For many years I've taught on the concept of God revealing Himself to Moses as the "I AM", and how that relates to the NOW, and how it has implications for us, and for the way we talk about ourselves, and the things that we say about ourselves on a daily basis...in these sermons I used to always say, "He didn't call Himself the great 'I Was', or the great 'I Will Be', and would make the connection with the word "AM" to the word "IS", as in 'God is in the NOW/we are in the NOW'...I would use the passage in the book of Hebrews that says "they that come to God must believe that HE IS..." to make my point...
But as I have studied this more over the years, I have modified my teaching on the subject somewhat...as it turns out, the real interpretation of what God actually said to Moses is closer in meaning to "I will be what I will be" than it is to "I that I am"...Hayah means "existed" or "was" in Hebrew; "ehyeh" is the first person singular imperfect form and is usually translated in English Bibles as "I will be" (or "I shall be"), for example, in Exodus 3:14... Ehyeh asher ehyeh literally translates as "I Will Be What I Will Be", with attendant theological and mystical implications in Jewish tradition...but in most English Bibles, in particular the King James Version, this phrase is rendered as I am that I am...
Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh (often contracted in English as "I AM") is one of the Seven Names of God accorded special care by medieval Jewish tradition...the phrase is also found in other world religious literature, used to describe the Supreme Being, generally referring back to its use in Exodus...the word Ehyeh is used a total of 43 places in the Hebrew Bible, where it is often translated as "I will be" (as is the case for its first occurrence in Genesis 26:3), or "I shall be", (as is the case for its final occurrence in Zechariah 8:8)...used by God to identify himself at the burning bush, the importance placed on the phrase, as it is, stems from the Hebrew conception of monotheism..that God exists by Himself for Himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity; therefore "I am who I am" (ongoing)...
In the Hellensitic Greek literature of the Jewish Diaspora the phrase "Ehyeh asher ehyeh" was rendered in Greek "ego eimi", or "I am the BEING"....in the Septuagint (the Hebrews Scriptures translated into Greek), Exodus 3:14 is rendered "And God said unto Moses, I am HE WHO IS (ho ōn): and he said, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, HE WHO IS has sent me unto you."
The great Philo of Alexandria (who is credited with coming up with the concept of 'Logos') translated it this way: "And God said, 'At first say unto them, 'I am (egō eimi) THE BEING', (ho ōn, nominative of ontos) that, when they have learned that there is a difference between THE BEING (ontos, genitive of ho ōn) and that-that-is-not (me ontos), they may be further taught that there is no name whatever that can properly be assigned to Me (ep' emou kuriologeitai), to whom (hoi) only (monoi) belongs (prosesti) the existence (to einai)."
What's the point of bringing all this up? Isn't the difference in shade of meaning between"I am that I am" and "I will be what I will be" so subtle that it couldn't possibly matter that much?...
Well, I think it's important for several reasons...it seems to me that the real meaning of the phrase is not just a declaration of present existence, but a statement of prophetic potential...what if God isn't static? What if God and the concept of God is evolving? As I have already posted, the Greek literally says, "Within a beginning (or: In union with Headship and Sovereignty) there was the Logos (the Word; the Thought; the collection of thoughts; the Idea; the Reason; the discourse; the communication; the verbal expression). And the Logos (the idea; the thought; the expression; the Word) was facing, [directed, and moving] toward, (or: continued being face to face with) God. And the Logos (the Word; the thought; the idea; the reason; the expression) continued being God" (John 1:1 - JMNT)...
In the beginning was the "Thought"..."the collection of thoughts"..."the Idea"...wow(!)...they say that the Universe is expanding and growing and continuing to create and re-create itself...what if there's a God-connection to that? What if our personal evolution is connected to God's personal evolution?
What if when Jesus asked His disciples "Who do you say that I am?", He was implying more than we thought before? Was He telling them that they could in a sense "create" who He was by what they said about Him? The writer of Hebrews said, "Though He (Jesus) was a son, He learned obedience through the things he suffered (through process)"...Jesus clearly had to grow into the knowledge of who He was (or into Christ-consciousness, if you will)...what if we're all on the same journey? John said, "Beloved, NOW are we the sons of God, and does not yet appear what we shall be..."
With every statement that you make about yourself, you're not just saying who you are, you're declaring who and what you want to become...there is a greater version of you on the inside that is trying to manifest...talk up your future...talk up who are you becoming!
You're somewhere in the future, and you look much better than you look right now!
To be continued...
