In Touch Daily Devotional 
by Dr. Charles Stanley

Friday April 15, 2005

The Personhood of God

John 4:4-26

 

People have all kinds of ideas about what God is like. We often mistakenly invent an image of Him to suit our preferences, imagining someone who overlooks “little” sins or who is an “emergency cord” to pull in times of need. These misconceptions underrate the greatness of God. If we want to see Him for who He truly is, we must look to the Bible as a whole. Though it, He unveils to us His character and attributes, revealing who He is, what He’s capable of doing, and how He works.

 

One of the defining characteristics of God is His personhood. Many people think of Him as some sort of “force”; Scripture, however, reveals that He is a “person” with a definite personality, including unique intelligence, reason, and emotion. Also, God created us in His image so that He could relate to us, speak with us, and love us, while experiencing our voluntary love in return.

 

Personhood does not mean God must be confined to a body—He is also spirit. Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well deals with this issue. Because God is spirit, Jesus explains, His greatness cannot be contained—if the Jews worship Him in one place, that doesn’t mean He is unavailable elsewhere for worship by the Samaritans. While He interacts with us in a close and personal way, He is far too grand to be defined according to our own human comprehension. (Isaiah 55:8-9) What a wonderful privilege to be invited to get to know this awe-inspiring God we serve!

 

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