According to superstring theory, there are at least 10 dimensions in the universe (M-theory actually suggests that there are 11 dimensions to spacetime; bosonic string theories suggest 26 dimensions).
That’s a bit of a mind-boggler: Most people understand the basic three dimensions, and many know that the fourth dimension is time…
For the purposes of this study, I’ll just limit the number of dimensions to body, soul and spirit so we can reverse engineer to an understanding of the image of God in which the Bible says we are made.
Even before the 1st century AD statement that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), ancient depictions of God fit this model of an individual with three dimensions of body, soul and spirit.
- God’s body is what enables material beings to interact with him.
- God’s soul is his unique personhood / personality, “a characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving…attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions with other people.”
- God’s Spirit is the infinite source of energy which, like electricity or the wind, is not confined to any single time and space like a material body is, but can split off and converge, and can only be perceived by humans in its actions through physical substance.
Body – physical functioning in the confinement of creation and time
“And the LORD [YHVH] appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day… and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord…And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat…And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham…” (Genesis 18)
“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him…And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Genesis 32:24-30)
“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend [i.e. a peer, an equal, in a form compatible with human senses, which we often find in the Old Testament accounts of interactions between God and humans]…And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory [major upgrade in the software from human-like to truly hyper-dimensional God]…
And he said, Thou canst not see my face / unique expression of myself: for there shall no man see me, and live. [Think of it like encountering any huge force-field. Humans are overloaded by high electrical voltage, radioactive nuclear energy, etc.] And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts [think of a tail of a comet, less intense]: but my face shall not be seen….And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there…
And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped…And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water [obviously his life was maintained by another transfer of energy]…And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai…that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him…And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. [like any sun worshipper absorbing all the rays they can.]” (Exodus 33:11-23, 34:5-8, 28-34)
Soul – will, desire, emotions, intent behind behavior, personality. The unique person,
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And…it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will… (Genesis 6:5-7)
“And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD…and his anger was kindled.” (Numbers 11:1)
“Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God.” (II Chronicles 9:8)
Spirit – energy, empowerment
“And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent…I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth?…have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth…and thou shalt be to him [Pharoah] instead of God. (Exodus 4)
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel…And the LORD came down in a cloud…and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease…And Moses said…would God that ALL the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:16-29)
“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning…for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil…And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon ALL flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” (Joel 2:12-32)
“And when the day of Pentecost [Jewish feast] was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak….Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them…this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel…ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off.” (Acts 2:1-33)
Each unique individual is, by definition, a soul. Mortal souls require constant connection between body, soul and spir-it in order to function. Death occurs when the spirit energy goes back to where it came from. Without the life energy provided by in-spir-ation, the body ex-spir-es and the physical components dissociate into the elements of the earth – water, hydrocarbons, iron, sodium, etc. Without the body’s neural networks, the soul is inactivated, although as described above, not destroyed or insensate. It is placed in storage.
Mortality can thus be defined as the condition of the person / soul having only temporary connection to life-giving spirit.
Immortality, then, can be defined as the soul having permanent connection to the spirit.
From this we can logically conclude that immortal, hyper dimensional spirit beings / souls can function independently of the body. Their bodies, being immortal, do not decay, but simply become inanimate when deprived of their spirit. This conclusion is supported by scripture.
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth...When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?…who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?...Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?…they stand [motionless] as a garment (heavily weighted with gold and gems). And from the wicked their light / activation / life is withholden…the gates of death been opened.” (Job 38:4-17)
In Job’s account of the days of creation, the indestructible bodies of certain rebel angels were separated from their souls, which remained connected to their spirits. Where did these go? Desperately seeking bodies for self-expression.
“And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep / bottomless pit. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.” (Luke 8:27-32)
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first… blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.: (Luke 11:24-28)
Creator God manifests the ultimate freedom of movement, since he is the source of all spirit life.
- “In the beginning was the Word
- and the Word was with God,
- and the Word was God.
- The same was in the beginning with God.
- All things were made [expression of soul’s desire to create] by him…
- And the Word was made flesh [mortal body] and dwelt among us…(John 1:1-2, 14)
“I came forth from [visualize a cloud splitting into two clouds] the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father [the two clouds converging back into one].” (John 16:28)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake…
- And I will pray
- the Father, and he shall give you
- another Comforter [besides me in the flesh], that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth [acknowledges] him not, neither knoweth him:
but ye know him; for
- he dwelleth WITH you [right now guys – it’s me!],
- and shall be [future tense] IN you. I will not leave you comfortless: I – I! – will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see [perceive] me: because I live, ye shall live also [through the presence of life-giving spirit].
- At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth [chooses to be in unity with] me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him…
If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode [permanent residence] with him…Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I [bound in human flesh as I now am].” (John 14:2-30)
Disunity – The Trinity
However, despite not being described anywhere in the Bible, even in the New Testament, orthodox Christianity teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, God existing as three separate but equal persons.
The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. These definitions express three crucial truths: (1) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God.
The problem with this is obvious once we recognize that the Bible defines a person as a distinct soul, an autonomous individual. Surely we’ve come to understand that there is no such thing as “Separate but Equal.”
Understandably, given its intrinsic contradiction and illogicality, the concept of the Trinity was one of many issues debated hotly by the early Christian theologians. Where did it come from?
We know that new converts clung to many entrenched pagan concepts. These problems were endemic and addressed in many of the New Testament epistles to the new churches. For example:
“…then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am…”(Galatians 4:8-12)
And Paul was not a Trinitarian. The concept of the Trinity, accepted by most Christians today without question, was not established as orthodox Christian doctrine until centuries after the apostles finished writing the New Testament. This alone should raise questions about the legitimacy of this doctrine.
The first defense of the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early third century by the early church father Tertullian…he noted that the majority of the believers in his day found issue with his doctrine…
Among the Non-Trinitarian beliefs, the Sabellianism taught that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are essentially one and the same, the difference being simply verbal, describing different aspects or roles of a single being. For this view Sabellius was excommunicated for heresy in Rome c. 220.
The doctrine of the Trinity is not found in either the New or the Old Testaments.
Judaism traditionally maintains a tradition of monotheism to the exclusion of the possibility of a Trinity. In Judaism, God is understood to be the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical — it is even considered by some to be polytheistic.
If you consider yourself a Bible believing Christian, dare to explore the possibility that Trinitarianism is heretical?
Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monolatrism, the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity...
“In the ancient Near East the existence of divine beings was universally accepted without question… The question was not whether there is only one elohim, but whether there is any elohim like Yahweh [translated as LORD in the King James Bible]…”
There is evidence that the Israelites before the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE did not adhere to monotheism. Much of this evidence comes from the Bible itself, which records that many Israelites chose to worship foreign gods and idols rather than Yahweh…described by the Yahwist faction collectively as Baals. The oldest books of the Hebrew Bible reflect this competition, as in the books of Hosea and Nahum, whose authors lament the “apostasy” of the people of Israel and threaten them with the wrath of God if they do not give up their polytheistic cults.
When we examine the history of the development of the doctrine of the trinity we find that the concept of a trinity is not at all unique to Christianity. The driving force behind adding the doctrine of the trinity to Christianity was the corruption of the worship of the one true God.
“Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it. . . . From Egypt came the idea of a divine trinity.” And in the book Egyptian Religion, Siegfried Morenz notes: ‘The trinity was a major preoccupation of Egyptian theologians . . . Three gods are combined and treated as a single being, addressed in the singular. In this way the spiritual force of Egyptian religion shows a direct link with Christian theology.’”
Looking even further back into history, we find Hinduism is headed by a trinity.
As is the Babylonian religion and the even older Sumerian sources. “All the ancient nations believed in the Trinity.”
Naturally. The false saviors could only mimic the reality of the true Promised Savior’s unity with the Creator God through a trio of individuals.
More on this theology in later posts, for now just an introduction to the concept of the unity of God, his Word, and his creation.
“For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them…That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:” (John 17:21)
This is so much more, and qualitatively so different from the general conception of “eternal life” being unending existence as ourselves in an immortal body.
Certain words like Christian and church have been used for two thousand years to denote a Gentile religion, or way of achieving life after death, which is different from, and succeeded and replaced the older Jewish religion. Judaism wasn’t even established until about 1,500 years into biblical history, so what was the religion before Judaism?
This study reveals that there is only one way back to Paradise – salvation from death for all humanity, through a savior promised to the first humans who brought death to all humanity.
“…the judgment of God is according to truth…Who will render to every man according to his deeds…Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God….are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin…But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
- the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
- Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood…
- that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 2:2-3:26)
What does it mean to “believe in Jesus”, or more specifically, “in his name”? Honestly, growing up in a fundamentalist church which put lots of stock in a faith which was defined as no questions asked, I didn’t know. It wasn’t until I broke away and began questioning everything that it made sense.
Name = attributes, functionality, abilities, powers. Like Superman, Spiderman, Ironman, etc. For example, I am both daughter and mother, but not two different people.
Failure to understand the meanings of names contributes to the confusion over the shared identity of the various manifestations of God as well as the shared identity of various cultural manifestation of believers in the Promised Savior / Messiah / Christ.
Most of all, confusion over the meaning of names is the foundation of the exclusionary doctrine of “Christ”ianity and salvation in the English name of “Jesus”.
The Biblical Savior
Most of what we treat as God’s exclusive names are titles that can apply to other individuals, and multiple titles can apply to a single individual.
- God, elohim or eloah translated God or god / gods. The fact that other beings besides Creator God are also referred to by this title should add significant depth to our understanding of this title. When El is used in scripture to indicate Creator God, we find it modified with his traits to single him out from inferior els. El is also a part of names of humans who identify with him. El is also translated power, indicating the supernatural source of the power.
- Human rulers/judges (I Samuel 2:25) “If one man sin against another, the [human] judge [translated from elohim, God] shall judge him. but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him?” The biblical title of “judge” is basically what we now call executives, because they make decisions (executive function of the brain) and have their orders carried out (executed). Executives have the power to put their plans, actions and laws into effect, Including execution as a death sentence.
- Lesser gods (Exodus 18:11) do have power, but this is different from authority. As we shall see, these hyper-dimensional beings defied their Creator and act on their own plans rather than carry out his orders. There is archeological and anthropological evidence backing up the Bible’s report that these beings are real, not mythological figments of imagination. It is reasonable to label them “ancient aliens” and “ancient astronauts / star travelers”, without making the assumption that they have no Creator. It is more unreasonable to use them to eliminate the concept of a Creator without providing an explanation for their ancient origins.
- “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?…They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations [in the greatest corporate takeover in history]. (Psalm 82)
- Angels being the common reference for the good hyper dimensional beings, but this term simply means malak / ambassador or messenger representing the melek / king. This function in bridging the hyper dimensions of the heavens with the four dimensions of the human world is readily apparent. As God’s messengers, they are powerful beings. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and [still, yet] hast crowned him with glory and honour.” (Psalm 8:5-6)
When we understand that “God” = the one who has the power to make and put plans into effect, we realize that the use of this title for the creator of everything introduces him as the most powerful being of all.
- Lord, or Adon in Hebrew, more frequently emphasized as Adonay (O Lord or my Lord). This as a title means ruler or master, someone with authority to influence others’ affairs for good or bad. This descriptor also applies to other beings, who often illegally seize authority through mutiny.
- Humans, such as masters over servants/employees, fathers who in ancient time held absolute authority within families, military superior officers, etc. “O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?” (Jeremiah 2:31)
- The gods who are false, not in the sense of unreal but in the sense of deceitful, promising to empower their followers but actually trapping and destroying them. “Thou shalt make no covenant with…their gods…for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” (Ex 23:32-33) “O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead [disconnected from the source of life], they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.” (Isaiah 26:13-14)
- Angels / Messengers of Almighty God: “…a thing was revealed unto Daniel…I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude…Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia…then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord…how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me…And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.“ (Daniel 10)
The existence of other created gods and lords is why we address the God of creation as “Most High God, King of kings and Lord of lords.” What makes him unique among all the gods is that he alone is creator and giver of life.
“Thus saith [the] God [ha El, singular] the LORD [YHVH], he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein…I am the LORD: [Yhvh] that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isaiah 42:5-8)
- YHVH is the exclusive, unique and personal name of the God of gods and Lord of lords in Hebrew.
Because there are no written vowels to clue us into the correct pronunciation, it is written and pronounced variously as Yahweh (you’ll see this in Strong’s Concordance), Yehoowah, or Jehovah (in the King James at a time, oddly enough, when the letter J had just recently been introduced into the English alphabet). This name is so highly respected by conservative Judaism that it is not pronounced at all, hence no verbal tradition handed down and the substitution of “LORD” (all caps) which carried over even in English scriptures including most of the occurrences in the King James Bible.
It is first given to humanity when God introduces himself to Moses, in a variety of manifestations simultaneously. We can understand its retroactive appearance in the book of Genesis from Moses’ authorship of that earlier history.
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
- And the angel of the LORD / YHVH appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush [more on this person in the next post]
- God / elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said…I am the God / elohe of thy father, the God / elohe of Abraham, the God /elohe of Isaac, and the God / elohe of Jacob…
- And the LORD / YHVH said…Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
- And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
- And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; [Trust me]…
- And Moses said unto God, Behold, 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 [attributes, characteristics – the god of water, lord of the flies, the god of war]? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, [and we may fairly suppose he shrugs at that point, expressing “What can I say?”] I Am Who I Am, [ehyeh aser ehyeh]…Thus…say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. [This isn’t really helping Moses who has no background in physics.]
At a minimum, this reply is expressing his uniqueness which can’t be explained or understood by humans, possibly referencing a permanent state of present time as opposed to humans’ linear timeline of past to future, i.e. timeless, eternal, self-existent Being.
In a thought-provoking new paper, a physicist suggests the whole universe could be a single neural network—a competing “theory of everything” that could unite quantum and classical mechanics, he says.
If this is true…it would mean pretty enormous things for the nature of the universe…
The root problem with…a theory…that defines the very nature of the universe itself – is that it usually ends up replacing one proxy-for-god with another…
In this paper we discussed a possibility that the entire universe on its most fundamental level is a neural network. This is a very bold claim. We are not just saying that the artificial neural networks can be useful for analyzing physical systems or for discovering physical laws, we are saying that this is how the world around us actually works…
If we’re all nodes in a neural network, what’s the network’s purpose?
The Bible presents YHVH as the neural network – the soul, the personhood – by which all things consist, with the purpose of forming a family of loved ones.
“the invisible God…all things were created by him, and for him…and by him all things consist…And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind [soul] by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled [brought into unity with his soul].” (Colossian 1:15-17,21)
Can that be so hard for us humans to understand? The old philosophical question can be reframed as “If God speaks and there is no-one to hear him, is there any sound?” Carrying through this concept – if God is love, but there is no-one to love, can he love, i.e. be loving, in reality? Anyone else besides me experience what’s called unrequited love? It does take more than one for love to exist.
Which leads to an interesting question – did God’s soul develop, like humans’ do, as he interacted in the social milieu and environment he created? Did he in fact create this in order to self-transcend, just like humans mature when they marry and have children? Psychologically, it makes sense.
I’ll let the reader wrestle with that one for now. Back to God as Being / I Am.
With the juxtaposition of “moreover” in the passage, we can literally connect “I Am” with “YHVH.”
And God said moreover...Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
- the LORD / YHVH 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.” (Exodus 3:15)
We can’t hit on “YHVH” and skim over the rest of the declaration. YHVH’s name forever, his permanent memorial establishing his identity, is that he was the Creator God / Power behind Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that this is the basis for future generations to trust in his word.
Put it in context! Abraham, Isaac and Jacob weren’t Jewish. The Jews are by definition the children / followers of Jacob, who were led, therefore named, for the most part by Ju-dah.
What marks out Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as role models for all nationalities is that they lived out their faith in the Creator God of gods in the Cradle of Civilization at the dawn of the post-flood civilizations. Like any memorable story passed down for generations and millennia, their lives were legendary for overcoming insurmountable problems through the power of a hero.
And unlike the stories of Marduk and Horus, theirs were demonstrably true. The children – followers, nation – of Isr-El – the Prince of the God El – lived among their pagan neighbors. Their lives and histories were an open book. They were chosen by El, not to be pampered, but to suffer like their pagan neighbors suffered who were brutalized by their demon theocracies, in order to demonstrate the saving power of their uniquely merciful, loving and right-acting God. They were the People Chosen to be a beacon of light in a dark night, a lighthouse marking the path to safety in the storm.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in YHVH’s Appointed Savior / Christ Jesus: 
Kingdom Come 