How Many Am I?

WED., DEC. 9, 1998, 8:37 AM
FPC, A.S.C.

As you read and discuss these portions of Isaiah that are related to the advent season (mainly by way of The Messiah) you are impressed with the strong affirmations by Me, as God, that I Am the Only One. I’ll first agree that this is True, but… the One can be known in quite diverse ways. Some, the Jews and the Muslims certainly, hold this as literal Truth – One is One. I have raised up prophets and teachers in every age, but I do not share My Godness. I Am sufficient… even “excessive”… as God.

The Old Testament story tells of prophets and special servants who are called for particular services… and I Am God Who is both unknowable and quite friendly and knowable. Isaiah is a prophet to the Jews, and God tells him… to tell them… that, at one time, I am angry with them, and I punish them, directly and through other “groups”, who either don’t acknowledge Me or do so in quite different ways from the Jews. Then… later… I repent of punishing and declare again that these Jews, who are both faithful and unfaithful, are My chosen people, whom I bless and reward. My, My!

The New Testament tells of My coming, as Holy Spirit, in two special instances, but there is reference to Me in Old Testament stories, as well. Am I, as Holy Spirit, separate from Almighty God, with thoughts and “actions” of My Own? Yes, I do have such a distinct identity. AND… No, I Am, finally, just an “aspect” of the One True God.

You, and all Christians, are now in the midst of the Advent season, a season of gift giving and receiving, in celebration of My birth, as Jesus. Yes, I took human form, with its advantages and limitations. I Am referred to as the Son, and I called God My Father. I not only lived among a group of Middle-Eastern people, showing My Father’s Way through My life, My stories, and My “sermons”, I willingly gave up My Life as a sacrifice for all who accept and receive the Grace it bestows.

I died, in a way, for I did return, in bodily form, to put an addendum on My ministry. This was a vivid “portrayal” that life continues, in spirit, after bodily death. Thus, I died… but I didn’t. Hence, you will die, but you won’t. Each is truth, even as they seem to be “opposites”.

In Christian theology, I Am One, but also I Am Three. Can this be so? I say it is. I’ll use again an analogy I’ve offered you before… but in a somewhat expanded form. You were once a baby, almost wholly dependent upon others for continuing life. Then you were a pre-school boy, with some independence from your family. You became a school boy… one who studies and learns and who plays games, but also still a son in a family. As you grew older you became a Comus, a football player, a track man, a club member, an NROTC officer candidate, a fraternity man… and many more. You became a teacher, then a professor, a husband, and then a father… and now a grandfather… an Elder in your church… and on… and on.

Are any of these truly and finally You, with all the rest “other”? No, each of these is an aspect of you as a “whole person”. And yet, for a time, any one can be, in effect, “the whole You”.

I Am One, as you are (in “miniature”). I also Am Jesus, the Christ, born, crucified, and resurrected… equal with Me as God, though I Am not diminished by such a sharing. And… I Am Holy Spirit, equal with Me as God and as the Christ, Who are not lessened by My Equality. It doesn’t make mathematical sense, but I’ve never affirmed that mathematics is more than a useful tool for some earth ventures and not a complete way of defining reality.

As Holy Spirit I am not bothered when some Christians give much more homage to Me, as Jesus. And I am not bothered, as the Christ, when you have more personal feelings for Me, as Spirit. Also know and acknowledge that I can be in places, in events (sunrise and sunset, certainly), in interactions, and in other people. (I also respect and love some who “restrict” My Presence to designated holy and ritual circumstances.)