AM

     Bill Clinton used in his rationalization that it depends on "what the meaning of is, is." We use the word to combine phrases into sentences, but it has a much deeper meaning! In linguistics, "IS," is the present tense of "BE" and is used in the first or third person singularly. Well then, what is "BE"? It means "EXISTING." 
     "AM" is present tense of first person singular of "BE". Rather than "I be,"  a person says, "I am," to indicate that as an individual the person exists. "We am" is not acceptable grammatically; that must be "we are." Hence "AM" means presently existing, and applies to whoever says, "I am." Bill was correct in his attempt to mislead, because IS, AM, and BE mean different things in different contexts. In this commentary, they will all pertain to existence.
     God is without a name. When asked by Moses, God replied: "I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you" (Exod 3:14). All other gods had a name; because He was the One True God, there was never a chance that he would be confused with non-existing gods. Why then would he need a name? Only when he became one of us! He needed to be called something to differentiate Himself from the rest of us who perceive ourselves as gods.
     "I AM THAT I AM" is an explanation of who He Is. We see that God claims to be "I AM," so "that" was added for understanding. Essentially, I AM THAT I AM is indicating "I AM" why would I need to be anything else? I AM THAT I AM is the English transliteration from the Hebrew in four letters YHWH or JHVH which people pronounce Yahweh or Jehovah. "GOD" is not His Name, and neither is Jehovah nor Yahweh; they are pronunciations which describe God's Existence - He just IS, or in first person, present tense, "I AM." 
     Present tense applies to God at any instant in time. Before the beginning God is I AM, now he is I AM, and when the world ends, God will still be I AM. The word "AM" is so important because it indicates existence. 
     When anyone says, "I am," that person acknowledges his or her own existence. For mortals AM is merely existing in the world, but for those who will eternally live, "Am" is forever. Existence is life, thus "AM" indicates living. Yahweh is the living God, not just in time but in pre-existence and post existence as pertains to the world and physical life.
     All mankind have immortal souls. Before our existence, we pre-existed the world. After life in this world ends, our souls will still exist. Death is not ceasing to exist, but an existence of suffering. Since life is suffering, "to die is gain" (Phil 1:29). In other words, dying is a sting (1 Cor 15:55) transitioning from the world to Heaven - from temporary life to eternally living! Unfortunately those who have never been born, the sting of death is a transition from suffering for a time to suffering forever. I call death, "eternally dying" but never consummating it. Why? Because even the dead have one type of immortality or the other.
     "I AM" is God's acknowledgement of His own Existence. In Greek that claim is "Ego Eimi." Jesus spoke Greek as the common language of the era (Koine Greek). The New Testament Koine Greek is the textus receptus (Latin), or "received text." The Greek New Testament is Jesus's exact words, when he was quoted. The English name "Jesus" is pronounced "Jeshua" (Yeshua) in the Greek and "Yehoshua" in the Hebrew or "Joshua" in English. God incarnate is called Jesus (Mat 1:25). 
     His name is theophoric and means "I AM saves." The name Jesus, then, is the Purpose God came unto the world. That contention comes from, "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). 
     God's "Name" is His Purpose, and to take His Name in vain is rejecting God's Purpose which is to save mankind. That is blasphemy and the Third Commandment provides the penalty for blasphemy: "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain." (Exod 20:7). 
     God came into the world and finally showed his face. In human flesh, his face no longer represented death but life. Those who see Jesus as God have bright eyes, and shall be saved if they trust Him. Jesus Is "I AM." He said that forty-eight times in Holy Scripture - "Ego Eimi" - in the Greek language.
     Oftentimes, what is not said is as important as what is said. John the Baptist was being queried about his identity. The priests and Levites asked, "Who art thou" (John 1:19) to which John the Baptist replied, "I am not the Christ." (John 1:20) - not the Messiah. John continued after further questioning, "He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Elijah)" (John 1:23).
    Examine the words in that passage: "I am the voice." Note that "the Word" - Jesus - was the "Voice" walking in the cool of the day (Gen 3:8). The Jews knew that; they were learned men. John parsed his words carefully so as not to be perceived as the Messiah.
     By convention, the King James Version uses italics when the word is not in the textus receptus. In that passage, "am" is in italics. It was not in the text as spoken by John. He said "ego" but not "eimi." The word "am" was added for context and meaning. Why would John not say, "ego eimi?" Because the priests and Levites would have interpreted "ego eimi" as Yahweh, as such, I AM the VOICE or Yahweh the Word, and would appear to be the Messiah.
     Every word in the Bible means something or it would not be there. Because "eimi" was not in the received text, that meant something significant. Care must be take to neither add to nor take away from scripture (Deut 4:12). Only the King James Version identifies that "am' was added to scripture. The authorized version does have integrity of content as well as being poetic. Words means things, as I always say, and not having words means things as well.
     "AM" is the most profound and meaningful word in existence. It points to Existence. It points to God, and when not there, there is no pointing or accepting godhood. John the Baptist didn't want to be God whose sandal  straps he was unworthy to loose. He only wanted to be the "phone" as "voice" is written in the Greek!