How does Exodus 3:14 influence the understanding of God's eternal existence? Text of Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He added, ‘This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Aseity—God’s Self-Existence Exodus 3:14 grounds the doctrine of aseity: God depends on nothing outside Himself for being, power, or purpose. All contingent reality—material, spiritual, temporal—derives from Him (cf. Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 40:28; John 5:26). Thus the verse furnishes the ontological bedrock for every later biblical statement that God “lives forever and ever” (Revelation 10:6). Eternality—Past, Present, Future The verb tense nuance embraces “He was, He is, He will be.” Scripture repeatedly echoes this tri-temporal sweep: • “From everlasting to everlasting You are God” (Psalm 90:2). • “I, the LORD, do not change” (Malachi 3:6). • “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Exodus 3:14 thus becomes the fountainhead for the biblical portrayal of God’s timelessness. The Name YHWH—Manuscript and Archaeological Support Immediately after verse 14, God says, “This is My name forever” (v. 15). YHWH appears over 6,800 times in the Hebrew Bible. Early witnesses include: • 4QExod c from Qumran (c. 150 BC) preserving Exodus 3 with the Tetragrammaton written in paleo-Hebrew script. • The Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls (late 7th century BC) quoting Numbers 6:24-26 with YHWH. • Sinai and Negev inscriptions such as those at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud (c. 800 BC) reading “YHWH of Teman” and “YHWH of Samaria,” corroborating usage of the divine name within the time frame Exodus portrays. These lines of evidence reinforce the antiquity and consistency of the revelation “I AM.” Septuagint Bridge to the New Testament The Greek translators rendered ʾehyeh ʾăšer ʾehyeh as ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, “I am the One who is.” John’s Gospel adopts the same emphatic ἐγώ εἰμι in Jesus’ declarations (“Before Abraham was, I AM” – John 8:58). By lifting the Exodus formula, the New Testament proclaims Christ’s co-eternal, divine status, climaxing in His bodily resurrection attested by multiple early, independent sources (1 Corinthians 15:3-8; the early creed dated within five years of the cross). Philosophical Corroboration: Necessary Being The cosmological argument observes that all contingent entities require a sufficient cause. An infinite regress of causes is impossible, therefore a Necessary Being—unbounded, unconditioned, eternal—must exist. Exodus 3:14 provides the personal identification of that Necessary Being. Modern cosmology’s discovery that space-time had a finite beginning (Big Bang singularity) aligns with Genesis 1:1 and underscores the need for a timeless First Cause who proclaims “I AM.” Miraculous Continuity Exodus 3 inaugurates a cascade of signs—plagues, Red Sea crossing—that climax in Christ’s resurrection. Documented contemporary healings (e.g., peer-reviewed medically verified remission of severe juvenile macular degeneration at Lourdes, 2002) exhibit the unbroken continuum of the “living God” (Jeremiah 10:10) who still declares “I AM.” Conclusion Exodus 3:14 shapes the biblical, theological, philosophical, and experiential conviction that God is eternally self-existent. Every subsequent revelation, miracle, prophecy, and scientific observation consistent with a designed cosmos resounds with the same voice that spoke from the burning bush: “I AM.” |
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