The Relational “I Am”
Jehovah, Yahweh, “I Am”. In the book of Exodus God spoke this unto Moses, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty (El), but by my name the Lord (Yahweh) I did not make myself known to them.” (Exodus 6:3 ESV) These men that God speaks of were the Patriarchs, the Fathers of the Faith, those to whom the promises were originally made. Yet to these men, who entered into covenant with the Almighty, God did not reveal Himself in the way He did to Moses when He preformed His mighty deliverance from the bondages of Egypt. To Moses and to that people He revealed Himself as Yahweh, a Hebrew word that is derived from or is “rooted” in the verb “to be”, which is where we get the idea of God as “I Am”. It is this term, this name (Shem), that God says His people will know Him by going forward. Phonetically, we believe it is close to Yahweh, but many know it by the transliteration of Jehovah.
The main takeaway from the opening paragraph, in case you missed it, is that there is something very important with the idea of God as “I Am”. In fact, the religious leaders in Jesus’s day picked up stones to kill Him when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58 ESV) So what is it about this revelation of God as “I Am” that is so significant? What does it mean? I think a logical question when you hear God refer to Himself as “I Am” is: I Am what? What are you God? As we will show, it means, at least in part, that God IS everything that we need! I like to think of it almost like God left an open “fill in the blank” description of Himself, because He is to us whatever we need to experience His abundant Life! This does not mean, obviously, that God is a cosmic vending machine that caters to our selfish and worldly desires, but that He is the thirst-quenching answer to our parched souls in all facets of life.
Although this reality of God as “I Am” applies to many sorts of things, for purposes of this article we will be focusing exclusively on how God meets us relationally, as many of the needs that He meets actually flow through these expansive relational realities. Before we delve into that, however, a few quick notes on the nature of relationships in general. When we think about relationships, we often view them in terms of roles. Some common examples of roles include father/son, brothers, student/teacher, king/subject, etc. These relational roles are important, as they define responsibilities, expectations, really the fundamental nature of how we are to relate under different circumstances. Most of us have a reasonable working knowledge for how the relational roles listed above are supposed to work and have likely experienced several of them.
So how does God relate to us relationally and likewise us back to Him?
In order to answer this question, we must explore the way that God defines His relationship to us. Interestingly, within the Scriptures, God does not reveal Himself to us relationally in one or two ways, but instead, many. Remember, this article is titled The Relational “I Am”, the relational “fill in the blank.” For purposes of this discussion we will describe these different relational roles of God as “lenses” through which we see and know Him, as He is really all of them, all of the time, but we might interact with Him through one or another “lens” depending on the situation in which we find ourselves.
So what are the different relational lenses that God gives for us to interact with Him? Within the Scriptures God reveals Himself to us as effectively every significant positive relationship type we experience with other people in our life. In fact, one might even surmise that God gave us all of these different earthly relationships so that we might understand the fullness, breadth and depth, of our multifaceted relationship with Him. To give you a flavor of the ways that God relationally reveals Himself to us in Scripture, consider that He calls Himself our Father, Friend, Teacher, Brother, King, Physician, Counselor, Savior, Judge, and Husband. This is not a comprehensive list, but at least covers some of the major lenses.
To shed further insight on these relational roles, let me now share a quick personal story.
“I remember getting an opportunity to preach at a small community church in Ghana, West Africa and had this message of “The Relational “I Am””, on my heart. It was hot and sweaty night, like most in Africa, but per usual this did not quench the passion and enthusiasm of those in attendance. We shouted, sang, and danced without reservation or for us non-natives, as unreserved as you will probably ever see us… For those that are not familiar, in Africa you don’t really teach… You Preach! So after going through some of the core truths already presented in this article, I wound up like a pitcher, ready to deliver my oratory fastball! As you read this sermon closing, imagine it in that setting, with the meter, rhythm, intonation, and passion of a Spirit infused sermon in a hot, sweaty African church, with dusty dirt floors and a “Hallelujah, Amen!” chorus streaming from the congregation after every bar and measure!”
In John 15:5, Jesus said to His disciples, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
If you need a Friend? One the sticketh closer than any brother? Jesus is a Friend indeed!
Galatians 4:6 says, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
If you need a Father? A Daddy of whom you are the Apple of His eye? He is a perfect; good, good, Father!
That evening they brought to him [Jesus] many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:16-17)
If you need a Healer? If you feel like the forces of Hell have come crashing down on you? He is the Great Physician! He is the Great Deliver, having won victory over our enemies!
In John 14:26, Jesus relates to His disciples, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
If you need a Teacher, Comforter or Counselor? God’s Spirit lives inside of you, revealing the depths of the Wisdom and Heart of God, restoring your Soul!
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords. (Revelation 19:11-16)
If you are looking for a Just and Wise ruler to lead and protect you? You are a citizen of a heavenly Kingdom, whose ruler is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
God is our Maker, our Creator. Jesus is our High Priest, our Messiah, our Savior, our Brother. Jesus calls us, the Church, His Bride and He is our Groom!
He is relational “fill in the blank”!
The relational whatever you need!
Verily, verily, The Relational “I Am”!
Personal Considerations.
In closing, I want to spend a moment reflecting on what this means for us personally, specifically with respect to prayer.
Prayer is one of the primary ways that we relate to God. It is the fundamental mechanism by which we communicate concerning a whole host of life and relational subjects. All of the preceding discussion was really a setup for a moment of personal introspection concerning your own relationship with God. For that, spend some time pondering the following questions:
Question #1: When you approach God in prayer, what are the PRIMARY relational lenses that you see God through (father, friend, king, etc.) and how does the impact your conversation?
Question #2: Are there relational lenses that you struggle to see God through and/or relate to Him in and why?
Question #3: Are there relational roles that you have experienced with other people in dysfunctional ways that have incorrectly and/or negatively impacted how you experience God through that lens? (i.e. Did you have an absent/abusive father that has distorted the way you see God as a Father?)
Question #4: Through what relational lenses do you want to further explore your relationship with God going forward?
At the end of the day, God desires to continually reveal Himself to us by His Memorial Name that He revealed unto Moses: Yahweh (I Am). We do this in part by embracing all the different relational lenses through which God reveals Himself to us based on what we need and His sovereign plan. That said, I think we often struggle the most in life in the realms or areas that we fail to see Him relationally. For example, we may feel alone and uncared for because we only see God as a King, instead of also as a Friend. My guess is you might be doing some of your own personal psychoanalysis at this point or maybe that of people you know (that’s fine, just don’t judge…). In the end, I encourage you to seek to know God in His fullness and totality! That He would truly become to you: The Relational “I Am”!