It shouldn’t surprise us that sinful mankind, without God’s Holy Spirit always tries to leave God out of the picture. Some of them go out of their way to try and disprove the existence of God. But they are fighting a losing battle for the centre of history and indeed this whole cosmos is the “I AM,” the uncreated, eternal Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Scripture begins with this central truth (Gen 1:1) that God has always been. God’s eternity is taught throughout Scripture and perhaps no more clearly when He commissioned Moses to bring God’s people out of Egyptian slavery. “God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM’ (YAHWEH)… Tell them, “I AM” has sent me to you.” God’s enslaved people needed to realize that the eternal, uncreated God, who was also the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is going to save them out of slavery (Exo 3:14ff). The great “I AM” didn’t begin to exist in the burning bush, or at creation, but has always been and will be forever and to Him goes the glory.
The “I AM” is the centre of the universe and beyond. The centre of the whole biblical story of creation, the ‘fall’, redemption history, salvation for sinners in Christ, their calling, justification, sanctification and glorification. is about the “I AM” and what He has done, is doing and still promises to do, all to His glory.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God will not give His glory to another (Isa 42:8). Hence it is our responsibility to ensure that God gets the glory and not us. Even unregenerate man can know that God exists from what He has made and can give Him glory. The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1). His divine nature and eternal power are for all to see (Romans 1:20).
Sadly, less and less is heard about the centrality of God’s existence and the glory due to Him. We live in an age where we have become so good at using evangelical Christianity, that God almost becomes an ‘add-on’ to the story of creation and our redemption, rather than being the centre of it to His glory. So often our Christian talk slips into becoming all about ‘us’ and our actions, rather than the glory of God. Yes, it is great and very necessary to know what the “I AM” has done for us in Christ, and our response to it, absolutely. But even our response is not about us and our glory, but God’s glory as He works salvation in us. Let us never forget, that the “I AM” came to us in the person of His Son, lived among us, sacrificed himself on the cross for us, so that believing in Him, living thankful obedient lives, we can share in “I AM’s” eternal glory. This is why the whole cosmos is giving praise and honour and glory to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb (Rev 5). JZ