Abrahamic Covenant when “The Lord” (Jehovah) chose Abram as the beginning of His chosen people and the start of a lineage that would produce the coming Messiah. In His communication, through Moses, His statement of “I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE” not only identified Himself as the “maker” of the covenant, but as the “keeper” of it as well.
Notice how Jesus identifies Himself:
John 8:57-58 (AMP) Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham? Jesus replied, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM.
I believe it was Mark Chirona that made this statement regarding God’s response of “I AM”. He said that what God was actually saying was; “I AM who you need me to be, and I AM what you need me to be; when you need me to be it.”
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,…..” God “is” “I AM”.
*** Fred Wilson *** is an author, former coach, teacher and Life and Liberty News Contributor.
