Ontology 101 - Jesus is Jehovah

By Sonny Hernandez

To understand divine ontology or the One True God, one may review an often neglected text, commonly known as 'idem per idem' because it underscores the LORD as the 'Is-ing' One or "I AM THAT I AM" in Exodus 3:14 [LXX: egō eimi + ὁ ōn; Heb. hayah asher hayah].

Because the author used Hayah [Hebrew verb like the Greek Eimi, and conjugated as an imperfect first person] + the articular participle ὁ ōn, one can easily see why many exegetes embrace the "I Exist as I Exist" translation and thereby recognize this text as denoting God's self-existence, eternality, sovereignty, and immutability.

Knowing this Old Testament (OT) text [Exodus 3:14] is critical because this same Hebrew syntactical construction ["I AM THAT I AM"] points to Christ in the Greek New Testament (GNT). For example, while the LXX includes the verb egō eimi + the participial construction ὁ ōn [‘I Exist as I Exist’], Christ said, "Before Abraham was [aorist root ginomai; lit., had a beginning, or came into being], I am [egō eimi; lit., the Eternal 'Is-ing' One] in John 8:58 (bold emphasis added). God's Word also refers to Him as "…the only begotten Son, which is [ὁ ōn; i.e., Eternally Existing] in the bosom of the Father, he [the Son] hath declared him [the Father]" (John 1:18, bold emphasis added).

Regarding John 8:58, some scholars think the egō eimi declaration points to the ani hu statement as seen in Deuteronomy 32:39 ["I, am he"], and not to Exodus 3:14. However, in Deuteronomy 32:39, the "I, am he" proclamation reveals two pronouns. In contrast, the egō eimi declaration in John 8:58 is a verb, just like the verb eimi in Exodus 3:14. Clearly, John 8:58 is a cross-reference to Deuteronomy 32:29. Nonetheless, John 8:58 ultimately points to Exodus 3:14. In summary, egō eimi in John 8:58 denotes Christ’s continuous being, and highlights His eternality, immutability, self-existence, consubstantiality, and impeccability.

Lastly, John's use of the article ὁ + the present tense verb ōn ("which is") denotes the Son's timeless existence. Regardless of whether one agrees or not, this grammatical construction proves three gospel truths: (1) The Eternal Sonship of Christ. (2) The Father and the Son are distinct Persons. (3) And, the Father and the Son are indissolubly united in One Divine Being. Thus, Jesus is Jehovah.