The Journey Reading PlanSample

Discovering God: The God Who Is There

The God of the Bible is a personal God. That means he is not just a force, not just something, but someone. The Bible makes this clear by the titles it uses to describe him. Here God reveals himself to Moses and says that he should be identified as “I AM WHO I AM,” or simply “I AM.” This name emphasizes God’s timelessness—he’s the one who always has been and always will be.

In the next verse God uses a proper name, translated “LORD.” The letters that form this word in the original Hebrew language are YHWH. “I AM” in Hebrew is very similar to the letters YHWH. It’s clear God wanted Moses to understand the close relation of these names in sound and meaning.

Throughout the Bible, God uses many words and phrases to refer to himself as he tries to help us understand his multifaceted nature. And when we come to the second part of the Bible—the New Testament—and read about Jesus, we find out something astounding. Jesus refers back to the time before Abraham was born, saying, “I am!” (John 8:56–58)! He was with God right from the beginning!