In the previous post, I mentioned that Jesus emphasized the personal nature of God. In particular, Jesus wants us to view God as our loving Father. Therefore, unlike Eastern religions, which view ultimate reality as impersonal, ultimate reality is deeply personal.
But there are elements to the Christian view of God that lead us to think of God as more than personal. (Impersonal is not the right word, so I’m going with “more than personal.”) For example,
- “God is light” (1 John 1:5)
- “God is love” (1 John 4:8)
- “God is spirit” (John 4:24)
- “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)
- “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13)
Those are not things we link with persons. Light and love sound like concepts. Would you ever call your friend light or love? And what person surrounds the entire human race and gives us our being?
So while God is deeply personal—our loving Father—God also transcends the categories of personhood. God is personal and more than personal.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.