PART THREE OF "I AM: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY"

We are so very blessed today because we possess a relationship with the Father through His Son Jesus (John 1:12). We are blessed in that the Spirit of God has given us the Word of God. In 2 Timothy 3:16, we are told that all Scripture is the product of God's inspiration of the writers. "Inspiration" comes from the Greek theopneustos, which means "God breathed." Because the word used to identify the third Person of the Trinity means "Breath," it is safe to say that our Bible is the work of the Holy Spirit through human instruments. The Spirit also inspires the children of God to share the Word with others. The gift of faith and the Word of God, received and believed, results in salvation (Romans 10:17; Ephesians 2:8). Jesus told His disciples that the Spirit of God would no longer be with them, but would be in them (John 14:17). Paul told the Galatians that their relationship with God began with the indwelling of the Spirit, and he told the Philippians that the work the Spirit had begun in them would be completed (Galatians 3:2-3; Philippians 1:6). The Father loved us and sent His Son. The Son loved us and died for our sin. The Spirit loved us and gave us the Word, the ability to believe, and made us a new creation. Being a Christian is the work of the Trinity.

The concept of three in one is not without example in our world. Man is said to have a body, a soul, and a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Time exists in past, present, and future. Our Universe is made up of time, space, and matter. A timepiece tells us the hour, the minute, and the second. Space is measured in length, width, and height. Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas. A specific amount of water can be divided into ice, water, and steam, yet it remains exactly the same amount. If I think of the Trinity as being water, the Son Who has a physical body might be viewed as "ice." The Spirit, being described as breath or wind, would be seen as "steam." The Father remains "liquid." All three are water, and yet all three are unique in their manifestation to man. Water itself is made up of three atoms.

The Bible, God's autobiography, begins with creation which involved all three members of the Trinity. The Father spoke (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, etc.), the Son created (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), and the Spirit moved (like the wind) over the deep, and gave life to every living thing (Genesis 1:2; 2:7; 7:22). However, we know that God is eternal and existed prior to creation. Jesus shared the Father's glory (John 17:24), He chose us in Christ (Ephesians 1:4), His work was finished (Hebrews 4:3), the saved had their names written in the Book of Life (Revelation 13:8), all before the foundation of the world. While time may be an example of the Trinity, God is not bound by time. He created time so that we could understand the outworking of His plan.

That plan for mankind began with creation, but it is everlasting, in that we are everlasting (John 3:16). And, just as we often understand others by what they say and do, we can understand Him by reading His "autobiography." Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will begin to show how man's understanding of God has increased throughout time, as God revealed a little more of Himself with every encounter with man.