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I AM THAT I AM · Logos Unveiled

The Bible Devotional The Forge The Pulpit Statement of Faith The Altar

The Epiousios · Day 94 of 365

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The Epiousios — ἐπιούσιος, the “daily” of “give us this day our daily bread”. It stands in and , and nowhere else in Scripture.

Saturday, 4 April 2026

I AM THAT I AM

3 min read

The Primary Text

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”— (KJV)Read Exodus 3 in full →

The Lexicon

הָיָה (hayah) — Verb, qal imperfect

From the Hebrew הָיָה (hayah): to be, to exist, to become, to come to pass. Semantic force: Hebrew normally omits the verb "to be" in simple statements, which makes its deliberate use here conspicuous. The form is imperfect — continuing, unfinished action — so the name reaches forward as much as it stands still. Theological depth: The covenant name YHWH is built from this verb. God answers a question about identity with a statement of sheer existence, and every other name for Him in Scripture is a description of what this One is like.

Supporting Scriptures

Who Am I?Old Testament

“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

(KJV)

Moses asks about himself and is answered about God, which is the pattern of the whole exchange.

Before Abraham WasNew Testament

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

(KJV)

Christ takes the name in the present tense, and His hearers pick up stones — they understood exactly what He had said.

The Exposition

Moses is eighty, keeping another man's sheep on the back side of the desert, forty years past the day he tried to help his people and had to run. Whatever he once was, he is now a shepherd in Midian with a price on his head in Egypt. His first question is about himself: Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh? (). God does not answer it. He says certainly I will be with thee — which changes the subject from the man's adequacy to God's presence, and is the only answer that has ever helped anyone. The second question is more practical. The people will ask which god has sent him; the gods of Egypt all had names, and a name in that world was a handle — something you could invoke, bargain with, manage. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. It is barely a name. It is a verb, and an unfinished one — the Hebrew form is imperfect, which is continuing rather than completed action, so the sense reaches forward: I am, I will be, I go on being. He does not identify Himself by ancestry, territory, or function, as every other deity in the ancient world did. He identifies Himself by existing. Which is why He cannot be handled. You cannot flatter or manipulate sheer being. And it is why, when a carpenter's son from Nazareth said before Abraham was, I am, the men listening reached for stones rather than asking what He meant. The practical use of it is in the sentence attached: I AM hath sent me unto you. Moses does not go with a strategy. He goes with a name.

The Altar

Name the task you feel unqualified for. Then say aloud the answer Moses was given — not you are able, but I will be with thee.

Daily Reading & Meditation

Passage:

Focus: Count Moses' objections through the chapter and notice that God answers almost none of them directly.

Ask yourself: When you plead inadequacy before God, are you asking to be excused or asking to be accompanied? Listen to how you phrase it next time.

My Father in heaven, I thank You that You answered a man's "who am I" with Your own "I AM", and sent him out with nothing but Your name. I have asked to be excused more often than I have asked You to come with me. Let Your Holy Spirit settle me on who You are rather than on what I am. In the name of the Lord Jesus, who said before Abraham was, I am. Amen.

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