"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. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Exo. 3:14-15). This was God’s response to Moses’ question about what he should say to the Israelites if they asked about the name of the God of their forefathers when he told them that the God of their forefathers had sent him to them. God told Moses that He is "I am that I am" (i.e., Jehovah), which means the self-existing and the ever-existing One. It was Jehovah who had sent Moses. What was His name? His name was "I am that I am." Who had sent Moses? The "I am" had sent him.
I am! I am that I am! Brothers and sisters, do you see the preciousness in this name? I feel its preciousness particularly today. I am... I am... I am... How wonderful! I am... Do you realize that God is...? God’s Word is most amazing. What He says is most amazing, and what He has not said is also most amazing. What God has fully said is amazing, and what He has not fully said is also amazing. What He has spelled out is most amazing, and what He has only half-uttered is also most amazing. What God has said forthrightly is amazing, and what He has said hesitantly is also most amazing. Here God does not say fully what He is. He merely says that He is... This implies that there is something not yet said. The "I am" has sent Moses. On that day Moses received God’s revelation.
If God adds the word power to the words I am, then He is not love. If He adds love to the first words, then He is only love and not power, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, comfort, protection, a high tower, and shelter. God only says that He is, without saying what He is. This allows those who believe in Him to add in other terms; actually, they are not terms, they are spiritual realities! We can add in whatever we want by faith. If we have the need and faith, we can add whatever we need to the words God is and receive God’s answer to our need. If we need comfort, God is our comfort. If we need a shelter, God is our shelter. If we need a high tower, God is our high tower. If we need victory, God is our victory. If we need holiness, God is our holiness. If we need a way, God is our way (John 14:6). If we need light, God is our light. If we need the bread of life, God is our bread of life. Whatever you need can be added to His name. We should not have any doubt. We can add whatever we want to His name.
This is like a checkbook with signatures on all the checks. When the checkbook is given to you, you can put in whatever amount you want. If you tear out one check and write one thousand on it, you will have one thousand. If you write ten thousand on it, you will have ten thousand. Since someone has signed them, all you have to do is write what you need on one of them. Many people do not know God, and many people do not know Jehovah. I feel that the length, the breath, the height, and the depth of this name are sufficient to include everything.
After seeing this, it is no wonder that those who know God say that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, and the righteous runs into it and is safe (Prov. 18:10). After we understand the meaning of this name, we will proclaim with David that "And those who know Your name put their trust in You" (Psa. 9:10). Because the Old Testament saints knew God’s name as Jehovah, they were able to pray, "For the sake of Your name, O Jehovah, / Pardon my iniquity, for it is great" (25:11); "save me, O God, by thy name" (54:1); "do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake" (109:21). They also proclaimed, "Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us" (44:5); "He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake" (23:3); "I will lift up my hands in thy name" (63:4). This is why they could praise, saying, "According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise" (48:10); "in thy name shall they rejoice all the day" (89:16); "sing unto God, sing praises to his name...his name JAH" (68:4). God Himself also declared, "I will set him on high, because he hath known my name" (91:14).
God’s name reveals God Himself. God’s name is the foundation of our faith. If we can enter the reality of God’s name in the power of the Holy Spirit, extraordinary things can be accomplished through God’s name.
Some are ignorant about this matter; they think that Jehovah is God’s revelation in the Old Testament and wonder if we can enjoy the benefit of this name in the New Testament. We thank God! Jehovah in the Old Testament is the Jesus in the New Testament. The meaning of Jesus is Jehovah our Savior.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He admitted that He was the Jehovah in the Old Testament. He said, "Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24). In this verse the Lord Jesus tells us that He is the "I am."
A little later He said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am" (v. 28). "Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am" (v. 58). The Lord Jesus clearly said that He was Jehovah. The Jews understood what this meant; therefore, "they picked up stones to throw at Him" (v. 59).
We can rejoice because our Lord Jesus is the I am. He is! He is everything for our sake. He is the I am! He says of Himself that He is the life, He is the resurrection, He is the light of the world, He is the bread of life, and He is the good shepherd. We can derive all kinds of supply from the Lord’s name. Once we have His name, we have everything. We thank the Lord that He has given this name to us.
(Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 1) Vol. 09: The Present Testimony (2), Chapter 5, by Watchman Nee)