The Great I AmSample

The name “I Am” in theology is called the tetragrammaton. That’s a theological statement that simply means: The four letters. I Am is comprised of four consonants in the Hebrew language. Originally, the Hebrew language was written in abjad (a form of symbolic writing), meaning it did not have any vowels. Seeing as this name has no vowels, it could not be pronounced. This is because there is simply no way to recite four consonants as a word itself. Also, in Jewish religion, the name was, and is, considered to be too holy to be spoken. Thus, in order to talk about God, what they did in that day was to take vowels from the Hebrew language and insert them into this name YHWH. This became Yahweh in written format. Some Jews practiced the act of replacing the spoken name with Adonai while speaking in the synagogue as they felt Yahweh itself was too holy to be said. This is still practiced by many to this day. We know it as Jehovah in our English language. In Scripture, this name is often written as LORD in all caps. The meaning of this name is the covenant-keeping relational God.

When we break down the composition of this name I Am, we get a closer look at the heart of God. This is God’s relational name. It signifies His loyal, covenant-keeping character. The first word in this name is “I” and I is a personal pronoun. This tells us that it is the person talking and in calling Himself by this name, He is indicating that He wants to relate to us personally. God is not only interested in being the Big Mahaf way up there, He also wants to talk to us down here where we live. In other words, we are able to communicate with Him personally.

Not only is this name personal, but it is also indicative of the present tense. “Am” is present tense. It is not past (was) nor is it future (will be.) What this explains to us is that God has no past and He has no future. He has no yesterday and He has no tomorrow. Everything about God is NOW. He simply IS.

Thus, when Jesus stated, “I Am,” He let them know that He is the personal, present, powerful, unfaltering, self-contained God. 

To read more on the powerful qualities of God, click here to download a complimentary pdf titled "Who is this Jesus?" from Dr. Tony Evans.