He Is
“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
The great pastor and writer A.W. Tozer once said,
“What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God”—Knowledge of the Holy, p. 1.
What we think about God is the most important thing about us. But, how do we describe Him? How can we possibly understand God? We cannot understand God apart from Him revealing Himself to us. Without God revealing Himself to us, we would be trying to create Him. But He has revealed Himself through His Word to us and through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But, when considering who God is, the inevitable question comes: who created God? Everything we know that is has been created. The food we eat, the cars we drive, the houses we live in are all created. Even we did not create ourselves. We didn’t decide to bring ourselves into existence. We experience time, we are born, we grow, and then one day, we die. Everything we know and experience has a creator and is created. But, what about God? Does God have a creator? And if so, who?
In order to understand the question, we must pause for a moment in order to get our bearings. God, in order to be God, must have certain characteristics, attributes, or perfections in order to be God. Just like a singer must have a voice to sing, or a baseball player must have athletic ability, or a professor with the mental habits and training necessary to teach, God must have certain attributes in order to be God.
One such attribute of God is His self-existence. God, different from all other beings in the universe, has no creator. He is. He is self-existent, without creator, without beginning and without end. Which is why, when Moses at the burning bush, asked God for His name, God responded, “I AM WHO I AM.” Why? Because when one is given a name, there is an idea communicated by that name. Names have meaning, whether we recognize it or not. When God gave Moses His name, He was describing Himself, attributing to Himself self-existence. He is without beginning, without end, He is infinite, beyond our understanding, and only made knowable by an act of mercy and benevolence to us, His creation.
My brother or sister, simply put, God is! We need not fear when life brings trouble our way, or when men and women try and disprove God’s existence or power. God is not threatened by man’s feeble attempts to discount His name. He is self-existent and out of His goodness and mercy He created us for Himself. May we bask in the knowledge that He is, and that He has given His Son because of us love for us. Amen.
The great pastor and writer A.W. Tozer once said,
“What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God”—Knowledge of the Holy, p. 1.
What we think about God is the most important thing about us. But, how do we describe Him? How can we possibly understand God? We cannot understand God apart from Him revealing Himself to us. Without God revealing Himself to us, we would be trying to create Him. But He has revealed Himself through His Word to us and through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But, when considering who God is, the inevitable question comes: who created God? Everything we know that is has been created. The food we eat, the cars we drive, the houses we live in are all created. Even we did not create ourselves. We didn’t decide to bring ourselves into existence. We experience time, we are born, we grow, and then one day, we die. Everything we know and experience has a creator and is created. But, what about God? Does God have a creator? And if so, who?
In order to understand the question, we must pause for a moment in order to get our bearings. God, in order to be God, must have certain characteristics, attributes, or perfections in order to be God. Just like a singer must have a voice to sing, or a baseball player must have athletic ability, or a professor with the mental habits and training necessary to teach, God must have certain attributes in order to be God.
One such attribute of God is His self-existence. God, different from all other beings in the universe, has no creator. He is. He is self-existent, without creator, without beginning and without end. Which is why, when Moses at the burning bush, asked God for His name, God responded, “I AM WHO I AM.” Why? Because when one is given a name, there is an idea communicated by that name. Names have meaning, whether we recognize it or not. When God gave Moses His name, He was describing Himself, attributing to Himself self-existence. He is without beginning, without end, He is infinite, beyond our understanding, and only made knowable by an act of mercy and benevolence to us, His creation.
My brother or sister, simply put, God is! We need not fear when life brings trouble our way, or when men and women try and disprove God’s existence or power. God is not threatened by man’s feeble attempts to discount His name. He is self-existent and out of His goodness and mercy He created us for Himself. May we bask in the knowledge that He is, and that He has given His Son because of us love for us. Amen.
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