The International Arts Movement is a the name given to a small grassroots movement that began 16 years ago. But it is also the name of an organization that I work with here in New York. And to tell the truth, they have found the perfect name for their mission in an acronym – IAM. This is my favorite name for God.
What I am about to say here may not represent the International Arts Movement, the organization. Just keep that in mind.
I have heard teachings in Christendom that knowing God’s name is important. That God revealed His name that we might know Him personally.
And while I can agree with these teachings on some levels, I have reached a point of disagreement about God’s name that I don’t hear many Christians talk about. I don’t believe God really has a name at all. Nor does He want one. I believe God would rather be known than be given a proper name. From philosophical circles who have returned from relativism to a knowing of God, you will hear references made to “the Other.” From twelve step circles, you will hear references made to a “Higher Power.” And though I consider these philosophical references for God enlightening, they are dim comparisons when held up to the testimony of a meek man who came face to face with I AM.
When Moses had the mind bending encounter with the Living God at a burning bush, Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”
I have the theory that God was not so much revealing His proper name to Moses as He was saying, “You are not to use names to subject me. I am not to be named as you have named the animals and named your idols. I simply exist. Before you existed, I AM. But since your question is valid, satisfy the people with this. I AM is the name by which I am to be remembered.”
If I have to use a name for God, I choose this one. What could possibly describe the essence of God more profoundly? And it comes packed with a lot of philosophical punch!
I – God is personable and knowable
(space) – God is present inside and outside time and space
AM – God is active and alive
God is the first Subject and the first Verb
Before the universe existed, God IS
When the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus and subject him to their game for religious control, they name dropped in a way saying, “We are children of ABRAHAM.” What they were saying is, “We have the identity of God with us. We know His name. Top that. How dare you act like you know God better than we do!” And Jesus replied with the ultimate comeback to offend their religiosity, “Before Abraham was born, I AM.” This infuriated them so much, they tried to kill him right then and there.
We are so tempted to think we know God. We name Him so we can contain Him. And though God is knowable, He is not knowable in that sense. To use a C.S. Lewis illustration, God is like an infinite sea of water. We can take a vessel (like a pail) and contain the nature of God. We could then say, “This here is God.” And we would be right. We can know God as he is contained in the pail. But God is in no way completely contained in the pail. God is infinately more than what could ever know of Him through our limited vessels.
This is one of the problems I have with how some Christians insist on over-using the name of Jesus. They seem to use the name as a means of controlling God. If you say, “In the name of JESUS,” then you can expect results. But be careful that this naming of Jesus in not a form of dishonesty and presumption. Because it does not matter that you know God’s incarnate name. What matters is that God knows your name. Everyone knows who the president is. The real question is, does the president know who you are?
And this is precisely how Jesus says He will respond to presumptuous religious people who name drop. Speaking of the final day of reckoning, Jesus said,”Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Wait. Let me get this straight. A group of people gathered together in the name of Jesus can point to such deeds as great preaching, driving out evil, and even performing miracles, and the Son of God could consider them as doers of evil? Wow. Now that should be a sobering thought. Which makes it reasonable to say that many gatherings in America today done in the name of Jesus could be doing “more harm that good.”
Throw rocks at me if you dare. But many of the assemblies I have witnessed in the Bible Belt were doing things in God’s name that were not reflective of the character of God that I know. Gatherings in a name can be little more than “Jesus Camps” to indoctrinate the participants in an illusion that they are changing the world in God’s honor. Whether or not a subculture that denies the value of self criticism and critical thinking can bring honor to His name, only God can judge. If you haven’t seen the revealing documentary called Jesus Camp, I highly recommend it (but watch the director’s commentary to get a more complete story). It is an excellent example of how a gathering in the name of Jesus under sincere intentions for good can still inflict great harm. While gatherers can be oblivious to the harm being done, it is a blessing to receive an outsider’s honest perspective.
The point again is this. To claim we know God’s name does not validate we are doing His business. What matters is that God knows our name. We can do all the right things and put a Jesus label on it. But that does not mean that we are executing the will of the Creator of the universe. And I think in America we must admit that we could be living in a time where many, if not most, who identify themselves with the name of Jesus so vocally are not God’s children at all.
So I love the name I AM. To reference this “name” for God indicates humility and respect that says, “I can not know God fully. But I do know that God exists. That God is God and I am not. I do know that God is knowable. God is present. And God is active. By His mercy and grace, He has extended Himself to know me by name! Aside from that, I hope to make no presumptions.”
To me, Christians in America who spout off the name of Jesus repeatedly and use God’s name for show are being presumptuous. It is ugly. The Ten Commandments say we are not to take God’s name in vain. The Christians who insist that this has to do with coupling “God” with a curse word may be in serious denial that they use His name in vain presumption every day.
So back to the basics. Moses encountered God face to face and lived to tell about it. But he did not presume to know God’s name apart from what God said about Himself. “I am who I am.” Why is that not enough for so many religious people today? You know what I think…
May the International Arts Movement honor the presence of I AM, and as a result reflect a presence of authority, authenticity, and integrity in the world.
You are so loved,
Matson
