The Nugget:
Exodus 3:14 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)
Exodus 3:13 Moses answered, “I will tell the people of Israel that the God their ancestors worshiped has sent me to them. But what should I say, if they ask me your name?”
Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses: I am the eternal God. So tell them that the LORD, whose name is “I Am,” has sent you. This is my name forever, and it is the name that people must use from now on. (CEV)
My Comment:
Getting back to the series I promised regarding the attributes of God, Exodus 3:14 teaches us that God possesses the attribute of (2) Self Existence. Thus, God never had a beginning. He has always existed. No one made God, no one created God. He is self-existent.
In this Exodus passage, notice particularly that in answer to the question posed by Moses regarding what he should tell the people God’s name is, the answer God gave says I AM THAT I AM. This expression, therefore, logically must be one of the names of God. This pretty well dismisses the fraudulent claim of the Jehovah Witnesses that God has only one name, and that all the rest are just titles. This expression, I AM THAT I AM, is explicitly given by God Himself as His own name in answer to the question from Moses.
Notice also that this Name God has given Himself renders moot the questions frequently posed by atheists, “But where did God come from?” or, “If God is the First Cause, who Caused God?” Should it be true that God is the First Cause, that hardly argues that He had to be caused Himself. God is Necessary Being. All else in the universe is contingent being. Everything else in the universe was caused. God is uncaused.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 73 for Exodus 3:14.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 86 or in Logos 5 or 6 Bible software for Exodus 3:14.
(3) Consult the cross references given in the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 39 for Exodus 3:14.
(3) Most people today do not have access to those three resources, so I have posted cross references for this passage as I have developed them even more completely for your study as given below:
Exodus 3:14. I AM THAT I AM. ver. Ex 3:13. Ex 23:21. Dt 28:58. Ps 50:21. *Ps 102:26n. +*Ml 3:6. **Jn 5:26. 2 Cor 1:19. 1 Tim 6:16. He 1:12. I AM hath. ver. Ex 3:6. Ex 6:3. Jb 11:7. +*Ps 68:4. 90:2. Is 44:6. +*Ml 3:6. Mt 18:20. 28:20. **Jn 8:58. 2 Cor 1:20. *He 13:8. *Re 1:4, 8, 17. 4:8. 16:5.