Understanding God as a Personal Being

Yes, God is a living, personal being who created man in His own image8T 263.1+1. While He is a spirit, He is not an intangible essence or a mere "perfume," but a personal God with a distinct personality3MR 326.4+1. This truth is fundamental, as man was created with a perfect human form and then a personal, self-existing God breathed into him the breath of lifeCCh 74.4+1.

The Personality of God

• A Distinct Being: God is a personal being, and we are not to regard Him as a mere all-pervading principle or actuating energy found in nature8T 263.1+1.

• Created in His Image: The fact that man was made in the image of God testifies to the personality of the Creator Genesis 1:26-278T 263.1.

• The Agency of Creation: In the creation of the human soul and body, the agency of a personal God was clearly manifestCCh 74.4+1.

• Not an Essence: It is a dangerous error to represent God as an essence pervading nature; He is a personal God who rules the conscience18LtMs, Lt 43, 1903, par. 18+1.

Revealed in Jesus Christ

• The Express Image: Jesus Christ came to this world as a personal Saviour to represent a personal God6BC 1068.3+1.

• Fullness of the Godhead: In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and He is the express image of the Father's person Colossians 2:9+16BC 1068.3.

• A Personal Mediator: As a personal Saviour, Christ ascended to heaven and now intercedes in the heavenly courts on our behalf9MR 122.2+1.

Avoiding Speculative Theories

• Warning Against Sophistry: Theories that do away with the personality of God are described as a "science of evil" and a deadly influence that sweeps away the Christian economyBCL 79.6+1.

• Nature is Not God: While nature is an expression of God's thought and character, nature itself is not God, nor is God dwelling personally in the flower or the treeCCh 75.7+1.

• The Limit of Human Wisdom: We are not to try to explain the personality of God beyond what the Bible has given, as human theories regarding His nature are valueless18MR 222.1+1.

...s is not, as some men of science represent, merely an all-pervading principle, an actuating energy. God is a spirit; yet He is a personal being, for man was made in His image. God's handiwork in nature is not God Himself in nature. The things of nature are an expression...— 8T 263.1 (1904)

There are many issues in our world today in regard to the Creator not being a personal God. God is a being, and man was made in His image. After God created man in His image, the form was perfect ...— 13LtMs, Ms 117, 1898, par. 9

There is a personal God, the Father; there is a personal Christ, the Son. Hebrews 1:1, 2: Psalm 19:1-3 quoted.] ... Those who think they can obtain a knowledge of God aside...— 6BC 1068.3 (1956)

The mighty power that works through all nature and sustains all things is not, as some men of science claim, merely an all-pervading principle, an actuating energy. God is a spirit; yet He is a personal being, fo...— Ed 131.5 (1903)

...s of the morning and the evening to rejoice. He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good. The Lord is a living, personal God. A living, personal Saviour came to our world to make of none effect the specious twistings and serp...— 3MR 326.4 (1990)

... on John 1:14+3. The Personality of God—He [Christ] represented God not as an essence that pervaded nature, but as a God who has a personality. Christ was the express image of His Father's person; and He came to our world to restore in ma...— 7BC 921.9 (1957)