What Is In A Name: I AM

I AM

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58, NIV)

When you meet someone for the first, one of the first things you usually do is exchange your names. It is universal human nature that spans generations. Moses was no different than us today. He too sought the name of the Lord God. How else was he to convince the captive Israelites that the God who sent him to them was the same God that they worshipped?

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.
(Exodus 3:14-15, NIV)

From generation to generation. From generation to generation will know the Lord God, the creator, as I AM. About 1500 years after God gave His name to Moses, Jesus was asked to identify Himself. Again, it was Israelites demanding to know who He was. Jesus identified Himself as I AM. I AM, the God of Abraham, the God of the captive Israelite, and the God of Moses.

Jesus’ answer to the question of who He is, speaks the trinity nature of the Lord God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God. This declaration outraged the Jews who were listening and went on to accuse Him of blasphemy. They did not understand that Jesus was God. Jesus is I AM.

When Jesus, God, said “I AM,” he is claiming to be eternal. God is self-sufficient and self-reliant. His existence does not depend on anyone or anything else. He can and does accomplish whatever He wills, without help.

So what does this mean for us? The Lord God is not dependent upon anyone or anything else for His power. We are reliant upon others, upon the Lord. We can make all the plans and all the choices we want, but that does not mean things will always turn out the way we want. God is the Great I AM. It is to Him we must turn to seek guidance on our journey. Only His plans will come to fruition.

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