PART TWO OF "I AM: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY"

I mentioned yesterday that perhaps a great place to start this series would be with the Holy Trinity. If you think the names of God are confusing, the "Trinity" which might better be described as the "Tri-unity," is beyond our human ability to comprehend. But before I attempt to explain what I myself do not understand, I should mention the name of the "Third Person" of the Trinity. YHVH (I AM; aka. Jehovah, God, The Father, LORD, etc.) and Iesous (Jesus; aka. YHSH, Yashua, The Son, Christ, etc.) are considered the First and the Second Persons of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is usually the name we give to the Third Person. I believe the adjective was appropriately added to differentiate between the "good" and the "evil" spirits.

In the Old Testament, the Spirit was written rvh. Later, when vowels were added, it was spelled ruach. The same Hebrew word is also translated "air" (1), "anger" (1), "blast" (4), "breath" (28), "cool" (1), "courage" (1), "mind" (5), "quarters" (1), "side" (6), "spirit" (232), "tempest" (1), "wind" (90), "vain" (2), and "windy" (1). As with the names of the Father and the Son, context determines how the word should be translated. That being said, it is hard to believe there are that many different contexts where it is found. In the New Testament, the Greek word translated spirit is pneuma. It is translated "ghost" (2), "Ghost" (with Holy) (89), "life" (1), "spirit" (151), "Spirit" (137), "Spirit" (with Holy) (4), and "spiritual gift" (1). Again, it depends upon the context.

Jews and Christians have no trouble accepting the God of the Old Testament as being the One True God. However, those who claim to be Christian do not necessarily believe Jesus is God. While it is true that the disciples did not recognize the deity of Christ until after His resurrection, it is clear that Thomas did once he had seen the risen Lord (John 20:28). The Holy Spirit is recognized as God in Acts 5:3-4. The fact that all three Persons of the Trinity combine as one God is seen in Matthew 28:19 which uses the singular for "the name" and then lists the Three. In John 1:1, Jesus is called God. In John 10:30, Jesus said that He and the Father are one. In John 14:9, He told Phillip that if he had seen Him, he had seen the Father. In John 14:16, Jesus tells His disciples that the Father will honor His Son's request and send another Comforter; "another" indicates one of like kind. In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul says that Jesus was not only in the form of God, but was equal to God. And the fact that Jesus accepted worship is proof He understood His own deity (compare what just one of the Gospels has to say: Matthew 4:10 with Matthew 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 28:9; 28:17).

It seems to me that if someone was intending to write a fake "autobiography," they would certainly want to make the identity and nature of the subject very clear to the reader. Perhaps this is the greatest evidence that the Bible is no ordinary book of fiction. Man can not create what man can not comprehend. The Bible is God revealing Himself and His plan to His creation. I believe we will find that He has revealed Himself to man gradually over time. We do not totally know Him yet, but we will, praise God (1 John 3:2). More about the "Author" tomorrow, Lord willing.