I Am

This aspect of the name is brought out in the book of Isaiah, where God announces multiple times “I am he” in texts that accentuate his underived identity, self-sufficiency, and sovereign power (Is 41: 4; 43: 13; 43: 25; 46: 4; 48: 12; 51: 12). In the Septuagint, the name is translated ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν (I am he who is), which then influences relevant New Testament material. Jesus invokes the divine name to express his eternal existence: “Before Abraham was born, I am” (Jn 8: 58). God calls himself “the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is coming” (ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος) (Rev 1: 8; cf. Rev 1: 4; 4: 8; 11: 17; 16: 5). If the divine name in canonical perspective conveys not only that the God of Israel is faithful to his people but also that he is the one, underived, abundant, and eternal God, then it is rightly included in a biblical rationale for commending the doctrine of divine aseity.

 

Steven Duby. God in Himself (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2019), 14