LEARNING LESSONS FROM A FORD

I've told you about my first, second, and fourth cars. There’s not much to tell about my third one but I’ll share what I remember with you anyway. I was between jobs at the time and didn't have much money, so I was excited when my uncle told me I could get a car for fifty dollars. Fifty dollars! Wow! That may seem like a very small amount of money now but back then you could get a good used car from an individual between three hundred and five hundred dollars.

This car didn’t run, of course, but my uncle worked on cars all the time and he said he would get it running for me. The man who owned the car said he didn’t really know what was wrong with it. It just died one day and wouldn’t start back. I wanted it so bad that I gave him the money before I even looked at it.

I don’t remember a lot about the car. I have a picture in my mind but there’s just not much detail there. I remember my uncle taking me to get it. I remember that it was white, and I think it was a Ford. It had been sitting in an overgrown field for several years, so the paint was faded and the tires were flat.

We figured we might have to tow it to my uncle’s house so he could work on it but he wanted to see if it would start first. He raised the hood and put a battery on and hooked up the wires. After we knocked off a few mud dauber nests, he poured a little gas into the carburetor to prime it. Then I got in the car and put the key in the ignition and turned it over. It started so I kept trying.

Finally, after several tries, my uncle said, “Woah! It ain’t gonna crank, boys. There’s a hole in the motor the size of my fist. Come and look.” With my shoulders drooping from disappointment, I stepped out of the driver’s seat to take a look. Sure enough, there was a big hole in the motor on the driver’s side. It had slung a rod. No wonder it had stopped running with the previous owner. I was disappointed. There was no way to fix it short of replacing the motor, which, back then, could be done for only a few hundred bucks, but I didn’t have the money, so told the guy he could keep the fifty bucks if he would keep the car and I just left it there and went back home.

As I was thinking about the lesson that could be learned from this story, I realized there are several.

1) Sometimes we think we can fix something but find out there’s nothing we can do. In those situations, we just have to give it to God and let it go. There’s no need to get angry or discouraged. That usually only makes things worse, and it’s not good for our health.

2) Many times we want something really badly, but when we get it, we realize it wasn’t what we needed at all. That shouldn’t discourage us from going after something we want later, but we should be more cautious the next time, and not jump into something without thorough investigation. We need the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to make good decisions. Always ask God for guidance.

3)We should not give up on others because they may not be able to do what they thought they could do. Sometimes things just happen that no one could have predicted. My uncle couldn’t fix that car for me, but when I had problems with my next car, I called him for help.

4) Just like that hole in the car motor, there is a hole in our hearts that only Jesus can fill. Many times, we try to fill that void with drugs, alcohol, sex, work, dangerous thrills, Social media, and a number of other things. Some people spend a lifetime searching for the perfect thing to fill that empty space, not realizing there’s only one thing that will do it.

A close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Messiah, brings peace, calms our fears, and fills the emptiness in our lives. That’s the only thing that will truly do it. Anything else is equivalent to “trying to place a square peg in a round hole.” Impossible.

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WHILE WE WAIT FOR JESUS

Well, another year has passed. Can you believe it? Last year flew by so fast. I’ve always heard “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun.” Well, if that’s true, we must be having a blast. But, really, we should be. The Christian life should be one of joy and peace and happiness. I know things aren’t always good, but the Bible says, “All things work together for good to those who love God…” (Romans 8:28).

The Bible also says, in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” These two verses from God’s word should fill us with hope, and give us determination, and strength to live life while we wait for Jesus to come back and rescue us from this sinful world. With everything that’s going on in our world, we need all the hope we can get. Jesus said, “Those who endure until the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

There are many other promises in God’s word to give us hope while we wait for him, if we will just read the Bible, and believe that he is faithful. We can have “unspeakable joy” just as the Apostle Peter said in verse eight of his first letter to God’s people.

Many people ask others, “Are you a Christian?” The answer is usually “Yes” here in the South where I live. Many people consider themselves to be Christians just because they believe there is a God, but the Bible says that’s not enough. James said, “The devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). The question is not “Do you believe, or Are you a Christian?” The question is “Have you been born again?”

Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). He also said, “Unless you are born again you can not see the kingdom of God (John 3:5).”

Believing is the first step, but that alone will not save us. We must be born again. Those who are born again have been given the promise of eternal life, and an eternal home with our Lord, and Savior, Jesus, the Messiah. Someday he’ll return in the clouds to rescue the faithful, “and so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).

Think about that; Forever. That’s a long time. The pains and sorrows of this present age will soon pass away, and we’ll live in a perfect world with our perfect new bodies, forever and ever. No more crying, no more pain, and no more death. I’m looking forward to it more and more each day. How about you? Are you ready? If not, it’s time.

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THAT PROPHET

For hundreds of years, people had been waiting for the promised Messiah to come. Daniel chapter 9 was a time prophecy about the Messiah, and everyone who was familiar with the prophecy knew it was about time for him to appear. When John started preaching and baptizing in Jordan, many wondered if he was the Messiah (Luke 3:15). So the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him if he was (John 1:19).

John 1:20-21
20.  And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Messiah. 
21.  And they asked, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you that prophet? And he answered, No. 

What did they mean by THAT PROPHET? In the book of Deuteronomy, God told Moses this.

Deuteronomy 18:18
18.  I will raise up a Prophet for them, from among their brothers, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall tell them all that I shall command him. 

So the people of Israel were looking for THAT PROPHET that God said would come, and now they thought he had. But, John told them he was not him, but he told them this;

John 1:23
23.  He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said (Isaiah 40:3).

John said he was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Through the prophet Malachi, God adds more detail to this prophecy.

Malachi 3:1
1.  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you look for, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts.

In John 1:25, after John the Baptist told the priests and Levites that he was the messenger crying in the wilderness that God had sent to prepare the way of the Lord, they asked him, “If you are not that Messiah, nor Elijah, nor THAT PROPHET, then why are you baptizing?” (John 1:25)

John 1:26-27
26.  John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there is one among you, whom you do not know. 
27.  It is he, who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoe latches I am not worthy to loosen. 

It’s interesting that John says “There is one AMONG you” to describe the One he was preparing the way for. In Isaiah’s prophecy, God had said he would raise up a prophet from AMONG them. Now, years later, the time had finally come and this generation was about to encounter THAT PROPHET.

John 1:29-34
29.  The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. 
30.  This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me, because he was before me. 
31.  And I knew him not: only that he should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water. 
32.  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 
33.  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, said to me, “Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” 
34.  And I saw, and testify that this is the Son of God.

John identified Jesus as the One he was sent to prepare the way for, and as THAT PROPHET God had raised up from AMONG them, and as the Son of God. 

Remember when Jesus fed the five thousand with only five loaves and two fish? Look what they said about him then.  

John 6:14
14.  Then, when those men had seen the miracle that Jesus did, they said, Truly this is THAT PROPHET that should come into the world.  

Based on the testimony of John the Baptist and others in holy scripture we can safely say that Jesus Christ is THAT PROPHET. But here it is, plainly spelled out for us, by Luke and the Apostle Paul. 

Acts 3:22-26
22.  For Moses truly said to the fathers, the Lord your God will raise up a prophet unto you of your brothers, like me; and you shall hear him in all things whatsoever he shall say to you. 
23.  And it shall come to pass, that every soul, who will not hear THAT PROPHET, shall be destroyed from among the people. 
24.  Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those that followed after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 
25.  You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, “And in your seed, all the people of the earth shall be blessed” 
26.  Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from their sins. 

Act 19:4
4.  Then Paul said, John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe in him who should come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus. 

After careful study of the scriptures, there can be no doubt that John the Baptist was the one sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. The angel Gabriel had told John’s father, Zachariah, what he would do even before his miraculous conception (Luke 1:5-17). 

Careful study of the scriptures also leaves no doubt that Jesus is the Messiah. This study shows that Jesus is the One that God raised up in fulfillment of the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. JESUS is THAT PROPHET.

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SAUL OF TARSUS AND HIS MISSING HORSE

I’ve seen the picture in the bible of Saul of Tarsus being thrown from his horse when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. I’ve heard sermons about it all my life. Preachers will say things like, “God had to knock Saul off his horse to get his attention” and “Saul was knocked off his high horse.” I’ve heard words like these time and time again. Where does this teaching come from? The Bible doesn’t say anything about him ever being on a horse at any point in his life.

In verse 58 of Acts chapter 7, we're introduced to Saul of Tarsus. He began persecuting the church and putting Christians in jail. He thought he was doing God’s will because he believed Jesus was a false Messiah.

In chapter nine, Saul went to the high priest and asked for letters to take with him to the synagogues of Damascus, so he could bind and bring to Jerusalem, anyone who was following the teachings of Jesus. In Acts 9:3, as he was nearing Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shined all around him. Look at the next few verses carefully.

Acts 9:3-8 
3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 
4. And he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 
5. And he said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you persecute: it’s hard for you to fight against the goads. 
6. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. 
7. And the men which journeyed with him STOOD speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 
8. And Saul got up off the ground; and when he opened his eyes, he could not see: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

Notice the missing horse. He didn’t even mention it. Notice also, the men who were traveling with Saul, STOOD speechless. Then in Acts 22, Saul, who is also called Paul, (Acts 13:9) tells this story of his conversion to the people at Jerusalem.

Acts 22:6-11 
6. And it came to pass, as I made my journey, I came near Damascus about noon. Suddenly a great light from heaven shined round about me. 
7. And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 
8. And I answered, Who are you, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute. 
9. And they that were with me saw the light and were afraid, but they did not understand the voice of him that spoke to me. 
10. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Get up and go into Damascus; and there you will be told of all things which are appointed for you to do. 
11. And when I could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.

Same story. This time straight from Paul who it happened to, and still no mention of falling off a horse. He tells the story again in Acts 26, verses 12-18.

Acts 26:12-18 
12. As I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 
13. At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round about me and those who journeyed with me. 
14. And when we were all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me, in the Hebrew tongue saying, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 
15. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you persecute. It is hard for you to fight against the goads. 
16. But get up, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of those things which I will show you; 
17. Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I now send you, 
18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith that is in me.

There you have it. The same story, three different times, and no mention of falling off a horse. In fact, it says right the opposite. Notice again what the Bible says.

Acts 9:3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:…
Acts 9:4. And he fell to the ground…
Acts 9:7. And the men who journeyed with him STOOD speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Acts 22:6. And,… as I made my journey, I came near Damascus about noon. 
Acts 22:7. And I fell to the ground…

Acts 26:18. As I went to Damascus….. 
Acts 26:13. At midday, I saw… a light from heaven, shining round about me and those who journeyed with me. 
Acts 26:14. And when we were all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me,

Saul and those who were traveling with him appear to have been walking and they ALL fell to the ground. Then when Jesus left, they all got up and Saul was blind.

Acts 9:8
8. And Saul got up off the ground; and when he opened his eyes, he could not see: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

Then they LED him BY THE HAND into Damascus. Surely if any horses were involved Saul, being blind, would have been allowed to ride instead of having to walk. And how could they lead him by the hand if any of them were riding a horse? We can safely teach that the Bible does not say Saul (Paul) fell off a horse. They were walking before Jesus appeared, and they continued walking afterward. Always remember, It’s just as important to notice what the Bible DOES NOT say, as what it DOES say.

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ONE GOD

You’ve probably heard about many different gods from many different cultures around the world, but the bible says there is only ONE God (Mark 12:32, 1 Cor. 8:6, 1 Tim. 2:5, James 2:19). That simply means there’s only ONE TRUE God (John 17:3). He’s the only living God. There is only ONE GOD and there is no other (Mark 12:32, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

The word ONE is also used in the bible to show unity. The Bible says when a man and a woman marry they become ONE flesh (Genesis. 2:24). They don’t become the same person, but they are united as ONE.

In Genesis 11:6, God said, “The people is ONE…” ONE in unity. God uses this idea throughout the Bible.

The nation of Israel and other nations are referred to as He and Him in the Bible (Exodus 4:22, 1 Sam. 15:2). This shows the people are UNITED. They are all ONE. They are unified. United into ONE entity. We are all ONE in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Many members, but ONE body (Romans 12:5). Unity.

Paul said that he and Apollos were ONE (1 Corinthians. 3:6-9). Did he mean that he was Apollos? Were they the same person? No. They were two separate individuals. They were both in Christ, working toward the same goal, so he said they were ONE. We see this same unity in Acts 2:44, 46. They had all things in common and continued in ONE accord.

Jesus prayed to the Father that His disciples would all be ONE in the same way that He and the Father are ONE (John 17:11). He also prayed for you and I, that we would be ONE in the same way that He and the Father are ONE (John 17:20-22). This ONEness that Jesus prayed for clearly is to be unified as ONE body of believers. Not to be ONE person or being. It means to be ONE in unity. ONE in thought, deed, and purpose.

Jesus talked to the Father, and about Him in such a way to let us know, without a doubt, that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit are three separate individuals. They are not the same person (John 17:3). “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are ONE” (1 John 5:7). They are ONE in thought, in action, and in purpose.

The English word God in the book of Genesis is translated from the Hebrew word Elohim, most of the time. It is used 2,555 times in the Old Testament. It is used 200 times just in the book of Genesis. This word is a plural word consisting of more than ONE being. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible).

The word Elohim reveals the Trinity (Matthew 28:19, 1 John 5:7). Every time this word is used all three are involved in whatever is happening. Mark 1:9-11 presents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all three at the same time.

Colossians 2:9 says that all the fullness of the Godhead lives in the body of Jesus Christ. This verse does NOT say Jesus is the Father and/or the Spirit. It says, that the fullness of the Godhead is in Him (Hebrews 10:5).

Colossians 1:19 says it pleased the Father that Jesus should have all the power of the complete Godhead. He has all the attributes of God (Isaiah 9:6). He is equal with God (Philippians 2:6). He is the express image of God (Hebrews 1:1-3). He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

This is why Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). He wasn’t saying that He was the Father. He said no man has ever seen the Father. “NO MAN has seen God at any time…” The Son has revealed Him (John 1:18). “Not that any man has seen the Father” (John 6:46; 5:35; 1 John 4:12).

In these verses, Jesus declares that NO MAN has EVER seen the Father at ANY time. He NEVER said that He was the Father. He showed us the character of the Father while He lived on earth.

In Exodus 24:9-10, Moses, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel “saw the God of Israel and lived to eat and drink”. But if no man has ever seen the Father, as we previously saw, then how can this passage be explained? Simple. No man has ever seen the Father at any time (John 1:18, 6:4-6, 5:37, 4:12). This was Jesus, the Son, the second person in the Godhead. He went with the children of Israel through the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:4). He talked to them (Deut. 5:4, 22-23; 9:10), and He talked to Moses, face to face (Ex. 33:11).

Numbers 20:16 says the LORD (Jehovah) “sent an angel and has brought us out of Egypt.” Exodus 14:19 says, “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them. 1 Corinthians 10:4 says that angel was Jesus Christ. (The original Greek word, translated as “followed” in this verse, means accompanied He went with them.)

In Exodus 3:2 the angel of the LORD (Jehovah) appeared to Moses in a burning bush. In verse 4, God (Elohim) speaks to Moses. So here Jesus appeared to Moses, and Elohim speaks to him. Keeping intact our earlier discovery that No man has ever seen the Father at any time (John 1:18, 6:4-6, 5:37, 4:12). He told Moses to take off his shoes because the ground where he was standing was holy. In Joshua 5:13-15 the captain of the Lord’s host appeared unto Joshua and told him the same thing. The ground wasn’t holy in itself, the presence of God is what made it holy. This man, the Captain of the Lord’s host, was also Jesus.

Jesus was also the angel who wrestled with Jacob until the breaking of day (Gen. 32:24-30; 35:10-13; Hosea 12:2-5). Jesus is not a created being, though. The word angel simply means messenger.  (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

The word archangel means chief or leader; or captain, as he told Joshua. Jesus is the archangel. It is He, NOT Gabriel, who will shout with the voice of the archangel, when the last trumpet sounds, as He leads all the angels of heaven to the earth at the end of this world.

Before there was ever a man on the earth, and before there was even an earth, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed together (John 17:24; Genesis 1:2; Psalm 51:11; John 17:5). “In the beginning Elohim (the Trinity) made the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1-2, 26). “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God at the beginning” (John 1:1-2). Jesus is the Word (John 1:14; Revelation 19:13).

Jesus is called God in John 1:1, but the same verse says He was with God. Verse 2 also says He was with God. He was not with Himself, but He was with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1-2).

Although the name Jesus was given to him when he put on human flesh, Jesus did not have His beginning as a baby in a manger as many people believe (Ps. 2:7; Heb. 10:5). He has always existed. As a member of the Godhead, and as an individual (John 1:3, 10; Heb. 1:1). The prophet Agur said that God had a Son (Proverbs 30:4).

Jesus is the Word through which God created all things (John 1:1,14; 1 John 5:7; Rev. 19:13; 1 John 1:1-2; Eph. 3:9; Heb. 1:1-2; Heb. 11:3; 2 Pet. 3:5).

He spoke and it was done… (Ps. 33:9). God said, “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness” (Gen. 1:26).

After Adam sinned, God said, “The man has become as ONE of US to know good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). Then at the tower of Babel, the LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) said, “Let US go down and confuse their language…” (Genesis 11:7). Who was God talking to in these three passages? Certainly not Himself. He was talking to the other members of the Godhead.

The Bible continually speaks of the Father and the Son as two separate individuals (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3, 8:6; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2, 12-13, 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4, 2:13; James 1:1, 1 Peter 1:2-3; 2 Peter 1:1-2; 1 John 4:15, 5:5,7,9-13; Revelation 1:1, 11:15).

2 John 9 says, “He that abides in the doctrine of Christ (Messiah) has BOTH the Father AND the SON. It is clear that they are not the same person. Jesus is not the Father.

Jesus prayed to the Father many times. He said many things that prove He is not the Father. He said the Father was in heaven while He was here on earth (Matthew 5:16, 45, 48, 6:1,9, 10:32, 33). In Matthew 10:32 He said if we confess Him, He will confess us before the Father who is in Heaven. This text shows that He and the Father are two separate individuals. Mark 13:32 proves this without a doubt. Jesus made a distinguishing difference between Himself and the Father. Here are some more verses that show the teaching of Jesus on this subject (John 8:54, 17:18, and 14:10).

Jesus said His Father is greater than Him (John 14:28). He said “if anyone loves me they will keep my words, and my Father will love them and WE will come to them and make OUR home with them (John 14:23).

In John 15:1 Jesus tells a parable. He says He is the Vine and the Father is the gardener. Notice that the plant and the gardener are not the same. When Stephen was stoned he saw heaven open, and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55).

Jesus prayed to the Father that He wouldn’t have to die. But then He said, “not My will, but Your will be done (Mark 14:36). Then before He died on the cross He cried “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus was not talking to Himself. He could not forsake Himself.

“God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). Sin can not exist in the presence of God. When Jesus bore our iniquities (Is. 53) and became sin for us, (2 Cor. 5:21) the Father had to leave Him. Jesus and the Father are clearly not the same person.

John 3:16 says He is the Son of God. Jesus said, “My doctrine is not mine but His who sent Me (John 7:16, 14:24). The Father judges no man but has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). He said in John 8:54, “If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honors me.” Jesus didn’t honor nor glorify Himself (John 17:18, 8:54; Hebrews 5:5). The Father glorified the Son (Matt. 3:17; Acts 3:13). So, if Jesus and the Father were the same person, then when the Father honored and glorified the Son, He would be honoring and glorifying himself. Thus contradicting his own words.

Jesus gave a prophecy about the second coming and the end of the world. Then He said, “no man knows the day nor the hour, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, only the Father” (Mrk. 13:32). Jesus said the Father knew something that He didn’t at the time. That would be impossible if they were the same person or being. They are not. There is ONE God and ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Bible, from beginning to end, shows that there is only ONE God. ONE God, as opposed to many gods. But this God is Elohim (plural), with three persons working together, like a family.

The Holy Spirit was there in the beginning with the Father and Jesus. Each person in the Godhead has separate individual works, as well as collective works as ONE God. The Holy Spirit did not have His beginning on the day of Pentecost as some teach (Gen. 1:2, 26). The Trinity, Elohim, the Godhead consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They were all three there at creation (Gen. 1:2, 26). They have always existed. That’s impossible for us humans to understand completely because in our minds everything has to have a beginning, but, this is what the Bible teaches. We don’t have to understand something for it to be true.

In Genesis chapter ONE, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, all working together, in unity and in ONE accord, created the world and everything in it (Genesis 1:1,2; John 1:1-14). We can see each ONE working separately, as individuals, and all together as ONE God throughout the Bible (Genesis 1:1,2; Psalm 51:11; Proverbs 30:4; Daniel 3:25; 1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3).

The Spirit of God is mentioned throughout the Old Testament (Genesis 1:2, 41:38; Exodus 31:3, 35:31; Numbers 24:2; 1 Samuel 10:10, 11:16, 19:20,23; 2 Chronicles 15:1; Isaiah 61:1; Ezekiel 11:24). Sometimes He is called the Spirit of the Lord (Judges 3:10, 6:34, 11:29, 13:25, 15:14; 1 Samuel 10:6, 16:13-14; 2 Samuel 23:2; 1 Kings 22:24; 2 Kings 2:16; 2 Chronicles 20:14; Isaiah 11:2, 40:13, 48:16, 59:19; Ezekiel 11:5; Micah 3:8). He is also called the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament as well as the new (Psalm 51:11; Isaiah 63:10-11).

Mark tells us that the Holy Ghost, in the new testament, is the same Holy Spirit that David refers to in Psalm 51:11 (Mark 12:36). Acts 7:51 confirms this also. The words “Ghost” and “Spirit” are translated from the same Greek word (Pneuma). Both names refer to the same being and either name is correct. He is the Comforter (John 14:16, 26, 15:26). Jesus referred to Him as a person not as “IT” (John 14:16, 26, 15:26).

Jesus said the Father would send the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name (John 14:26). Here we have all three mentioned at the same time and in such a manner as to distinguish them as three different beings. Isaiah 48:16 says “God and his Spirit has sent me”.

Throughout the Bible, God makes it a point to show us that there are three persons in the Godhead. Let’s look at the most conclusive Scripture first, that shows Jesus is not the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not Jesus. In Matthew 12:32 and Luke 12:10 says “whoever shall speak a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him; but unto him, that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost, it shall NOT be forgiven him.” If Jesus and the Holy Spirit were the same individuals, this statement could not be true. To blaspheme the Holy Ghost would be to blaspheme Jesus. It is clear that they are not the same person with just different titles.

Jesus told his disciples that He was going back to heaven to his Father. Then He told them He would pray to the Father (not Himself) and the Father would give them another Comforter (not Himself) (John 14:16). ANOTHER means ANOTHER. Not the same with a different name. Jesus said, “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak of Himself, but whatever He shall hear that shall He speak” (John 16:13). Jesus is saying here that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will not speak His own words but the words He hears from GOD. This verse makes it clear that they are not the same person. Jesus makes this plain in verses 14 and 15. Jesus said the Holy Ghost would glorify Jesus, not Himself. “He will take of mine and show it to you. All things that the Father has are mine. That’s why I said, He will take of mine and will show it to you” (John. 14:14, 15).

This study shows without a doubt that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three different individuals. We see all three of them at Christ’s baptism (Mark. 1:9-11). We also see all three at creation (Genesis 1:2b, 26; Hebrews. 1:1) and throughout God’s holy word.

The Bible is clear. The Trinity is Biblical. While Jesus is God, He is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit. They are three separate persons that make up ONE GOD.

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