Greeting
Good morning. It is a great joy to be with you this morning. The words to which I shall like to call your attention to are found in the book of Exodus, the third chapter, verses 1-15. Our scripture text this morning will be verse 14. In a sermon titled: Who is God? Examining the doctrine of God.
Hear the word of the living God.
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”3 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”
Exodus 3:1-15, ESV
Introduction
Dear Congregation. Last week, we started a series on the major doctrines of the Bible, beginning with the doctrine of the word of God and examined that the Bible is the word of God because all scripture is God breathed and God has revealed himself and the gospel of Jesus Christ in the holy scripture. Since God has revealed himself, we now come to the question:
Who is God? What is His nature and attributes?
Our God is the God of the Bible who has revealed himself in the Old and New Testaments. Our God is the covenant keeping God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Our God is YHWH. Our God is the LORD. Our God is Spirit. Our God is the I AM. The self-existing one. Our God is who He is. He is all of his attributes. He isn’t merely loving. He is love. Our God is holy, holy, holy. Our God is Trinity: One God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our God is Christ crucified, resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, who is ruling and reigning, as king of kings and will return on the last day to consummate his kingdom forever and ever.
Dear children, Who is God? The children’s catechism says:
God is a Spirit and does not have a body like men. How many gods are there? here is but only one God, the living and true God. In how many persons does this one God exist? Three. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit.
Our Baptist forefathers wrote, “The Lord our God is but one only living and true God;1 whose subsistence is in and of Himself,2 infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;3 a most pure spirit,4 invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;5 who is immutable,6 immense,7 eternal,8 incomprehensible, almighty,9 every way infinite, most holy,10 most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will,11 for His own glory;12 most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,13 and withal most just and terrible in His judgments,14 hating all sin,15 and who will by no means clear the guilty.16”
Why should we know who God is?
The first question of the Westminster Catechism is: “What is the chief and highest end of man?” For the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. How can you glorify God if you don’t know him? We need to know who God is to know ourselves. John Calvin said there’s two parts to knowledge. The knowledge of God and the knowledge of man. But we cannot know ourselves unless we know who God is. If you know who God is, you can know who God is not. This helps us from being confused by the secular worldviews around us.
The fool says in his heart there is no God. This is the atheist which leaves man in meaningless despair. The agnostic says they don’t know who God is even though they do because Romans 1 says everyone knows God exists. The Hindu says there are many thousands of gods which is idolatry. The cults like Mormonism say there are an infinite number of gods and you can become one with your own planet if your good enough. The Jehovah’s witnesses say Jesus isn’t God and he’s just a created being who cannot save anyone. Islam says Allah is god and maybe he will be merciful to you if you do enough good deeds or maybe he won’t. Pantheists want god to be impersonal forces so there are no ethical consequences. Panintheists says God is the tree. Deists say God wound up the universe like a clock and just lets it tick indifferent to anything that happens. Marxists and Communists think the totalitarian state is god. But that has let to genocide and millions dead. The god of popular psychology exists solely to comfort you. The god of American in-name only Christianity is money and the praise of man. Paul says the god of the world is Satan and has blinded the mind of unbelievers.
Lastly, we need to know who God is for the salvation of our souls. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3. What an awful and terrible thing to hear, depart from me I never knew you.
1. God is our personal, covenant keeping God.
Let’s look at verse 6: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6). God has revealed himself to Moses as the covenant keeping God of the Patriarchs. This is the God that called Abraham and told him he would make him a great nation. He was faithful to his promise and provided Isaac as a son in old age. This is the God that provided a ram as a substitute instead of sacrificing Isaac. This is the God Jacob wrestled with. This is the God that used Joseph to preserve his people from famine in Egypt, whmo now several generations later find themselves in slavery in Egypt.
This brings us to Exodus 3. How will this covenant keeping God deliver his people from slavery from the mighty hand of Pharaoh the most powerful ruler on the face of the earth? Moses enters the scene. Now 80 years old. In the desert as a shepherd. Once a prince of Egypt. Not a word about Moses delivering God’s people prior but he’s been preparing him his whole life. Now at 80 years old, God appears to him in a burning bush (v. 3), and Moses is afraid. God tells Moses I will send you to Pharoah that you may bring my people out of Egypt (v. 10). Then Moses asks a bunch of questions that on the surface seem like he is just asking questions to understand but by the end he appears to be making excuses.
“Who am I that I bring my people out of Egypt” (v. 11). Afterall Egypt is the most powerful nation in all the earth?
“If I come to my people and say that God of your fathers has sent me and they ask what is his name what should I say to them?” (v. 13)
“But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice” (v. 4:1).
“But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh my Lord am not eloquent and slow of speech.” (v. 4:10)
“Oh My Lord please send someone else.” (v. 4:13)
In verse 12 God tells Moses: “But I will be with you…” (v. 12).
Jesus Christ did not question the Father and say who am I? I am not eloquent enough. Who am I to go to the Cross? Who am I to conquer Satan? Jesus did not run away from the cross. Jesus went to the cross to fulfill the new covenant. This is the covenant of my blood poured out for you. The covenant that promises I will be your God and you will be my people. What are you afraid of this morning? Children: What if I don’t have any friends? Am I going to make good enough grades? God says I will be with you. Dear congregation. The difficult trial? God will be with you. Will I be alone? God will be with you. What will happen during this illness? God will be with you. God cannot use me I’m too old. Moses was 80 years old. God will be with you. God’s not done with His church. Jesus said I will be with you to the end of the age! I will never no never leave or forsake you. Can you say with the psalmist? “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear know evil, because you are with me”. Psalm 23
2. God is our Lord
“15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever…”
Who is God? God is the LORD. God is YHWH. This is his name forever.vChrist identified himself as the Lord, the one who’s always exists, who appeared to Moses, for he said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (“ego eime) (John 8:58). Jesus Christ is Lord; He is the eternal word made flesh. He is YWHW incarnate.vJesus said he is the “I AM”. I am the bread of life (John 6:35). I am the light of the world (John 8:12). I am the door (John 10:7). I am the good shepherd (John 10:11). “I am the way the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Martha said, I know Lazarus will rise again in the resurrection. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life!” (John 11:25)
When we were enslaved to sin, when you were in slavery in Egypt. When you were in bondage, held by the grip of sin. When the Pharaoh of this world system mastered over your soul. God did not send Moses. God sent the LORD Jesus Christ, He sent the I AM to deliver you. God sent the I AM to us to set us free from sin forever by conquering the grave as king of kings and Lord of Lords. Friend, do you know the LORD? Do you know Jesus Christ the great I am? Is Jesus the LORD of your life? Who is the name of your god? If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart Jesus Christ is LORD you will be saved.
3. God is His Attributes
Beginning with self-existence – Let’s look at verse 13, where Moses asks God: “If they ask me what is his name? what shall I say to them.” (v. 13b) God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”
I am is a declaration of self-existence. It is in the first person (“I am”). It means to be. To exist. God has independent or self-existence. God is a se, “from himself”. It means God’s existence is not dependent upon anything outside of Himself. God had no cause of existence. He has always been. God is eternal. “From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.” (Psalm 90:2)
God is holy – Let’s look at Exodus 3:5: When Moses approached the burning bush, the Lord command him to come no closer, “for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). Moses stood on holy ground because he was in the presence of the holy God. What does holy mean? In Hebrews the word is qadosh in Greek it is hagios. The meaning is set apart or sanctified. God is transcendent above all creation. God is set apart for His glory. To be holy is to be pure and sacred. To be set against what is unclean. His holiness is morally righteous. In God there is no darkness at all.
God is good – God’s goodness means He is morally upright. Moses hid in the cleft of the rock upon the mountain and when God passed in a cloud of glory, God said He is “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands (Ex. 34:6) Jesus said, there is no one good but God alone.
God is righteous – “when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (v. 12) This is where he gave Moses the 10 commandments. You see God brings his people out of slavery to serve Him. He brought us out of slavery of sin to serve him. Are you serving God or living a self-focused life?
“The Lord loves righteousness” (Psalm 11:7). God will only do right. God’s law is righteous. God says you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make a graven image. You shall not take the name of the Lord our God in vain. Honor the sabbath and keep it holy. Honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not lie. You shall not covet. But you break God’s righteous law every day. So what are you going to do? Cling to Jesus Christ. Why? Praise be to God that Jesus Christ kept the righteousness of the law every moment for you. The imputed righteousness of Christ is what justifies us by faith.
God is compassionate – God heard the cry of His people in Egypt and have compassion for them. (v.7) God is merciful. He doesn’t give us what we deserve. “It is the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. God’s mercies are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23)
God is faithful – He remembered his covenant. If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
God is gracious – He shows unmerited favor toward Moses. Moses was a murder. He shows grace to us. “By grace you have been saved through faith alone. It is not of works that any should boast.”
God is justice – God swept Pharaohs army into the sea. God is perfectly just and hates unequal weights. There are 470 references to God’s wrath in the Bible. God will punish the wicked. “God is angry with the wicked every day.” Psalm 7:11.
I know it’s so called pride month.vThe culture worships it. Tolerance of so called pride is not love. Pride is not virtue, it is vice. God hates the pride of man. God hates the sin of homosexuality. It’s an abomination. “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Lev. 18:22 We do not bend the knee to Sodom. We call them to repentance. There will be a final judgement. Wickedness was swept away by the flood. The final judgement in hell will be much worse because it will display the wrath of God against all that is evil forever and ever. God’s wrath was displayed on the cross when he poured out this same holy judgement for our sin upon Christ. Christ’s work was a propitiation, a satisfaction, of the wrath of God. We are not saved from loneliness or discomfort. We are saved from the wrath of God.
God is all knowing and all wise. Open Theism suggests that God does not know the future of what is going to happen. Do you think that when God called Moses, God did not know what was going to happen? For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth (Romans 9). God knew all along because it was his purpose from before the world to glorify his name in all the earth. God says, “My counsel will stand, and I will do all my pleasure,” (Isaiah 46:10). The cross of Christ was planned and purposed for your redemption. By his infinite wisdom, God orchestrated those evil men, “to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28)
I talked to someone this week when I asked him who is Jesus? He said whoever you want him to be. Dear ones, this generation is confused and lost. I’m afraid they do not know who God is. I got to share with him who Jesus is and shared the gospel. We need to know who God is so we can worship him in spirit and in truth! If they ask us what is his name? What are we going to say? We are not going to give them a shallow man-centered God. We are going to tell them who Jesus Christ really is. We are not going to cower and bow the knee to the culture. We are not going to compromise on preaching and teaching who God is and what he commands.
God is love – God is not merely loving, “God is love” (1 John 4). God’s love does not mean love is God like the world thinks. Love is not God. God is Love. And God is Holy. God’s love is holy. God’s love is shared in relationship between all three members of the trinity and in communion with you. “The father loves the Son.” “The father said this is my beloved Son.” The Son loves the father by obeying the father’s will. God’s love is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. There are different types of love in the Bible. God has a benevolent love or a common grace toward all creation. But he has a specific special electing love, the agape self-sacrificial love for His people, the church, that he does not have for everyone. The love that the father had for you before the world was made.
4. God is Trinity
Trinity means “Tri” or Three. Three persons There are three divine persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God said let us (in the plural) make man in our own image. In the baptism account we see all three persons of the trinity, the father says this is my beloved son with whom I’m well pleased, the Son is baptized, and the Holy Spirit descends on Him like a dove. Jesus said to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28).
There is One God. God is One – “The Lord our God is one LORD” Deut. 6:4 There are no gods but him. All his attributes are one in Him and God is not made up of parts. God is not partly love and partly justice. He is fully love and fully just. All his divine perfections are identical to His essence. We see this most clearly on the cross.
Behold your God dear ones. Jesus Christ crucified! The great I AM nailed to the cross. When the soldiers asked if he was Jesus, He said “I AM” and they fell to the ground. The place where you stand is hold ground at the feet of Jesus. Look at your God! Moses was afraid to look at God, but God could not look upon the Son on the cross. He was forsaken. God heard the cry of Israel in slavery and sent Moses to deliver them. But when Christ cried out “My God, who have you forsaken me?”, there was no answer. There was no deliver. The Father slew to the redeemer for the redeemed. He endured the full wrath of God to deliver you. That’s the justice of God. That’s the love of God. That’s the holiness of God. That’s the covenant faithfulness of God. God didn’t deliver Israel; Jesus saved the whole Church!
If my people say, “what is your name” What is His name?” His name is Jesus Christ! Our Lord. The I AM. This is His name forever. He will be remembered through all generations. The pride of man will be brought to nothing. The wicked will be wiped off the face of the earth. Be warned oh kings of the earth. Kiss the Son lest he be angry. It’s not Moses who is coming to deliver us from the world, Dear Ones. God is sending his resurrected, exalted, son, the great I AM, YHWH us going to return and crush the pharaohs of this world. He will make all his enemies a footstool under his feet. Behold I AM is coming soon.
Who is God? “I am who I am.”
Benediction
“24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever”.
Amen.
