In The Beginning. Day 1, In The Beginning...God

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

When we look back as far as the human mind can imagine, God is already there. He was already everything He is today and He was everything He ever will be. For mankind the beginning begins at the creation; for God there was no beginning. He has always existed and He always will. He once described Himself to Moses as, "I am who I am," (Exodus 3:4) and we are going to take a look today at what this means because I believe the words someone uses to describe himself tells us a lot about him.

In Hebrew the Lord was saying to Moses, "Ehyeh aser Ehyeh". These words sound very enigmatic when translated into English, but by looking at them in the original language we form a better idea of who God says He is.

1. This phrase "I am who I am" or "I am the I am", as it is sometimes rendered, means something like "the being one" or "the self-existing one" in the original Hebrew. God has always existed, He exists now, and He always will exist. No act of creation was necessary for Him to begin existing. He needs nothing from anyone or anything in order to exist; He is self-sufficient. All the power necessary for Him to create the universe and to keep it running is generated by Himself. And yet, a Being this unimaginably powerful wants to have a relationship with us. Nothing that ever happens to us should make us feel more honored than knowing that the "I Am" loves us and wants a personal relationship with each of us.

2. The phrase "I am who I am" indicates an unchanging character. God is who He has always been and God is who He will always be. In a world of constant change, this should be a comfort to us. God won't love us today and hate us tomorrow. God won't feel warm toward us today but cold toward us tomorrow. God won't make a promise to us today and break it tomorrow. He says of Himself, "God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind." (Numbers 23:19) "For I the Lord do not change." (Malachi 3:6a) We can rest safely in the hands of an unchanging God.

3. "I am who I am" in the original Hebrew is suggestive of One who is the source of all that exists. Every atom, molecule, blade of grass, and hair on our heads was created by the power and energy of God. God spoke and something came from nothing. It was dark, then light. It was a void, then it was filled. All that is on the earth, under the earth, in the seas, in the air, and in the heavens was made by God through His will, His purpose, and His choice.

4. "I am who I am" also indicates a self-sustaining energy. God needs no outside source of energy in order to keep going. He never gets tired or sleeps. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom." (Isaiah 20:28) God never runs low on power. We never have to worry that His grace won't be sufficient or that His arm is too short to save us. "He will not let your foot slip---He who watches over you will not slumber." (Psalm 121:3)

God is who He is. Period. He will not debate this issue with us. He will not relinquish one smidgen of holiness or righteousness in order to fit into some kind of box we've tried to construct for Him. God will not compromise His character. He will not change His laws to suit the whims of mankind. He will never sink down to our level but instead He calls us to step up higher. God will never be someone He is not, but He will also never stop reaching out to us in mercy. As long as we have breath in our bodies, God is offering us mercy and forgiveness and a relationship with Himself.

This is the God with whom we must deal. This is the God who steps out of eternity past to meet us here, in the beginning of man's sojourn on earth, in the book of Genesis. God is the "being one" who has no beginning or end, who needs no outside source of power, who sustains Himself and all creation, who is so high above us we can't fathom His thoughts, but who desires to know and be known by us. Everything that pertains to an abundant and satisfying life is found in Him.