Exodus 3:14 – “I Am That I Am”
“I AM THAT I AM”
The words “I AM”
Anyone can say the words, “I am,” but that does not mean that he is claiming to be God. Someone could say, “I am over here,” but that is not claiming they have a divine name. Likewise, someone could say, “I am hungry” or “I am sick.” Neither example is claiming divinity because of the use of the words, “I am” because the context clearly shows us that is not what is occurring.
FIRST: “I AM” Is Not A Name
The context of the passage (John 8:58), for which Jesus was responding, indicates that he was speaking about his existence, not his name, which is in reference to the words “Before Abraham.” In addition, the statement would be meaningless if we were to use the phrase “I am” verbatim as it is written and claim it to be a name; it’s like saying “Before Abraham was, Tom,” the sentence structure is left incomplete.
SECOND: Jesus did not say “I am that I am”
In Exodus 3:14 God says to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM.” Most acknowledge that this is an incomplete translation of the Hebrew wording, “Ehyeh Asshur Ehyeh.”
This Hebrew term is more accurately translated as, “I exist {present tense} as what I AM, and what I have always existed as {in the past tense}, and what I will continue to exist as {in the future}.”
This Hebrew phrase matches the Greek equivalent description in Revelation 1:4 perfectly as, “Him who is {in the present} and who was {in the past} and who is to come {in the future}.”
(God is a Spirit- John 4:24; I change not-Malachi 3:6) God the Father, who is also known as Yahweh or Jehovah (LORD in the OT – Ref. The Name of God), is the One, “who is, who was and who is to come.”
(See: Before Abraham Was I Am – John 8:58).
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