I AM WHO I AM: THE THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE DIVINE NAME

I AM WHO I AM: THE THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

OF THE DIVINE NAME

By: Daniel McMillin

"God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Say this to the people of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. Say this to the people of Israel: 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, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Ex. 3:14-15).

The Holy Name of “YHWH.” 

The name was so holy that the Jewish people were unworthy to utter it. It is because of the Jewish dread of pronouncing this name that the original and correct pronunciation has been lost. The Jews called it the preeminent name, the name that describes God’s essence, the proper name. The church fathers called it the forbidden, the indescribable, the unutterable name (Bavinck). In Scripture, names reveal a person’s character; the same applies to the names of God. The divine names reveal certain truths about the divine essence. His name is a description of His essence. His entire Being is wrapped up in the name "I AM." As Donnie DeBord says, “When God described himself as “I AM” it was more than just a name—it was a description of his entire being.”

This phrase may also be translated as: “I am being that I am being” or “The One Who Always Is.” John Durham has commented: "It is a reply that suggests that it is inappropriate to refer to God as 'was' or as 'will be,' for the reality of this active existence can be suggested only by the present: 'is.'"

He is being; that is, He is life itself. He has life in and of Himself. One way that this is communicated is to say that God is the “Fullness of Being.” As Gregory of Nazianzus has said, “God always was, and always is, and always will be…For in Himself He sums up and contains all Being, having neither beginning in the past nor end in the future; like some great Sea of Being, limitless and unbounded, transcending all conception of time and nature.” From this, we recognize the aseity, immutability, and eternality of the divine essence. 

Aseity: God IS Independent and Life  

Anselm has said that God is “something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought.” God is independent of all external dependence. All external things are dependent on Him. He alone is independent and uncaused, in such a way that for all creatures, He is the source of being and existing. He is self-sufficient and self-existent because He IS (Life). Michael Horton has communicated it in this way, “God is life; he gives us life.” God is the Giver, and we are the receivers. Origen explains that when God says, "I AM WHO I AM" it means that "all things that exist derive their share of being from him who truly exists." All creation is dependent upon God, the unmoved Mover, the uncomposed Composer. The Father is life (John 5:26), the Son is life (John 4:13-14), and the Spirit is life (John 6:63).

Immutable: God Does Not Change

“He is the first and greatest existence, who is utterly unchangeable.” (Augustine) He always is and never alters but remains the same (James 1:17). God’s attributes, promises, and will does not change. He is like a “rock” (2 Sam. 22:2-3, 32). He does not change (Mal. 3:6). As Matthew Barrett has written, “He does not change. Come what may, this God remains the same. He is firm and secure, always there, never fluctuating, incapable of defeat, and forever steadfast as a fortress to those in trouble.” 

Timelessness: God Is Eternal

Since God is "the God of your [Moses] fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," He must be an eternal Being. Since His existence spans before the existence of time, creation, and the moment of that conversation with Moses, it must follow that God is a Being that exists for a long time at the very least. However, when we carefully examine the divine name, we realize that this must be saying something about His eternality. God is above and beyond time and therefore has no past, present or future…He just is. He is who he is, the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). God is, that is, all things are as if they are an eternal present. God’s attributes, promises, and plan are eternal.

THE GREAT I AM

Now that we have ascertained the glorious character of the great I Am, what are the practical implications of this divine name? First, we notice that all creation depends upon God, who is as the necessary being and first cause. Second, we see that all life comes from God, who is the I AM; apart from Him, there is only death. Last, God's people should be drawn to worship the unfathomable God.