What the Miraculous Son came to Achieve: A miraculous Death & Resurrection

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

Introduction and review
Yesterday we considered the first reason as to why the Miraculous Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth in His first advent. We discovered He came to achieve a miraculous birth that would be the basis for the Christian's new birth. We noted that the reflection of the Miraculous Son's humanity is to be seen in the Christian's humanity. 
In other words, as seen in today's posts and the up and coming one's, everything Jesus came to achieve in the realm of His humanity was so that all who by grace through faith heed the call to salvation can experience everything he experienced. Jesus Christ had a miraculous birth so that all sinners Divinely affected by the Spirit through the scriptures could have a miraculous birth. Today we want to consider how Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection not only provided the basis for salvation but also the basis for the Christian's ongoing sanctification or process for becoming more like Jesus Christ.

Linking Jesus' crucifixion to the believer's co-crucifixion
How many events do you and I know of that occurred over 2,000 years ago and that have personal relevance to us today? Only one: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Four Gospels present to us the event and life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Acts and the Epistles present to the reader the experience of life that occurs when they by faith connect to Jesus Christ. Quite literally - every child of God can say they have been "co-crucified" and "co-resurrected". The Person and work of Jesus Christ is inserted into the sinner's timeline at saving faith. There are so many scriptures that speak about believers having been "co-crucified" and "co-resurrected" in Jesus Christ. For brevity's sake, I will list three of them which speak most explicitly from the Book of Galatians, and mention the others by simple reference:

1. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

2. Galatians 5:24 "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

3. Galatians 6:14 "But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Other scriptures that link Jesus' crucifixion to the Christian's co-crucifixion are: Romans 6:3-11; 8:3-4; Colossians 2:11-14).

Linking Jesus' resurrection to the believer's co-resurrection
Every Christian can also say they too have been raised to walk forth in newness of life! (Romans 6:4-11; 8:11) Notice a few scriptures that explicitly connect the believer's co-resurrection to Jesus':

1. Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

2. Colossians 2:13-14 "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

3. Ephesians 2:5  "even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)".

Putting it all together
The story is told of Dr. A.B Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance church commenting on how to capture the essence of the Christian life. Dr. Simpson is reported to have said the word "habitation", since the word removed the experience and resulting faith of the Christian life from and "it" and replaced it with a "Him". Author H. Jack Stanley notes about Simpson's insight: "It is Christ Himself personally present and active with the believer, who has come to trust the Lord and live daily by Him in the spiritual realm." As was noted at the beginning of this post: whatever Jesus experienced in his humanity on this earth, the Christian is so-connected by the Spirit in saving faith. Jesus, touching his humanity, was miraculously born and thus the Christian can say: me too! Jesus in his flesh was crucified, and thus the Christian can affirm: "I as well". Jesus, touching his humanity, was raised from the dead and the Christian by definition as experienced a resurrection in their human spirit, is operating on resurrection power in their human soul and looks forward to a physical resurrection in their human body. The Miraculous Son came to achieve a miraculous birth, death and resurrection so that all who by grace through faith believe on Him could experience such saving realities. 

More tomorrow....

What The Miraculous Son came to Achieve: a Miracle Birth

John 1:12-14 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Introduction and Review
Yesterday we began considering the Person of the Miraculous Son. We discovered that the four gospels portray two starting points for getting to know Jesus Christ. The first is what Bible teachers and theologians call "Christology from above", meaning we start by considering Jesus Christ as the Eternal Son Pre-existing in eternity with the Father and Spirit as One Triune God. The journey the Son makes from eternity into time entails his entryway through the virgin birth/conception, his life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension. John's Gospel appears to offer us this starting point for considering the miraculous Son.

The other three Gospels, Matthew and Luke, as well as Mark, present what Bible teachers and theologians call a "Christology from below", meaning we begin with Jesus from the standpoint of his humanity, and based upon his virgin birth, later adult life, miracles, teachings, relationships, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, we are brought to the conclusion that Jesus is Who He said He was - God in human flesh. 

Both starting points are equally important. Considering Jesus Christ 
"from above" reminds us that God was burdened enough to provide redemption as to come down Himself in the Person of the Son to become what He came to save: His people. Likewise, when we consider Jesus Christ from the standpoint of "here below", we are reminded of how personal He is and how marvelous it is to have fellowship with the miraculous Son through faith Who is God in human flesh. 

Those were some of the thoughts we explored in yesterday's post. Today we want to consider the first reason the Miraculous Son came: to achieve a miraculous birth.

Jesus Christ in his humanity had a miraculous birth so as to provide the basis for the New birth in salvation
What is Advent or Christmas really all about? The central event is the birth of Jesus Christ into this world. It must be realized that such an event was necessary if salvation's beginning point was to be established. For many years I have read and re-read John 1:1-18 and have enjoyed its profound truth. However it was not until recently that I noticed how the truth of the New birth in salvation is literally presented next to the truth of Jesus Christ's incarnation. We can outline John 1:12-14 as follows:

The reality of the Christian's New Birth. John 1:12-13
John 1:12-13 notes about the New birth in salvation: 12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." The above text deals with the beginning of one's salvation - what the Bible calls "The New Birth" or "Regeneration". The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (the doctrinal statement of the Southern Baptist Convention) defines the "New Birth" accordingly: "Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace."
The New Testament speaks of the beginning of Christian salvation as being that of a "New Birth". Jesus for example in John 3:1-8 discusses with Nicodemas what it means to be "born-again". Peter too talks about being "begotten" or "born again" by God in 1 Peter 1:3-5 and 23. This language of "birthing" and "regeneration" to describe saving faith is used in Titus 3:5 - "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." 

The root of the reality of the Christian's new birth - Jesus' incarnation. John 1:14
John 1:14 connects the reality of the New birth to the Miraculous Son's miracle birth - "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, page 239, has this to note about the significance of Jesus' incarnation: "The virgin birth and resurrection are signs that here we have something unique in the realm of humanity. Who or what He is can be discovered only by contrasting Him with others, and it shines out most clearly when all others are against Him. The event of his coming to suffer and triumph as man in our midst is absolutely decisive for every individual he encounters and for the destiny of the whole world. (John 3:16-18; 10:27-28; 12:31; 16:11; 1 John 3:8). 

The reflection of the Miraculous Son's humanity is to be seen in the Christian's humanity
What then are we saying? As seen in today's posts and the up and coming ones, everything Jesus came to achieve in the realm of His humanity was so that all who by grace through faith heed the call to salvation can experience everything he experienced. Jesus Christ had a miraculous birth so that all sinners Divinely affected by the Spirit through the scriptures could have a miraculous birth. When Jesus died on the cross as the crucified One, this meant that the Christian could say: "I have been crucified with Christ...." (Galatians 2:20). When Jesus raised from the dead, guess what? Every Christian could also say they too have been raised to walk forth in newness of life! (Romans 6:4-11; 8:11) Then of course as Jesus Christ ascended into heaven in glorified, physical, resurrected humanity - the Christian now can say they are spiritually seated in the heavens with Jesus and look forward to when He returns to give them a glorified, physical, resurrected body like His own. (Ephesians 2:6-11; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58)

Closing thoughts:
We will be reinforcing the above thoughts in up-coming posts. For now I want the reader to remember that the first reason Jesus Christ, The Miraculous Son came, was to achieve a miraculous birth. As I heard one preacher state: At salvation, supernatural Jesus stepped inside natural me, which in turn by faith natural me stepped inside Jesus Christ, and natural me was born-again to become supernatural! 

More tomorrow.....

Two starting points for considering The Miraculous Son

John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being."

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Matthew 1:18 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit."

Luke 1:31-35  "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God."

Introduction: Two starting points for talking about the miraculous Son
Both John's Gospel and the two other Gospels of Matthew and Luke present to us two starting points for considering the miraculous Person of Jesus Christ. 

Thinking about Jesus Christ as God who came down to be God in human flesh
John begins with the identical wording of Genesis 1:1, namely "in the beginning". The Son is described as co-existing with the Person of the Father in eternity, or what Bible teachers call the Son's "Pre-existence". When we talk about Jesus Christ in the manner described by John, we talk of Him as Eternal Deity, partaking of the same Divine nature in equal measure along with the Persons of the Father and the Spirit. John's goal in his Gospel is to demonstrate how this Eternal Person of the Son came into time and history through the virgin birth and became God in human flesh. In summary, John presents Jesus Christ as "from above" and demonstrates how the Eternally Divine Son by way of His incarnation as a human being lived, died, raised and ascended as God in human flesh.

Thinking about Jesus Christ, with regards to His humanity, as having a beginning in time starting with the virgin birth conception
Matthew and Luke present the starting point for talking about Jesus Christ from the vantage point of His humanity. What these two Gospel writers and Mark do is introduce Jesus to us at "ground-level" or looking at Jesus from below". By appealing to the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament, these two Gospel writers affirm the Son's pre-existence while reinforcing the reality of the beginning of his human life in the virgin-birth conception. Jesus Christ, in regards to his humanity, was conceived in the virgin's womb, was born, lived, died, raised and ascended into Heaven as a man. Throughout the Gospels of Matthew and Luke we are reminded that Jesus ever retained His fully Divine nature, just as John's Gospel reiterates the fact that Jesus became and remained a genuine human being. 

The four gospels present the Eternal Miraculous Son as God who came to be God, the Miraculous Son, in human flesh
When combined with Mark's testimony of Jesus' mission and ministry, we have a composite picture of the Miraculous Son as God in human flesh who was virgin conceived, born, lived, died, raised from the dead and ascended. Mark's Gospel begins with Jesus the Son as an adult man who has been alive for 30 years and is getting ready to begin His public ministry. Such a miraculous life is not portrayed as a still life painting to be admired from afar, but a vivid, living breathing Person who came to bring about miraculous life. Jesus Christ the Miraculous Son not only came in a miraculous fashion but lived a life that was woven in the miraculous and demonstrated the reality of such in the realm of ordinary human life. 

Jesus would end up performing 35 miracles, preaching five recorded sermons, telling over 50 parables, calling twelve disciples and fulfilling 109 prophecies all before ascending into Heaven following his crucifixion and resurrection. Such a miraculous Person as Jesus Christ, Who exists as both Eternal God and finite resurrected man must not be conceived of as stuck in the pages of history or sealed off somewhere in heaven. His miraculous life was lived so that He could save and redeem His people who are called to a redeemed, miraculous life for the glory of God. The next few posts will aim to flesh out what type of miraculous life the Miraculous Son came to achieve and make available in saving faith. 

The Six Introverted Personality Temperament Blends

Romans 12:4-5 "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it."

1 Peter 4:10 "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Introduction:

The past few of posts have been driven with the desire to equip God's people and church with the ability to increase understanding of one another. In the scriptures above, God has different people of different temperaments in the local church. According to Dr. Tim Lahaye's book: "Spirit-controlled Temperament", the four personality temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholy & phlegmatic) can yield up to twelve different combinations. Furthermore, each person has all four types, with one, two or sometimes three being the dominate ones in different measure. When we consider how each person is wired and has different levels of each temperament style, the blends and combinations can certainly exceed the ideal 12 blends. 

The Lord is so creative and innovative. If we can appreciate how each of these temperaments interact with one another, and the beauty that can result from such interaction, how can we not praise God for how such a design exists in the local church and in our families? It was with thoughts such as these that we ended yesterday's post. We looked at six extroverted temperament styles in yesterday's post. Today we want to consider the final six temperament blends that are spelled out in Dr. Tim Lahaye's book: "Spirit-Controlled Temperament". These final six are noted for being "introverted" in their expression. Before we get to them and for the sake of review, let me briefly review the four temperaments by showing how they relate to people being extroverted and introverted.

Extroverts and Introverts
I'm sure the reader has heard of these terms "extrovert" and "introvert". An extrovert is an outgoing person who wears their emotions on their sleave and divulges their thoughts to people. Introverts are those who prefer to stay in the back ground and keep to themselves. When it comes to this issue of temperaments, two of them are extroverted (choleric and sanguine) and two are more introverted (melancholy and phlegmatic). Keeping these distinctions in mind may aid in understanding the following combinations and blends of temperaments we find ourselves or other people having and living out every day. 

The Six Introverted Personality Temperaments (based off of Dr. Tim Lahaye's Book: Spirit-Controlled Temperaments)
The blends of the four personality temperments (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholy) are stated in terms of one dominate and one secondary temperament. Thus for example, if a person has a dominate choleric personality temperament with a melancholy temperament being a secondary influence, we would term that temperament combination: ChlorMel (Choloric dominate and Melancholy temperment being second). Let the reader note below the following extroverted temperament blends, as spelled out by Dr. Tim Lahaye:

1). The MelSan = Dr. Tim Lahaye notes: "Now we turn to the predominately introvertish temperaments. Each will look somewhat similar to one we have already examined, except that the two melded temperaments will be reversed in intensity. MelSans make good scholars and are probably the best of all teachers, particularly for high-school and college students. Their Melancholy nature will ferret out little-known facts and be exacting in the use of detail, while the Sanguine will communicate well with students. They usually major in the social sciences, theology, philosophy, literature, or the humanities."  According to Dr. Lahaye, many of the prophets could very well had been MelSans.

2). The MelChlor = Dr. Lahaye writes about this style: "For MelChlors, the mood swings of the Melancholy are somewhat stabilized by the Choleric's self-will and determination. The is almost nothing vocationally that these people cannot do-and do well. They are both perfectionists and drivers." Dr. Lahaye then notes that Luke in the New Testament may had been a MelChlor.

3). MelPhleg = Dr. Lahaye states concerning this blend: "They are not nearly as prone to hostility as the two previously discussed Melancholies and usually get along well with others. These gifted introverts combine the analytic perfectionism of the Melancholy with organized efficiency of the Phelgmatic. They are usually good-natured humanitarians who blossom in a quiet solitary environment for study and research." Dr. Lahaye suggests that the Apostle john may had been an example of this temperament blend. 

4). PhlegSan = According to Dr. Lahaye - "The easiest of the twelve temperament blends to get along with over the long haul are the PhlegSans. They are congenial, cooperative, thoughtful, people-oriented, diplomatic, dependable, fun-loving and humorous. They never dispaly an abrasive persoanlity and are negihborhood favorites-with adults and children." Dr. Lahaye suggests that Timothy in the New Testament was a PhlegSan.

5). PhlegChlor = Dr. Lahaye notes about this temperament: "The most active of all Phlegmatics are PhlegChlors. Predominately Phlegmatic, these people will still never become balls of fire. Like other Phlegmatics, they are easy to get along with and may become excellent group leaders. If properly trained, they make good foremen, exectutive vice presidents, accountants, educators, planners and laborers in almost any area of construction. Phlegmatics-excellent listeners, genuinely in other people-have the potential to become good counselors. They have the patience of Job and often are able to help those who have not found relif with other counselors. Their gentle spirit never makes people threatened." According to Dr. Lahaye, Abraham would had been perhaps a PhlegChlor.

6). The PhlegMel = In this final temperament blend, Dr. Lahaye notes: "Of all the temperament blends, PhlegMels are the most gracious, gentle, and quiet. PhlegMels are rarely hostile and almost never say anything for which they must apologize (mailny because they rarely say much). They never embarrass themselves or others, always do the proper thing, dress simply, and are dependable and exact." Dr. Lahaye writes more details, but in short, he considers Mark, the author of the Second Gospel in the New Testament to be this temperament blend.

Closing Thoughts:
These past several days have been dedicated to exploring what are called personality temperaments. We have leaned quite heavily on Dr. Tim Lahaye's book: "Spirit-controlled Temperament", Tyndale Publishers, 1992. I would encourage the reader to go to a website like Amazon and purchase the book, it is well-worth the read. Such considerations like those we have explored in these past few posts can aid greatly in understanding people in our families, our churches and even ourselves. 

The wisdom found in such a study certainly meshes well with what scripture has to say about God making man in His image. When we survey the Biblical text, there are roughly 2,000 different people of all different personality temperaments. My prayer is that these studies have provided a launching point for further reflection in how we can better appreciate and pray for one another. 

The Six Extroverted Personality Temperaments

Romans 12:4-5 "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it."

1 Peter 4:10 "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Introduction:

The past couple of posts have been driven with the desire to equip God's people and church with the ability to increase understanding of one another. In the scriptures above, God has different people of different temperaments in the local church. According to Dr. Tim Lahaye's book: "Spirit-controlled Temperament", the four personality temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholy & phlegmatic) can yield up to twelve different combinations. Furthermore, each person has all four types, with one, two or sometimes three being the dominate ones in different measure. When we consider how each person is wired and has different levels of each temperament style, the blends and combinations can certainly exceed the ideal 12 blends. 

The Lord is so creative and innovative. If we can appreciate how each of these temperaments interact with one another, and the beauty that can result from such interaction, how can we not praise God for how such a design exists in the local church and in our families? It was with thoughts such as these that we ended yesterday's post. Today we want to consider six of the twelve different temperament blends that are spelled out in Dr. Tim Lahaye's book: "Spirit-Controlled Temperament". Before we get to them, let me briefly review the four temperaments by showing how they relate to people being extroverted and introverted.

Extroverts and Introverts
I'm sure the reader has heard of these terms "extrovert" and "introvert". An extrovert is an outgoing person who wears their emotions on their sleave and divulges their thoughts to people. Introverts are those who prefer to stay in the back ground and keep to themselves. When it comes to this issue of temperaments, two of them are extroverted (choleric and sanguine) and two are more introverted (melancholy and phlegmatic). Keeping these distinctions in mind may aid in understanding the following combinations and blends of temperaments we find ourselves or other people having and living out every day. 

The Six Extroverted Personality Temperaments (based off of Dr. Tim Lahaye's Book: Spirit-Controlled Temperaments)
The blends of the four personality temperments (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholy) are stated in terms of one dominate and one secondary temperament. Thus for example, if a person has a dominate choleric personality temperament with a melancholy temperament being a secondary influence, we would term that temperament combination: ChlorMel (Choloric dominate and Melancholy temperment being second). Let the reader note below the following extroverted temperament blends, as spelled out by Dr. Tim Lahaye:

1). The SanChlor = a mixture of two extrovertish temperaments. The SanChlorwill have a happy charisma combined with organizational skills. Lahaye mentions Simon Peter as a possible SanChlor, being that he had a combined charisma and natural ability to jump ahead and be the leader.

2). The SanMel = SanMels are highly emotional people who fluctuate drastically. Dr. Lahaye notes: "They can laugh hysterically one minute and burst into tears the next. It is almost impossible for themm to hear a sad tale, observe the tragic plight of another person, or listen to music without weeping profusely. They genuinely feel the grief of others." Dr. Lahaye then points out that King David could had possibly been a SanMel.

3). SanPhleg = Dr. Lahaye notes: "The easiest person to like is the SanPhleg. The overpoweringand often obnoxious tendencies of a Sanguine are offset by the gracious, easygoing Phlegmatic. SanPhlegs are happy-go-lucky people whose carefree spirit  and good humor make them lightheartened entertainers. Helping people is their regular business, along with various forms of sales." Dr. Lahaye conceives of the New Testament associate of the Apostle Paul, Apollos, as being a SanPhleg personality temperament.

4). The ChlorSan = As can be seen by the name, this temperment has a dominating chloric temperament with a blended secondary sanguine temperament. According to Dr. Lahaye, this is the second strongest extroverted temperament style. Lahaye notes: "ChlorSans are almost completely given over to activity. Most of their efforts are productive and purposeful, but watch out for their reactions; they can become volatile in a moment! They are natural promoters and can sell almost anything. And they have enough charisma to attract and get along well with others." According to Dr. Lahaye, the New Testament author James fits under this category, being that he wrote with a bold style and yet was very influential in the early church.

5). The ChlorMel = Dr. Lahaye notes regarding this personality temperament blend: "The optimism and practicality of a Chloeric overcomes the moodiness of the Melancholy, making the ChlorMel both goal-oriented and detailed. Such an individual usually does well in school, possess a quick, analytical mind, yet is decisive. The Chlor Mel develops into a capable leader, the kind you can always count on to do an extraordinary job."  According to Dr. Lahaye, the Apostle Paul may very well had been a ChlorMel. 

6). ChlorPhleg = According to Dr. Lahaye, this temperament blend is the most subdued of the extrovertish temperaments. He writes: "a ahhpy blend of the quick, active, and hot with the calm, cool and unexcited. ChlorPhlegs are not as apt to rush into things as quickly as the extroverts we've previously discussed in this chapter; they are more deliberate and subdued. Though they may not impress you that way at first, they are extremely capable in the long run." According to Dr. Lahaye, Titus, the young pastor to whom Paul wrote in the Epistle of Titus, may very well has been a Chlor Phleg.

The hope today has been in introducing the reader to this helpful area of understanding people's personalities and the further categories we can use in identifying key personality traits. We considered today six extroverted temperament blends. Tomorrow we will look at the introverted tempermant blends that are dominated by the melancholy and phlegmatic temperaments.

Seeing how God uses different blends of personality temperaments in families and churches

Romans 12:4-5 "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

Introduction and Review

The past couple of days has been devoted to understanding how God uses different personality temperaments in the overall design of His church. How different types of people that live and minister in our churches can just as easily valuable in understanding our families as well. If anything, the family is the most fundamental relational unit designed by God. Just as individuals makes up families, such families and individuals who are born-again by the Spirit of God make up our churches. In three major sections of Paul's letters (Romans 12; Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12-14) and Peter's first epistle in chapter 4, we see extended discussion on both the natural and supernatural design of God in both families and churches. 

In this particular series of posts I am interested in exploring the natural, physical and personality make-up categories that God has designed into the life of each person. Such an area of study has been around for centuries and Bible teachers have found such a study valuable in helping people understand why they do and respond like they do. A few days ago I mentioned that I am convinced that over 3/4 of the conflicts we see in churches arises as a result of not understanding each other. 

We have been using four fictional characters to unpack the four personality temperaments that we find in people: Carl Choleric; Sam Sanguine; Molly Melancholy and Fred Phlegmatic. If the read will recall, our four characters had come to a red-light in the center of an imaginary town that gave us opportunity to see how they respond in a given situation. We saw Carl Choleric being the guy who is task oriented and prone to telling others what needs to get done. When we met Sam Sanguine, he was the guy who wanted to wave hello at everyone and even though he too was excited about his trip, he more so was interested in meeting people. Molly Melancholy was very detailed and thoughtful and was willing to take turns if necessary. Then there was Fred Phlegmatic who thought it comical to watch everyone else but was content on waiting to get to his destination, knowing he would get there on time and knowing what he would do.

Well now all four of our characters have arrived at their destination and have met and are now returning to their individual homes. We won't have them go through a red-light again but rather we want to understand further this concept of personality temperament and understand that for every person, there are blends of all four of these temperament types, as well as certain temperaments working differently in different people. Later on we will see how this insight aids in understanding what happens in our families and churches, based upon the scriptures cited above. 

Carl Choleric's home - a combination of order and creativity

Carl is married to a woman who is Melancholy - the creative, mainly introverted and thoughtful personality type. Carl and his wife love each other very much and their combined temperaments balance each other very well. Their one daughter exhibits her mother's melancholy thoughtfulness, her dad's tendency to be focused on a task. However what makes their daughter interesting is that she has a dominate sanguine personality, with a smattering of phlegmatic tendency to play practical jokes. Carl and his wife are proud of their daughter. She is very likable as a sanguine but when placed in large groups tends to be quieter, due to inheriting her mother's melancholy traits. As Carl and his wife get to know their daughter more and more, they see in each of themselves smatterings of the other personality types, all combined uniquely under their dominate personality temperaments. 

Sam Sanguine's Home - Warm and Safe

When Sam arrives home, he greets his wife and son with a "hey everyone, daddy's home". His wife, a Phlegmatic, has been working steadily to make sure that their family has a nice meal and fun game after dinner. Sam's wife tends to be quieter, but when she says something, it is usually worthwhile listening to. Their son is like his mom - a Phlegmatic, but more so like his dad - a sanguine. He talks about his day with excitement but then reports how he is wanting to make sure his schedule doesn't get interrupted by surprises. The dominate sanguine and phlegmatic personality temperaments make this home a combination warm and safe place to be.

Molly's Home - Intellectual and purposeful

When Molly arrives home she waves at her husband who has been making some stir fry in the kitchen for the family. Molly instantly looks through the mail, since that was the first thing on her list of to-do's. Molly's husband is a combination choleric and phlegmatic, with the phlegmatic being the dominant personality temperament. Molly loves her husband due to the fact he is ever loyal and never leaves her side. When it comes to making decisions, her husband's choleric side tends to keep things focused. Molly, being a melancholy, reminds her husband to be sure to remember the appointments they have planned for the week. Their teenage daughter drives up as supper is about done being cooked. As Molly and her husband's daughter walks in, she strolls by calm and collective. As a sanguine she hugs her parents and begins to tell them about her day. Their daughter is a basketball player who also likes her new math class. However, her secondary phlegmatic temperament kicks in and she settles down quickly into getting the table set, just as she always does at dinner.  As the family eats their meal, each relays their day and soon each will be settling into their chairs to read a book and then end the evening watching their favorite t.v show or playing a board game.

Frank's home - Steady adventure

Frank Phlegmatic arrives home and is greeted with excited wife and son holding up plane tickets. Fred is the type of guys who likes to ease into his evening, but he can tell by the Sanguine personalities of his wife and son, that the evening is going to be a discussion about adventure. Frank's birthday is coming up, and his wife and son break the news that they are wanting to take Frank on a ski-trip. As they sit down to dinner, Frank is enjoying his food while his family goes on and on. After they finish, they ask excitedly: "well, what'ya think?" Frank slowly sipped his coffee and smiled and said: "That sounds good to me." At first Frank's wife and son stared at Frank in disbelief, not understanding how he could not be excited. However, Frank suddenly bursted out laughing, as only  Phlegmatic can do. Then Frank's wife and son realized they had been kidded around with by Frank, with Frank immediately saying - well, lets do it. I'm grateful you both would think of that for me. 

Closing thoughts

In the fictional accounts above, how many readers found the account more interesting to read than the red-light scenario of a couple of posts back? The hope of this writer is that today's post proved more interesting. To see how God has not only created people with temperament styles, but with different blends, makes for greater expressions of creativity, excitement, adventure and building of relationships. Each of the above homes were certainly different, and yet because they all understood one another, it proved to be a harmonious home-life for Carl, Sam, Molly and Fred. 

In the scriptures above, God not only has different people of different temperaments in families, but in the local church. According to Dr. Tim Lahaye's book: "Spirit-controlled Temperament", the four personality temperaments can yield up to twelve different combinations. Furthermore, each person has all four types, with one, two or sometimes three being the dominate ones in different measure. When we consider how each person is wired and has different levels of each temperament style, the blends and combinations can certainly exceed the ideal 12 blends. 

In the Romans 12 passage, as well as the other scriptures that speak about the Body of Christ and the differing gifts, the emphasis is as much on the diversity of God's people as there is their unity. The Lord is so creative and innovative. If we can appreciate how each of these temperaments interact with one another, and the beauty that can result from such interaction, how can we not praise God for how such a design exists in the local church and in our families?

More tomorrow....

Carl, Sam, Molly & Fred: How God uses different personality temperaments in His church

1 Cor 12:4-7 "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

Introduction and review
When Paul writes what he did up in 1 Corinthians 12, his concern was to show how the Triune God has so designed the church to be a reflection of Himself as a redeemed community unified in Jesus Christ that expresses such devotion in diverse ways. Spiritual gifts are the primary focus of the texts and are supernaturally given graces given out by the Holy Spirit at salvation. When we speak of personality temperaments, these are natural inborn traits that everyone has and which tend to fall into four general categories of description (choleric, sanguine, melancholy and phlegmatic). The goal today is to further our understanding on this subject and to see what happened to our four friends who were stopped at the stop light. 

Carl, Sam, Molly and Fred proceed forward
Fred Phlegmatic and Molly Melancholy were both the type of people who preferred others to go first, since they by this point had all kinds of things going through their minds. Sam Sanguine and Carl Choleric were revving their engines. Sam was excited to get to where he was heading. He just hoped that despite forgetting the itinerary, he would be able to influence others to help her along the way. Carl Choleric began honking his horn and it was time to get down the road. Carl then realized that he recognized the other three drivers, and that they all were going to the same destination. So to save face he decided to direct the other three to go first. Sam Sanguine jumped at the opportunity and went first. When Carl tried to wave on Molly Melancholy and Fred Phelgmatic, each of them just stared at each other, hoping the other could move. They pointed to Carl to go ahead and so with a quick thumbs up Carl gunned it and sped off. Molly Melancholy decided that it might be best for Fred Phlegmatic to go, since it is etiquette to let the person to your right go first.  Once Fred left, Molly then proceeded but first needed to stop and a cup of coffee, since the destination to where she was heading did not serve good coffee.

The church that God has designed is composed of different types of temperaments

The above little story was designed to get you and I to think about the different types of personalities God has made to occupy our world and our churches. When I think of the local church from a Biblical standpoint, it is like the little town. There are governing standards (God's Word, the Bible); the Mayor or we could say the King of Kings (Jesus Christ), the Sherriff (The Holy Spirit), deputies (Pastors, Elders, Deacons) and the town's people with businesses and homes that make the town life, breath and work by their differing gifts (all Christians, including the pastors, Elders and Deacons). 

The above fictitious characters are so-named from the four personality types that have been identified throughout history. Tim Lahaye in his book; "Spirit-controlled Temperament", page 2, defines temperament as: "that combination of inborn traits that subconsciously affects all of your behavior." Others, including Lahaye, have described temperament as answering the question: "why you do what you do". 

Lahaye goes onto define two other words closely related to "temperament" - namely "character" and "personality". Character is in Lahaye's words: "the real you when no one is looking". According to Lahaye, character combines your temperament, training, moral values, beliefs and habit patterns. In thinking on Lahaye's distinction of character, if "temperament" represent the raw material from whence people are made from the traits inherited from their parents, character represents the chisels, the hammers and tools taken in by that person in the shaping and molding of that person. Certainly God in His Sovereignty affects people unto salvation, bringing about progressive change in the character of the Christian and thus an alteration in the temperament. 

The second related word: "personality", is defined by Lahaye as the outward expression of one's character. We could say that personality is the paint and final touches that over time reflect to others who we are or who we want them to thin we are. Again in the life of the Christian, the Holy Spirit's work of inward transformation of the character should over times align the personality on the outside with what's going on inside.

In the above little story, not only did Carl, Sam, Fred and Molly represent the four main temperaments (respectively Choleric, Sanguine, Phelgmatic and Melancholy), but undoubtedly everyone living and working in the town had combinations of these temperaments which made the town a truly remarkable place to live. 

The more we identify God's design and yield to His will, the less conflict and more appreciation we will have for fellow Christians

God has so designed the church to be composed of those whom He set His affection upon that are not cookie-cutter people, but different. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, in-as-much as the text is all about the unity of the Body of Christ, three times in as many verses we read the word: "variety". I am convinced that over three-quarters of the disputes that arise in the church stem from misunderstanding one another. 

Years ago I recall listening to a message series on the spiritual gifts. The pastor commented that the Holy Spirit's distribution of the gifts take into account the personality of the person. This insight has definite scriptural support. Within 1 Corinthians 12 for example, we read of how much of each person's individuality and uniqueness is factored into the Spirit's Sovereign decision in determining which people will receive what gifts. For example, 1 Corinthians 12:11  "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills." Another text, 1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it."

The types of people that occupy our churches and the gifts God has distributed to each person is so vital to understand. When you consider the different church to which Paul wrote, they all were - well - different? Why? Each one had different mixes of personality temperaments and giftings. These mixtures are what I term "the church's spiritual finger print". Just as our finger prints are God-given, each church is different due to grasping how God has and is molding each one to achieve the Great Commission and Great Commandment. 

More tomorrow....