GOD DISPLAYS EMOTION

GOD DISPLAYS EMOTION

 

 

 

In this article the final attribute displaying the personality of God is EMOTION. In most theological discussions this quality is treated under the caption of the goodness of God and in relation to the moral attributes of God. Later in the discussion, certain moral attributes belonging to this area will be treated specifically. But at this point the purpose is merely to declare what the Scriptures teach about the emotional nature of God.

1. The expressions used in the Scriptures to describe this charac­teristic in God almost exhaust the vocabulary of human language. Some of these will be listed to give you a general idea of the breadth of this theme in the word of God: abhor, affect, affliction, anger, avenge, beloved, bitterly, bless, bosom, bowels, burn, chasten, comfort, compassion, consolation, consuming, dear, despise, devour, feeling, fierceness, fiery, forebear, furious, fury, gentleness, gracious, grief, hate, heart, heavy, hot, indignation, jealous, joy, kindness, laugh, love, lovingkindness, mercy, passion, peace, pity, pleasure, rejoice, repent, roar, sorrow, sweet-smelling, tenderhearted, terrors, vexed, weary, wept, wrath, zeal.

In every case these words are used in direct relation to God, setting forth some aspect of divine response within the Godhead, or toward the world of men and women. In most cases these words depict the actual emotion of God. In others, it may describe the outward demeanor or display arising out of the emotion. In a survey of this list of words it may be seen that it touches on al­most every aspect and detail of the emotions prevalent in mankind. Assuming that men are the clear image of God, then these emotional responses in men reflect accurately the fact that God is in every sense characterized by emotion.

2. The interpretation of these Biblical expressions become of vast importance at this point. Are these expressions, such as compassion (Psa.145:8), grief (Judges 10:16), hate (Psa. 5:5), jealousy (Deut. 5:9), love (Jer. 31:3), pity (Psa. 103:13), rejoicing (Isa. 62:5), sympathy (Isa. 63:9), and wrath (Rom.1:18), to be taken literally, or are they to be taken as anthropomorphisms, such as the hands, feet, eyes, arms, and ears of God, that is, as attempts on the part of the writers of Scripture to create a vivid, concrete impression in the minds of men, of something that could not otherwise be expressed?

3. Among conservative theologians the vast number insists that these words represent genuine feelings, and the expressions are therefore to be taken in the literal sense. There is strong conviction that God's people need not be afraid of describing God as being like men in the area of emotion. Emotions are not essentially vested in a body. They are resident in the immaterial part of man, and the body merely becomes the vehicle for their expression. It fol­lows, then, that since God is spirit, there are ways for the expression of emo­tion that are peculiar to deity. When it is remembered that God was manifest in the flesh, and all these emotions were displayed by Christ in perfect balance, this position is further strengthened.

The mystery and majesty is that in God these emotions are in perfect balance. They are not mixed with the imperfections and weaknesses that are found in man. Man's love may be qualified, but in God love is holy, jealousy is pure, wrath is righteous, grief is genuine, compassion is outgoing, and re­joicing is sane and sober.

2.   Some further explanation needs to be given here. An older psy­chology held to the view that personality is comprised of intellect, sensibility, and will. The second of these elements, sensibility, includes the higher forms of feeling such as the rational and the moral, just as much as the more sensuous, physically oriented inclinations. But in modern psychological exploration there has been a turning away from this view to emphasis on the biological and mech­anistic explanation of man. This later view therefore centers emotions in the body, and at death they simply cease to operate. But this does not square with the Scriptures. The Bible conveys the clear impression that even after death, emotions continue for the immaterial part of men. The soul and spirit continue to exist and experience feeling. This is clearly depicted in the account given by Christ concerning the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

3.   Inasmuch as man was made in the image of God, and the emphasis in that experience is on the immaterial part of man, for God is spirit (John 4:24), it follows that emotions have their ground and source in the spirit, and there­fore God is in every sense emotional to the highest degree of purity and expres­sion. To suggest that the vast body of material in the Scriptures dealing with divine emotion is a mere literary device is unthinkable. This could turn out to be a deception perpetrated on unsuspecting people, and if discovered, would rob the faith of its practical value, so far as imparting information and producing sanctifying results. God is more than pure intelligence and knowledge. He is a warm, sentient, emotional personality, answering in perfection to all the qualities in men.

6. In the application of this truth there is immense practical value. In the end of the age, when the entire fabric of nature is thrown into convulsions, men shudder, for they are suddenly aware of a change in the emotional approach of God to mankind, and they cry out for the mountains and the rocks to cover them "from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. 6:16-17).

As an encouragement for the saved who confront tremendous odds in this world, they are urged to seek out the throne of grace. "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities"

(Heb. 4:15a). He possesses an emotional nature that can respond to the feelings of men. And what is more than that, He had the advantage of experience to add to emotion, for He"was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15b), thus doubly qualifying Him to be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God (Heb. 2:17-18).