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FUNCTIONS OF PERSONALITY

 

 

The actual function of spirit may be equated with the action of per­sonality. The examination of a number of texts makes this very evident.

1.       In the area of origination it appears that the spirit is the ground and principle which explains creation. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psa. 33:6). The word breath is a rendering of the Hebrew word for spirit, which means that the going forth of divine energy in creation was the spirit. "So that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3). Since God is referred to as the "Father of spirits" (Heb. 12:9), or as carried in the margin, the "Father of our spirits" (ASV; NASB), therefore the divine spirit is the seat or ground of personal life (James 2:26).

2.       In the intellectual sphere it is affirmed that the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God (1 Cor. 2:11) and He searches all things, even the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10). The Father of Spirits who searches the hearts of men also knows the mind of the Spirit (Rom. 8:27). As a result of the Spirit's interaction with people, the individual perceives in his spirit (Mark 2:8), he purposes in his spirit (Acts 19:21), he speaks in the Spirit (Matt. 10:20).

3.       In the area of devotion and worship which involves a combination of emotion and mental comprehension, Mary declares, "my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). Paul points to "the love of the Spirit" (Rom. 15:30). And he insists that "the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning’s which cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26). And if anyone is to be a true worshipper of God, then he must worship in spirit (John 4:24). All these things grow out of a common sharing in the Spirit (Phil. 2:1).

All this finally must be reduced to one conclusion concerning the function of divine spirit, that God's spirit is essential life, essential energy, essential love, essential thought, or to put the matter in terms of the subject at hand, essential person (John 4:24; 1 John 1:5; 4:8).

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IDOLATRY FOREWARNINGS

 

The solemn prohibition against idolatry becomes very clear in the light of these facts about spirit in the previous article. After stating the first commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exod. 20:3), the very next commandment is a warning about the making of images. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" (Exod. 20:4). This com­mandment is repeated and enlarged and intensified, when Moses was completing his ministry with the children of Israel on the plains of Moab (Deut. 4:12-24).

The reason is clearly stated. "The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: Ye heard the voice of words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice...Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves; and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven" (Deut. 4:12, 15-19).

The word idol means that which may be seen. So then, when men began to make something they could see, which was intended to represent the God whom they could not see, what they made did not truly represent the invisible God. What they worshipped was false, and this started the trend into the darkness away from God. "And [they] changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things" (Rom. 1:23). There went with this the corruption of themselves and the awful descent into sin which compelled God to give them up (Rom. 1:24-32).

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SUBSTANCE OF GOD IS SPIRIT

 

 

In the necessary analyzation of the meaning of spirit, a number of things come to the attention of the careful student of the Scriptures:

1.     The substantiality of God is expressed by the word spirit (John 4:24). Since the noun, "spirit," is without the definite article, then nature, essence, and substance is under consideration. In the Scriptures the word spirit is the name given to that thing which is the metaphysical source out of which person­ality in God or men comes. The word spirit is not synonymous with personality on the one hand, but it is vitally associated with personality on the other. Since personality is a group of functions, it follows that there can be no functions with­out something to function. And that thing which functions is the substance called spirit.

2.      The spirituality of God centers in the very nature of spirit. The word spirituality is not used in the usual sense of referring to that which belongs to and is governed by the Spirit, but rather in the sense of the substantive spirit. The spirit is substance, differing from material substance on the human and natural level. Matter is a substance manifesting itself directly to the bodily senses. But the substance of spirit manifests itself to men directly in self-consciousness (1 Cor. 2:14), and only inferentially by words and signs and various means of expression.

3.   The immateriality of God that is, not made out of material sub­stance is declared in respect to spirit. When Christ appeared in the upper room following His resurrection, the disciples feared, imagining that they had seen a spirit (Luke 24:37). But Christ hastened to correct them in order to quiet their fears. He said, "For a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39). This means that the substance of spirit is immaterial. Men who are created beings, and are made of material substance such as flesh and bones, are to be differentiated entirely from God who is pure spirit. Since He is not composed of material elements, He is not subjected to the limitations of material existence.

4.   The existence lacking a physical body or existing solely as a spirit of God is also another aspect of spirit. Corpore­ality means extent, shape, and parts like a body. Therefore, Christ further in­formed the disciples in the upper room, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself" (Luke 24:39). This was His way of saying that a spirit is not made up of bodily parts, such as hands or feet or side. There are no elements, organs, or divisions of spirit. The substance of spirit is characterized by simplicity, purity and unchanging essence.

5.   The state of existence without feeling or consciousness of God is also another aspect of spirit. This means that pure spirit cannot be apprehended or examined by the bodily senses. In proof of this, Christ urged the disciples, "handle me, and see" (Luke 24:39). The word handle is used in the sense of exploring with the fingers to discover through the physical senses the fact that He possessed material and physical elements. The apprehension of the things of the spirit must come through another means (1 Cor. 2:10-12), and not through the eye or ear, or any one of the other bodily senses (1 Cor. 2:9).

6.     The invisibility of God is another clear characteristic of spirit re­lated to sense experience. "No man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18). The reason for this lies in the fact that God is spirit, and spirit cannot be appre­hended by the senses. The invisible things of God are manifested through cre­ated things (Rom. 1:20). But God Himself continues to remain invisible (1 Tim. 1:17). Christ, as the image of the invisible God, became incarnate in human flesh and thus brought God within the grasp of men (Col. 1:15; John 1:14). But the Father and the Spirit continue to dwell in "light which no man can ap­proach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see..." (1 Tim. 6:16).

7.     The personality of God is the essential and important aspect of spirit. When, in post-exilic days, Zechariah was voicing the message of God to Israel, he sought to encourage them in the face of their problems by reference to the Spirit. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord" (Zech.4:6). In this statement, material power and impersonal influence are excluded as a way to effect revival. The only way is by "my spirit." Though this has reference to another member of the Godhead as a person, yet by the same token, it empha­sizes divine essence and especially the personality of spirit. Over and over again, both in the Old and the New Testaments, the personality of the spirit is asserted.

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THE PERSONALITY OF GOD CENTERING IN SPIRIT

 

Personality is the central feature in the Biblical doctrine of God. Out­side the Bible there are many doctrines concerning God. They range from the point of limited personality to the entirely impersonal. And yet, personality is perhaps the most important fact in the world. No fact like that of personality is better attested. Still, in spite of its certainty and effects, no fact is more elu­sive as to its definition. It would appear that the definition of personality is the task of psychology. But psychology has undergone so many changes, and there are so many varieties, that psychology has not yet produced a definition that is generally acceptable.

According to an older psychology, personality consists of three things: intellect, sensibility, and will. But more recent psychological theories have arisen to dispute even the existence of personality as a possession of man, uni­que and different from any so-called lower animal. Even the brute, they argue, has intelligence, emotion, and will of a kind. There are some schools of psy­chology which have reduced the operations of men to the level of a machine, which when the mechanism ceases to function the person ceases to exist.

Such theories have compelled conservative theologians to make a closer analysis of the fact of personality, especially as revealed in the Bible. The following may be offered as a tentative and rather abstract definition. Person­ality is a name given to the nucleus of a definite group of functions or character­istics. This is not a mere collection of characteristics, but this group of characteristics does constitute a center for the functioning of personality. These characteristics are eight in number: spirit, life, intelligence, purpose, activity, freedom, self-consciousness, emotion.

Some of these are not peculiar to personality. Even the brute beast has life and intelligence of a sort. But the combination of these characteristics in a common center is peculiar to personality, and there can be no personality with­out their presence. As men examine themselves they recognize that personality is spirit, living, intelligent, purposive, active, free, self-conscious, and emo­tional. Inasmuch as man is in the image of God, it is a logical inference that there is reflected in him what is true of God in infinite and perfect proportion, and the Scripture confirms this with its clear declarations. The eight aspects or attributes of what constitutes personality will now be examined.

I. The fundamental affirmation of the Bible concerning personality was uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ. To the Samaritan woman in John 4:24 Christ said, "God is spirit" (RSV, NASB). It is true that the KJV and the ASV translate the Greek text at this point, "God is a spirit." But increased knowledge of Greek grammar now available indicates that the proper translation should eliminate the indefinite article.

It is true that God is a spirit. He is an infinite spirit and all other spirits are finite. It is also true that He is the spirit. The absence of the definite article in the Greek construction does not in any sense leave the noun, "spirit," indefinite. As the Spirit, God is the Father of all other spirits (Heb. 12:9). But in this text, even though the preceding meanings are true, it was Christ's purpose to state something about God that makes Him accessible for worship anywhere. That characteristic is the fact that in substance He is spirit, and is therefore not limited to place.

The second verse of the Bible introduces this attribute of God. The Trinity has not yet come clearly into view. The one God creates the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1). Then the second verse declares that, "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Though this doubtless has reference to the second person of the Godhead, yet in this passage it must refer back to the God of creation in verse one, and implies, if it does not clearly state, that the God who created is in essence spirit. He is uncreated and existed before material creation, so that He actually partakes of the nature of spirit.

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GOD IS TRIUNITY

 

 

This categorical statement may appear illogical to any reader who is confronted for the first time with this truth. The foregoing discussion makes such an effort to emphasize the unity of God, that the reader is now surprised to discover something about God that seems to be in contradic­tion. At first glance, the title "tri-unity" may appear to be a mistake, since the more common term is "trinity." But the expression "trinity" lays emphasis up­on the three persons in the Godhead to the exclusion of the one essence, whereas the word "tri-unity" includes both ideas, and therefore insists upon a trinity of persons in the one divine essence.

The importance of this divine reality dare not be underestimated. Of all the propositions relating to God, this one is the fundamental of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. This differentiates the Christian faith from all other faiths. Without this doctrine there could be no divine Savior and no divine Holy Spirit. Without this truth there could be no incarnation of God in human flesh. There could be no transaction between persons of the Godhead in atonement. And there could be no God of eternal love. It follows that all the distinctive truths of Chris­tianity are wrapped up in this great fact. "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Tim. 3:16).

When Christ became flesh, the tri-unity of God came into full view. In the doctrine of God, tri-unity comes last. This marks progress in revelation. This progress is not from imperfection to perfection, for at every stage in reve­lation the body of truth was perfect, though at that point it was incomplete. God revealed truth in the same proportion that men were prepared and able to receive it. When at last Christ came, men were then amply prepared and able to re­ceive the crowning truth in the doctrine of God, the tri-unity of God.

But this does not mean that there is no revelation concerning the tri-unity of God in the Old Testament. The facts are that this great truth is woven into the very warp and woof of the Old Testament Scriptures, except for the fact that it is not clearly seen because men are not sufficiently prepared to recognize it. The Hebrew word for God in the opening verse of Genesis is plural in number, though it is used with a singular verb. This occurs over and over again in the Old Testament. Notice the use of the word "us" in connection with the creation of man (Gen. 1:26), and his expulsion from the garden (Gen. 3:22). It would ap­pear that the issues were so important that there was need for divine consultation in the Godhead.

The answer to the critics of this doctrine is that the complete revelation of the tri-unity of God was given in deeds rather than words. Godly Jews be­lieved in a God who dwelt in heaven. When Christ came, these very Jews recog­nized Him as God. The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was recognized as something different from the Father or from Christ, and when these men wrote the New Testament there was no conscious effort to formulate a doctrine of the tri-unity of God. All they did was to record what happened. "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out" (Rom. 11:33). To seal this truth to each believer at the outset of his experience of salvation, he is baptized "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19), a trinity of divine persons all contributing to his salvation.

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GOD IS CHRISTLIKENESS

 

 

This is a distinct idea in the Biblical doctrine of God. It centers in the incarnation. While it is true that other religions have purported to incorporate into their structures so-called incarnations, they are not in any sense in the class with the Biblical doctrine of the incarnation. At this point, however, the incarnation is not the subject of discussion. In this set of articles, the material is designed to answer the question of what God is like. And it is also important, therefore, to understand that the subject at hand is the doctrine of God, not the doctrine of Christ. Later- it will be pointed out that Christ is God, not merely like God.

Since this is the doctrine of God, this investigation is concerned with material that clearly sets forth information concerning God. Inasmuch as the Bible text insists that Christ unfolds truth about God, then this is a legitimate point for consideration. In the fourth Gospel, the writer says, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18). The word "declared" bears on the point at hand. From the Greek word underlying the English text comes the English word ^"exegesis." Literally, this word means to lead out and unfold. The text is therefore affirming that Christ leads out and unfolds God as a teacher does his subject.

On the basis of this declaration, it follows that Christ in His person is like God, and to learn of God all one needs do is look at Christ, for Christ leads out and unfolds the truth about God in His own person. After declaring, "I am... the truth" (John 14:6), it was Philip who addressed a request to Christ. "Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us" (John 14:8). To which Christ replied, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" (John 14:9). On the strength of these clear passages of Scripture, it may be safely affirmed that God is like Christ, and any contemplation of the person of Christ will usher the inquirer into the presence of God and the truth about God.

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GOD IS GOODNESS

 

 

Now it is time to consider those attributes of greatness which are more aptly described as moral goodness. Whereas the attributes of metaphysical greatness have to do with His being or substances, the attributes of goodness have to do with His character. There are six in all: holy, true, love, righteous, faithful, and merciful. The first three are more spe­cifically in relation to God Himself. The final three grow out of the first three, and have largely to do with His relation to others. In comprehending the meaning of these six attributes, they sum up almost completely what men think of when they conceive the goodness of God.

From Genesis through the entire Bible, there is an increasing testimony that God is good. He approves His own works in creation as good (Gen. 1:4, 31). And it follows that good things must proceed from a source of goodness. Jethro witnessed the goodness of God to Israel and proclaimed it (Exod. 18:9). For the new task Moses would undertake, there was need for a new vision of the Lord. So God promised Moses that He would have all His goodness pass before him (Exod. 33:18-19). He fulfilled the promise (Exod. 34:6). Paul points the finger of indictment at the lost for despising the riches of God's goodness (Rom. 2:4).

In that singular encounter of the rich young ruler with Christ, the Lord

Jesus calls him to witness to his grievous error in addressing Him "good master," or admit that He is God, for "there is none good but One, that is God" (Matt.19:17). In this instance, the positive degree of the adjective carries the untouchable sense. God is good in the supreme sense, and any reference to Him in the area of goodness admits of no degrees. This intrinsic excellence in rela­tion to Himself will ultimately become expressive in grace toward others.