God Is

Jehovah! That name is synonymous with God, Yaweh, and ultimately Jesus. They are all descriptive of the only God that has ever existed. He has always existed and was not created. He just IS!

When Moses asked the Lord, in Genesis 3:14, "Who should I say has sent me?", God said, "I AM THAT I AM." The whole idea that God was never created, for Him to be created would mean there's another God bigger than He, is hard for the human mind to wrap around. This answer God gave to Moses seems puzzling because it's not a name. So, in my confusion and curiosity, I looked at the Hebrew Interlinear Bible and the Strong's Hebrew Dictionary to see what I might learn. It turns out, A LOT! (Bro. Hallford, you could probably provide much more insight than I with your knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet and language, and would like to hear it. Post away!)

Here's what I learned. 'I AM' is the word 'hayah' in Hebrew which means to exist, be or become, come to pass. It is always emphatic and never to be taken as "variable" or prone to be something different than 'emphatically existing'. A reference to the Hebrew word was given. This word is 'havah', meaning 'to breath, to be (in the sense of existence).' Another scripture comes to mind...

James 1:17
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

This scripture describes God's answer to Moses, as to who was sending Moses, 'I AM'. The word 'THAT' is 'aher' which is a conjunction meant to show the connection between the first 'I AM' and the second 'I AM'. The second 'I AM' is the same as the first, in other words, 'I AM WHAT I AM".

This is what Barnes' Notes revealed:
"The words express absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being. The name, which Moses was thus commissioned to use, was at once new and old; old in its connection with previous revelations; new in its full interpretation, and in its bearing upon the covenant of which Moses was the destined mediator."

Then we find in verse 15 God commanding Moses to tell Israel, who were slaving away in Egypt and had done so for over 400 years, "The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."

This is what Barnes' Notes had to say about verse 15, which corresponds directly with verse 14:

"Jehovah Yahweh, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. It corresponds exactly to the preceding verse, the words "I am" and "Jehovah" (Yahweh) being equivalent. This name met all the requirements of Moses, involving a two-fold pledge of accomplishment; the pledges of ancient benefits and of a new manifestation.
[Name ... memorial] The name signifies that by which God makes Himself known, the memorial that by which His people worship Him."

When we move to the New Testament, when Jesus has just asked the question of the disciples, "...but who do you say that I am?" The revelation of who Jesus IS hits Peter. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God", and Jesus responds immediately by saying, "...upon this rock (truth, understanding, revelation) will I build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

The reason Israel was delivered and became God's nation in the earth is the same reason His church was built in the New Testament. Israel recognized the Hebrew words for 'I AM THAT I AM' as being the same or synonymous with 'Jehovah' which was the name Israel recognized as meaning 'God'. Peter, and we, recognize 'Jesus' as being synonymous with all the above Old Testament words; Jehovah, Yaweh, I AM THAT I AM. Peter recognized Jesus as being the great I AM! (Keep in mind Peter was Jewish and understood the Jewish language even though it had changed some by his time.)

To sum this all up I would like to say this.... For those churches and organizations who leave the understanding of God's existence and His oneness, their's is a meaningless trek shrouded in nothing more than large crowds and social events of which God has said, "I-chabod: the Spirit of the Lord is departed."

As much as God IS, all they see are the remnants of what is left when all that He IS has gone.