The World Has a Loose Definition of God
Before God sent Moses to the Hebrews in Egypt Moses asked “…when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? [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.” (Exodus 3:13-14)
Throughout history, humanity has invented countless gods—the god of the sun, the god of the moon, the god of the sea, and many others. However, the God of Israel distinguishes Himself from all these gods known to the Jews of that time by offering a profound and philosophical definition of His nature in the Torah.
The God of Israel is defined without reference: “I AM THAT I AM.” This sets Him apart from all other gods the Israelites encountered among the nations.
God is not defined by comparison to anything else; He defines Himself through His own existence and acts, independent of any external reference.
For God to be truly Almighty, He must exist without the need for any reference outside of Himself. If He required an external reference, He would not be God Almighty, as true divinity necessitates self-sufficiency and independence from all external sources.
The God of Israel differentiates Himself from the thousands of pagan gods, who often exist within a hierarchy of gods above and below them. But the God of Israel declares, “I AM THAT I AM,” affirming His existence without external references. To truly be God, the definition of God must be one of self-existence and eternal independence, outside of the constraints of time and creation. He is “HOLY,” meaning separate and distinct from creation.
