I AM WHO I AM!

Then Moses said to God,"Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me,' What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" And God said to Moses," I AM WHO I AM." And He said," Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you. ' " Moreover God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.'- Exodus 3:13-15

 I AM WHO I AM. Here, God is further establishing Himself to Moses. Not for his satisfaction, but for ours. The children of Israel have been oppressed by Egypt for 400 years. Working tireless days and hard nights under the harsh ruling of the Pharaoh. They have lost all hope of freedom and have accepted that they were born in slavery and will die in the same manner. In this statement, God is laying a foundation for his character as a whole. In this situation, He is rescuer and redeemer. but this is not the only occurrence of God establishing himself as our everything. The book of John lays out 7 different forms of God's I AM.

I Am the bread of life... John 6:35-48

"I am the Bread of life. He who comes to me should never go hungry, and he who believes in me shall never thirst." Here, we see God as provider. Come and be filled, believe and be satisfied. When we come to the Father, he will always provide for us. Whether it be manna from heaven, or a gift from a friend, He always takes care of all of our needs, when we need them. not always when we think we need them. For his timing is always perfect.

I Am the light of the world... John 8:12, 9:5

"Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, 'I Am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.' " In this passage, we see God as our guide. When we follow Christ whole-heartedly, he will show us which way to go and what steps to take. He won't let us stumble and fall, but he will illuminate every obstacle in our path and lead us down the way He intends for us. And when talking about God's light, I am not talking about a little penlight, no the light I am referring to is a search light, that lights up everything in our way.

I am the gate... John 10:7

"Then Jesus said to them again, ' Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep." God here is our gateway. This passage goes on to say that the sheep hear his voice and know it. Through him, we can come and go into the pasture of greener grass.

I am the good shepherd... John 10:11-14

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep." Here God is our protector and warrior. Unlike a hired servant, who sees a wolf and because he doesn't own the sheep, runs and hides, the good shepherd will protect the sheep, even when it means laying down his own life for the sheep. Under the care of the worker, the wolf and come and scatter the sheep, but under the shepherd's protection, the sheep are safe from harm.

I am the resurrection and the life... John 11:25

"Jesus said to her, ' I Am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die. " I am...your redemption. When we come to the Father and believe in Him and follow his instructions, we will be saved. Even if we die in this world, we will live with Him in eternity.

I am the way, the truth, and the life... John 14:6

"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father, except through me.  I am the bridge. The structure between point A and point B. From Earth to Heaven. The middleman between God and man. No one can get there without going through Jesus first.

I am the true vine... John 15:1-5

'I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." I am the gardener of life. It is in this passage that Jesus talks about good and bad fruit. God will prune the good branches and throw out the bad ones. As long as we stay connect to the vine, we will continue to bear much fruit, but when we become disconnected from the vine, we are no better than firewood that will be destroyed. Stay in God, continue bearing good fruit.

7 characteristics of God. 7 different ways that all come together in the form of one Being. And these barely even scratch the surface of all that God is. I encourage you to dive into the word and discover for yourself all the quality traits of our Savior and Lord, God the Father. The Bible is full of the different aspects of our Lord just waiting to be uncovered. GO find them.

Adam Semple- A young man on a mission from God.