The Great I AM

We remember the story of Moses, when he (Moses) saw a burning bush and he felt compelled to climb up and see why and how it was burning. Upon his arrival what was about to unfold he never would have believed nor expected, and that was contact with the living God of the universe! Let’s start our study where contact of God with Moses began. In Exodus 3:1-6 “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush was not consumed. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside, to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses, and he said, Here I am. And he said, Draw not near here: put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is Holy ground. Moreover he said, I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”

After this God goes on to tell him the mission he wants Moses to do for him, which is to lead Israel (God’s chosen people of the Old Testament) out of Egypt. Then God wanted Moses to bring the people back to the mountain of Horeb, where they were talking, to see what the next step for Israel would be.

Now picking up the story in verse 13 of Exodus 3 states, “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you.”

So we can see that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and now Israel too, is the Great I AM, the God of the Universe. All through the Old Testament God (I AM) was  with Moses as God’s leader, He takes Israel out of Egypt, gives them laws, the ten commandments, leads them through the dessert for 40 years, (because of their sin at Mt. Horeb) and finally takes them to the Promised Land that God promised Abraham in Genesis 17:6, “And I will make Thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nation of you, (speaking to Abraham) and kings shall come out of thee.” Reading the Old Testament God does so much for Israel, his chosen nation, but they didn’t listen to him, like so many of us today.  After God divorced Israel and sent them into captivity and removed them from the Promised Land, where did he go? Has the Great I AM left mankind to his own devices and is not going to help mankind in any way?  No, He is not! God is a God of Love for his creation, and He will as it say’s in Hebrews 13:5, last part, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So where is the Great I AM and what is He doing? Let’s see what and who the creator of the Heaven and Earth is: In Colossians 1:16 it states, “For by him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth, visible and invisible, (that’s interesting, invisible things made), whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created for him: v. 17, And He is before all things, and by him all things consist.” We know that the God of the Old Testament was the Great I AM, and created all things so what or who is this alluding to in the New Testament? Let’s read on, v. 18, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. V. 19, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;” There is only one person who is the Head of the Church of the New Testament that is Jesus Christ, he is the Great I AM according to this scripture. Let’s read on: in John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. Who is the light of all men in the New Testament? None other than Jesus Christ.   Now verse 10, “He was in the world, and THE WORLD WAS MADE BY HIM, and the world knew him not.” Christ went to the Jews when he was on the earth, and what did they do to him? Listen and accept, NO they crucified him.  Let’s go to Hebrews now and see what it says about Jesus Christ being the I AM of the Old Testament.  Heb. 1:1 “God (the Father), in many parts and in many ways spoke in time past unto the fathers O.T. by the prophets. Has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by who also he MADE THE WORLDS, (ages); Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, (Christ was just like the Father in all ways), and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”. Who sits at the right hand of God now, again, Jesus Christ.  Let’s look also at Ephesians 3:9, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, (verse 6 salvation to the Gentiles now) which from the beginning of the world has been hid, (this is the part for this study), WHO CREATED ALL THINGS BY JESUS CHRIST”.  And last but not least, let’s go to John 18, where Jesus is betrayed and arrested, verse 2, “And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted there with his disciples. Judas then having received a bank of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, come there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him (the scourging, crucifixion), went forth, and said unto them whom seek you, they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I AM (the he was added later), And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. (Most people miss what is being said here), Verse 6, “As soon then as he had said unto them, I AM, they went backward, and fell to the ground.” They came to arrest Jesus, why did they fall to the ground, that doesn’t make sense does it? The reason they fell backward was due to what Jesus said, the people that come with Judas were Jews, they KNEW I AM was the God of the Old Testament! That is why they fell to the ground, I AM, replied Jesus, I am the God of the Old Testament too. How powerful is that, unbelievable, that the God of the Old Testament (I AM) would come in the flesh?  Let’s go to another scripture, in John Jesus is speaking to the Jews here, Please read the whole chapter so you know it is not taken out of context, John 5:45-46 states, “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one the  accuses you, even Moses, in whom  you trust.  Verse 46 “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: FOR MOSES WROTE OF ME.” Who did Moses write about? The Great I AM. Jesus is admitting He is the Great I AM of the Old Testament.

Let’s now turn to I John 4:14, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.” Do you see, Jesus Christ was the Great I AM, the creator of all things, and the Creator had to come and pay the price of sin for all of mankind, it is the only way. Put it another way, the Creator came and died for His Creation. That is why Message of Hope Ministry teaches that salvation for all of mankind is made possible only by the Creator dying for his Creation. Paid in FULL by all means. No we don’t deserve it, but finishing in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but has everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; BUT THAT THE WORLD THROUGH HIM MIGHT BE SAVED.” How powerful is that? Thank You for your interest, and  God Bless You.     Pastor Mark

Ps:   Please read our other articles on this website. If ever you have a question, Please don’t hesitate to