John Eldredge wrote, “Last week a friend heard his pastor say, “You can’t know Jesus like you know your friends. He is altogether different from us.” Blasphemy. You can know Jesus just as intimately as his first disciples did. Maybe more so. Jesus came to be known, for heaven’s sake, came to make God known to us.” Knowing Jesus starts with understanding the personality of Jesus, who is the Soul of God.
Ancient Personality Theory
Personality theory traces back to ancient times. The originator is said to be Hippocrates, a Greek doctor born in 460 B.C. and known to this day as the “father of modern medicine.” Hippocrates believed there were four basic personality styles. Many researchers have confirmed and further developed his findings, and most researchers believe there are indeed four styles.
Although Hippocrates is said to be the originator of personality theory, there is another author who wrote much earlier about a four-fold personality. This writer penned some amazing words between 220 and 370 years before Hippocrates was born. These incredible words are found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Chapter 9 and verse 6 presents four names of the coming Messiah, each name representing one of the four personality styles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This is the second in a series of four posts about the personality of Jesus, and focuses on His title of Prince of Peace.
The Soul of God
Jesus is the Prince of Peace, the Soul of God. In Isaiah 9:6, the Hebrew words for “Prince of Peace” are ”sar salôm”. “Sar” means official, commander, prince, officer, leader, captain, ruler, commander, governor, or dignitary. “Salôm” is related to the word, Shalom. It has over 70 meanings, including peace, safe, prosperity, well, success, good health, benefit, blessing, close friend, contentment, goodwill, harmony, kind, order, satisfied, secure, sound, trusted, and unharmed, well-being, and yes!
The Prince of Peace represents the Soul of God. The word “soul” is used in several different ways in Scripture. It can mean the immortal part of man, and in Psalm 16, we find that Jesus has a soul, “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (Psalm 16:9-10 NASB).
When Jesus is referred to as the Soul of God, the meaning is the essence, the innermost aspect of God’s nature. Soul is also translated incarnation, embodiment, or individual. This name from Isaiah is the most complete, well-rounded name because of “shalom,” which could be described as the most complete adjective there is. When we think of shalom, we most often think of peace. But the word shalom has many meanings, and when taken in total, they represent completeness or wholeness. So calling Jesus the Soul of God is calling him the essence of God, all qualities wrapped up into one.
The Personality of Jesus
We would expect the Prince of Peace to exhibit calmness and peace. As our trusted One, He would be the listener and the mediator. Many of the descriptive definitions of shalom are gentle and patient. This side of Jesus is the humble side, the servant side.
The Gospel of Mark was written primarily to the Romans, and presented Jesus as a lowly servant. This was fitting because, to the highly esteemed Romans, a Jew could be nothing more than a servant. The Gospel of Mark reveals Jesus as the sacrificial servant, or Lamb of God. The emphasis in Mark is that Jesus came from Nazareth. This is fitting for a servant, because the reputation of Nazareth was nothing good could come from there. No one would care about a servant’s family tree, so no information is given in Mark about Jesus’s birth or his early life. This Gospel begins with His work in ministry. The emphasis is not so much on who He was, but on what He did. More miracles are included in Mark than any other Gospel, further illustrating the importance of the acts of this servant.
The writer of Mark was himself a servant to the apostles, “only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). Mark, a servant, was chosen to present Jesus, the Servant. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
The Gospel of Mark provides more clarity on this side of Jesus, the Servant Soul of God.
Jesus came to bring peace between God and humankind. Not only did He come to bring peace, but He is our peace according to Ephesians 2:14.
Jesus sought out peace and quiet, especially after spending a day teaching multitudes or healing long lines of people. He often went up on a lonely mountaintop and spent the entire night praying to His Father. I would have loved to listen in on what Jesus and the Father talked about during those times.
Humility is a hallmark of Jesus. The night before He was arrested, He shared a last supper with his closest followers. In that time, servants would have the responsibility of washing the grimy, dusty feet of visitors. But at that supper, Jesus Himself put an apron on, got down on His knees and personally washed their feet. It’s staggering to realize that He not only humbled Himself to wash his follower’s feet, but also Judas’s feet, His betrayer.
Jesus is an excellent listener, even today He listens to all of our prayers. By most estimates, there are 2.1 billion Christians in the world, about one-third of the total population. If even one in ten of those people are praying at any one time, that means that Jesus is listening to 200 million prayers concurrently. He says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 NIV).
Jesus is also a mediator. In 1Timothy 2:5 we read, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” He has more responsibilities than we can imagine, but He is certainly capable of handling them.
Jesus is a great support person. He’s God’s “right-hand man.” “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).
As a good support person, Jesus made sure His message was consistent with God’s message, “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (John 8:28).
Jesus was adaptable. Just think what Jesus adapted to when He left His throne in heaven and came to earth. Philippians 2:7 reads, “Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
When you think of our God, one thing that separates Him from all other gods is the way He expresses His love in self-sacrifice, His servanthood. No other god has ever been self-sacrificing.
Themes in Mark include labor, endurance and work. As our Prince of Peace, Jesus came as a sacrificial lamb to give up His life for our peace, and our good.
Making Friends with Jesus
John Eldredge is correct, we can know Jesus just as fully as we know each other. Many of us will find kindship with the Prince of Peace.
Just like Jesus, we each have a four-fold personality. Only our personality is not as complete and perfect as Jesus’s. Most of us identify with only one or maybe two of the four styles. We are imperfect, but we are encouraged to grow in maturity to be like our role model, Jesus.
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Those of us who share traits with the Soul of God will be quieter and more introspective. We may love being mediators, and will be able to see both sides of every issue. We are great support people and love to help other people reach their goals, although we may never quite meet our own goals.
Did you feel a kinship with Jesus as you read about these traits? If so, you have a new best friend. I recommend you start to get to know Him better by reading the Gospel of Mark. Underline the passages that reveal the qualities of the Prince of Peace. Find a secret place and spend time with Jesus. He will welcome you with open arms.
…because U count, deb