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an understanding of emo�on? Is there an emphasis … For the joy set before him he endured the
on the value of emo�onal understanding? In see- cross, scorning its shame…” (NIV, 1978/2011,
king God’s kingdom first in this ques�on: Does God Hebrews 12:2)
express His emo�ons in scripture? And is there indi-
ca�on that he finds value in his emo�ons and the Holy Spirit-expressed Emo�on Fluency
human expression of emo�ons in the scriptures? Although, not as clearly stated in the scriptures; it
appears that the Holy Spirit, as the Great Counselor,
God-expressed Emo�on Fluency is a minister to our emo�onal states and to our un-
As represented in the divine Godhead and throug- derstanding in this fallen- broken world:
hout His Word, we clearly see the emo�onal ex-
pression of God as follows. The verse references lis- • “… Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit…”
ted below clearly reveal God’s inten�onality in the (NIV, 1978/2011, Luke 10:21)
revealing of His emo�ons as well as a valuing of this • “And hope does not disappoint us, because God
form of expression. This list is not comprehensive, has poured out his love into our hearts by the
it simply illustrates that God expresses a range of Holy Spirit…” (NIV, 1978/2011, Romans 5:5)
emo�ons throughout: • “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, pa-
�ence, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
• Grief (Genesis 6:6, Jeremiah 42:10) gentleness and self-control…” (NIV, 1978/2011,
• Anger (Exodus 4:14, Judges 3:8, Psalm 30:5) Gala�ans 5:22-23)
• Jealousy (Deuteronomy 6:14-15) • “… he cares for you” (NIV, 1978/2011, 1 Peter
• Pleasure (1 Chronicles 29:17, Luke 10:21) 5:7)
• Pity (2 Chronicles 36:15)
• Love (Psalm 78:68, Jeremiah 2:38, 41) Each of these examples demonstrate that the God-
• Longing (Jeremiah 32:37-41) head leads us in placing value and importance on
• “Compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, emo�onal life, and thus the emo�onal life of huma-
abounding in love…” (NIV, 1978/2011, Psalm nity, as well.
86:15).
• Hate (Zechariah 8:17, Malachi 2:16) Narra�ve-based Emo�on Fluency
• Joy (Zephaniah 3:17) Another ques�on to ask is: Are there direct or indi-
• “…the Father of compassion and the God of all rect references to words of emo�onal meaning for
comfort” (NIV, 1978/2011, 2 Corinthians 1:3). mankind in the scriptures? Specifically, there is a re-
ference to men that were “past feeling” (Ephesians
Christ-expressed Emo�on Fluency 4:19) having a nega�ve connota�on in their callous-
What about Christ as representa�ve not only of the ness towards pain. In the Old Testament, Psalm
divine, but also the human? 119:70 contrasts David’s heart with the hearts of
the arrogant:
Below is a lis�ng of a few of the verses which con- “Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I de-
tain the expressions of Christ’s emo�onal experi- light in your law” (NIV, 1978/2011). Also, there are
ence: an abundance of instances of human emo�on ex-
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man pression throughout the scriptures.
of suffering, and familiar with pain.” (NIV, Indirectly, the story form of the Bible tes�mony has
1978/2011, Isaiah 53:3) clearly touched the emo�onal hearts of people
• “‘…for I am gentle and humble in heart…’” (NIV, throughout all genera�ons.
1978/2011, Ma�hew 11:29) There is no shortage of rich emo�on content as we
• Compassion (Ma�hew 20:34) read through the Biblical narra�ve beginning with
• Sorrow (Ma�hew 26:38-39) Genesis. We go on to read in the scriptures of Mo-
• Anger and Grief (Mark 3:4-5) ses feelings of inadequacy as he was chosen to lead
• Weariness (John 4:6) the Exodus (Exodus 4:10-17) and of his later confi-
• Love (John 13:34) dence that turned to frustra�on (Numbers
• Joy (John 15:11) 20-10-12); of Job and the depth of his depression
• Fervency, Tears, and Reverence (Hebrews 5:7) and despair with later sa�sfac�ons (Job); of Naomi
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