"I AM"

“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.’” (Exodus 3:14 ESV)

In the Bible, God is known by many names. There is Yahweh, translated as Kyrios(Lord) in Greek, which is used 600 times in the Bible and means “to be.” Elohim and Adonay are common Hebrew names for Yahweh. Yahweh Sabaoth means the Lord of Hosts. El, Eloah, and the plural of majesty, Elohim, occur over 2,500.1 There are many more names for God in the Bible, but the one that may have the greatest impact is “I am.”

God told Moses on Sinai, “I am who I am.” One could spend one's entire life contemplating the meaning of that and how that relates to oneself. Have you ever considered the deep implications of the name “I am”?  I am; I have no beginning, and I have no end; I am the alpha and the omega. I am all-knowing, I depend on nothing, everything depends on Me. I define everything in creation; nothing defines me, for I am the creator of all things. Nothing controls me, yet I control everything.  I am everything, everything that exists is me, and it is through my glory. Have you really come to understand the depth and breadth of the great “I am”?2

Jesus consistently used “I am” to describe Himself.  Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) While speaking to Martha, He also said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” (John 11:25) Jesus said to the apostles, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). In all His uses of  “I am,” when Jesus pushed the Pharisee to the point of no return, when He broke the last straw that set the Pharisee’s plan to kill Jesus in motion, He said to them in the treasury, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”(emphasis mine). (John 8:58)

God is “I am”, we are the “I am not”. In His glorious planning, even before the rebellion by Adam in the garden, God knew in His infinite mind, I am going to rescue my children from their sin. In every book of the Bible, we learn that we cannot save ourselves from our sins. Our works of righteousness are filthy rags before God. (Isaiah 64:6) So, the great “I am” sent the Son of God into creation to bear the sins of mankind. Jesus came with one purpose: to redeem God’s children. He called those through His ministry in life, and went to the cross, becoming a curse for us, shedding His holy, righteous blood, and dying, that the sins of those who come to believe in Him as the risen Son of God would find salvation, made righteous before God through grace, by faith in Christ alone.

If you know Christ, strive to come to understand the implications of our God, who is the great “I am”. I promise you, you will never stop learning, understanding, and coming to know the true glory of God. God exists to be glorified, and our entire existence is designed to glorify God. Come to “know God duly, and treasure Him duly”3

1. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-names-of-god/, accessed 5/19/2026.

2. John Piper, Ligonier Ministries, “Don’t Waste Your Life”, August 2010.

3. Ibid.