And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).
…and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).
When I read a book, one of the first things I notice is whether the voice is written in first or third person. I often think those written in first person are done so to provide a closer identity with the main character. The character in the story is telling his or her own story. There’s no wondering who the story is about when it begins with: “I woke up one day to find that I was in the hospital.” “It was a dark and rainy night and I couldn’t find my way home.” “No matter what I do, nothing seems to work.”
Sometimes it is a little more difficult to discover the main character when the story is written in the third person. Occasionally you have to read several pages or maybe even a chapter or two to discover the main character. Stories that begin like this, for instance,
“As the ship set sail, the passengers were all settling in for their much-anticipated voyage. No one seemed to be worried at all. They should have been.”
leave you wondering, is the main character one person on the ship, a storm, or is it set during time of war when the ship could come under fire and the story is about the ship itself and the entire crew?
Most people know at least one story from the Bible. They can tell you the story of Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, Jonah and the big fish, Moses and the parting of the Red Sea or Mary and the nativity. They tell the story as if Adam, Noah, Jonah, Moses and Mary were the main characters. In reality, they are not. When we read the Bible, God is always the main character. Whether the human writer used the first or the third person (both are used and sometimes mixed – such as in Daniel where the first of the book is written in the third person and the last part of the book is written in the first person), the voice is always God’s because it is His story about His relationship to man.
From beginning – In the beginning God… – in the middle – It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man – to the end – The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen, the Bible is about God.
That’s why it is called God’s Word.
© Stephanie B. Blake
July 2019
One Focus Ministries 