Text: Genesis 15 & 17:1-7
Subject: God I AM
Theme: 1) I Am in Genesis: “A Relational God”

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• With this sermon, I want to start a series on God most known name “I AM” with the title “The Great I AM”. As we will see in the following sermons, God’s unique name I AM expresses actually various divine attributes and characters of God. We find the I AM already in the very beginning of the Bible. It goes through the Old Testament. Finally, Jesus tells us in reference to himself about the 7 I AM indicating to the fact that He is God. In the I AM of Jesus we see again 7 different characteristics, found and fulfilled in Jesus.

• The purpose of this series of sermons on the God “I AM” is to let us see deeper who God is in order that we can fully depend on Him and Trust in Him in all situations of life.

• As we have just read in Genesis 15 & 17 we find the I AM immediately at the beginning of the Bible. It becomes very obvious that the “I AM” is God’s personal name and distinctive identification. In the normal language usage, then I am (not capitalized) stands for anything we describe ourselves (I am happy, I am tired, I am red, etc.). But here with the capitalized letter, it is not only a description of all that God is, but it is God’s unique name.

• In Genesis, the “I AM” is revealed as the creator of the heaven and the earth. It is very clear that the “I AM” is before everything and is the cause of everything.

• However, there is an even more important emphasis of the I AM in the book of Genesis and the Pentateuch. It is the emphasis on God being the covenant maker with Abraham for all nations. In John 8:58 we read the words of Jesus about the covenant with Abraham: “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” Jesus confesses hear clearly that He is a part of the Godhead. Jesus was already in the I AM at the time of creation. Jesus is the I AM as he is God. And the “I AM” was before Abraham.

• This tells us that it is the I AM that has the full authority over all life. It is the I AM that can reach out to man and can make a covenant with man. And it is the I AM that makes a covenant with Abraham for all nations. God is the I AM for Abraham throughout the patriarchal narrative. We see in Genesis concerning the I AM the following truth:

Prop.: In the I AM we find God’s relational focus with man!

• In this sermon, we want to look at the relational aspect of the I AM as seen in the book of Genesis. This is very important for us to see. Because when we think of God, our first concept is, first of all, a higher being far away and not having anything to do with us. We feel a distance between us and God. It is very difficult to imagine that we can have a relationship with God. It is even more too difficult to imagine that God wants to have a relationship with me.

• But exactly this relationship is so important and vital for us. Let us look into the just read texts of Genesis 15 & 17 in order to learn how God’s I AM is determining and making His relationship with us.

I. God’s, I AM initiate His covenant with us (Genesis 17:1-7)

• When we look at the beginning of the life of Abram, one actually gets the impression, that he had not yet much knowledge of God, let alone any deeper relationship with God. It seems that Abram believed that there was God, but he did not know God very well. Still when God called him in Genesis 12 to leave his country, he followed God and left his own family and country. Going on that journey with God, he starts to get to know God better and better. God is more and more revealing himself to Abram.

• Then we read about the powerful encounter of Abram with God in Genesis 17:1-2: I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.

◦ The first and most important point is that God is the Almighty God: “I AM God Almighty”. There is no one else like God, as powerful and mighty. God is the almighty.
◦ It is from the almightiness of God that the “I AM” is making a covenant with Abraham. He is making a personal covenant with Abram. It is a covenant to a deep and inner relationship with God, a relationship as we can see with husband and wife. It is a relationship with a great outcome. It is the promise that Abram will be multiplied greatly. And this is grounded in God’s almightiness.

• We can see that also in Genesis 35:11 when God reconfirms His covenant of Abraham with Jacob: I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. Starting with Abraham God went into a covenant and deep relationship with him, which continues to all following generations.

• When we read further in Genesis 17 we read how God’s covenant and relationship with Abram looks like.

◦ In verse 4 we see that it is God’s covenant with Abram. God is initiating this covenant. It is God’s wish and desire to have a relationship with Abram. God has wished that already at the creation of man. It is a part of the I AM. God is a God of relationship with man.
◦ God’s covenant with Abram has quite an implication: Abram will be the father of many nations (v.4), his name will be changed from Abram to Abraham (v.5), He will make him very fruitful (v.6), he will make him a nation and many kings will come from him (v.6), He will make an eternal covenant with Abraham (v.7).

• Verse 7 is very important verse, because we see the impact of God’s covenant with Abraham to us: I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. Also, we are included in the relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Even though the covenant was not yet perfect in the Old Testament, it became perfect and finalized in Jesus Christ, when he died on the cross for you and me. Jesus died for us so that we can have a full relationship with God. He died because God wanted to have with you and me a relationship.

• Even though God is not visible for us and feels that He is far away from us, He is here and wants to have a relationship with you and me. He has made His covenant through Jesus with us, so that we can enter a relationship with the almighty God. It is through the Almighty God only, that the new covenant through Jesus for us was created. It is in his almightiness that Jesus initiated the relationship with us. As we see the I AM of God, we should know that He wants to be with us in a deep and inner and eternal relationship. God is a relational God.

II. God’s I AM expresses His divine protection of us (Genesis 15:1-6)

• As it is very clear in the I AM, God is the one that initiates any relationship with us and establishes His covenant of Jesus with us. It is not us that tried to get into a relationship with God, it is Jesus who invites us to such a relationship. Everyone has that chance and receives the invitation to a relationship with Him. But it is up to us if we accept to get into such a relationship or not. God is not forcing us into a relationship with Him, but He is inviting us to Jesus

• However, God is not only initiating a relationship with us, He is also protecting it and us in it, as we can read in Genesis 15:1: After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

• We see here in this verse that Abraham was afraid. I was not only afraid, but fear was ruling his life. We can be afraid, but fear should never rule our life. That Abraham was being ruled by fear we see already in Genesis 12:10-20. It is the incident when Abraham came down to Egypt because there was a famine in the land. He was very much afraid of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Fear ruled him so much that he made a plan to tell the people that his beautiful wife Sarah was his sister. He was afraid that they would kill him. Thus, he started to lie. To be afraid is human. But when fear is ruling us we make even evil plans to get out of the situation. We especially start to lie and not to tell the truth anymore. We see that with Abraham. But God interfered and brought forth the truth about Sarah to the Egyptians. However, the fear stayed with Abraham, especially also by all the outer circumstances and happenings.

• And here comes God telling Abraham that he should not fear. The reason for that was that God was his shield: A shield is a powerful tool to protect any soldier or policeman. We maybe have already seen, how the police build up shields where they can hide behind when demonstrators throw with stones or even with Molotov cocktails. It is the shield that protects the policemen from any injury. However, it is a weak picture compared to God shields. With God shield, nothing can happen to us. It guarantees 100% protection.

• God protects also our relationship with him. When we read further in chapter 15 we see that Abraham was concerned that he will not have an heir. But God promises him that his offspring will be like the stars in the sky. God tells him that in the relationship with Him, He will bless Abraham in all. Abraham’s relationship with God is in such a way protected that it will bear fruit in life.

• The same promise God makes to Abraham’s son Isaac in Genesis 26:24, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” It seems that also Isaac was fighting with fear as his father did. But also to him, it was promised that he will be fruitful. In Isaac’s deepest fear God gives his promises.

• Probably you are not sure what a relationship with God will bring in life. Will it actually bring trouble? Will I be excluded from my friends around me? What do I need to bear for Jesus? We are not promised to be without trouble in a relationship with Jesus. In fact, trouble is actually promised to those that follow Jesus. But we are promised to have a strong and secure shield in our relationship with God. God is our shield and we should not fear. The God I AM expresses the shield for our life, the full protection for our life, especially before falling into the eternal death. God truly protects our lives.

III. God’s I AM assures His guidance to us (Genesis 15:7-21)

• God is not only a shield but the Lord who guides us. God’s I AM assures His guidance to us. Often, we think we have to find our way of life. But it is actually God who wants to guide us. We only have to trust our Lord and let Him guide us. We can do so because he is the I AM

• Illustration: Think for a moment of a marriage. I am not sure how it is in your culture, but in most cultures, it is like this that the man as a stronger part of the marriage is the one leading the woman. The woman is depending on the husband and follows him as the husband for the best he can. My wife Johanna comes from the Finnish culture, where man and woman are very independent of each other and everyone stands for his own. When we got married my wife said to me that actually, she finds it nice to just lean on me and be guided. This doesn’t mean that she has not her own plan and will too. But in the general matters of our married life, she is very happy that I take care of the things and she can just depend on me.

• It is the same with our relationship with God. God wants to direct us. We just need to trust Him. And we can fully trust Him because He is the Lord. He is the I AM.

• We see that also again in Abraham’s life. God says in Genesis 15:7 to Abraham: I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess. We see how the Lord was guiding Abraham on all his steps. It is the Lord who brought him out. Furthermore, the Lord gives him the Land for possession. However, again Abraham doubted and asked God that how he could take possession of the Land. And God illustrates it to him. He tells him even what will happen with the people of Israel for 400 years in the land of Egypt. We see how God has everything prepared. Nothing is by chance or accident. It is all in God’s plan and guidance.

• Again, later God tells the same to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham and reminds him of His promise of guidance. Genesis 46:3: I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.” What God promised to Abraham, he fulfilled in the next generation in Jacob’s life and the people of Israel.

• Often, we are not aware how God is actually guiding our daily life in the smallest details. That is what God is doing in a relationship with us. He wants to take care of us and guide us every step of our life. In an issue and matter, we can come to our Lord and seek His guidance. He guides us through the Holy Spirit. Even when we do not realize anything God is guiding us. As we speak of the God I Am we speak of the one that is guiding our life when we are in a relationship with Jesus.

Conclusion

• Immediately in the first book of the Bible, we find God’s name I AM. In the I AM in Genesis we find God’s relational focus with a man! We could see how God as the I AM is initiating a covenantal relationship with us, how He expresses His divine protection in that relationship and how He assures His guidance of our life.
• As God wanted to make a covenant with Abraham, he wants to make a personal covenant with you through Jesus Christ. God wants to have a deep and inner relationship with you, in which He protects you and guides you. Only if you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior in your life, you enter that great covenant of God. As you then walk with God, grow in Him and seek Him, you will experience the Lord’s guidance and protection of your life.
• God is the great I AM with the central focus of an intimate relationship with you. Amen.