The Father's Person

The second truth is another wonderful one:
the Father is a Person and has a form so glorious that we can't see Him yet.

I saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son. I gazed on Jesus' countenance and admired His lovely person. The Father's person I could not behold, for a cloud of glorious light covered Him. I asked Jesus if His Father had a form like Himself. He said He had, but I could not behold it, for said He, "If you should once behold the glory of His person, you would cease to exist...
Early Writings p54

This is Good News, God is 'real'!! We can relate to Him.

Most of the Christian world get themselves tangled up trying to explain the extradimensional, incorporeal and 'entirely simple' (therefore spirit alone). Some Hebrews felt the same, as do the Hindus.

All of these beliefs, seem to me, to have the effect of distancing God from us. Making Him into a distant, incomprehensible, ethereal spirit.

Why is it so important that the Father is a Person? One reason the booklet quotes is:

I have often seen that the spiritual view took away all the glory of heaven, and that in many minds the throne of David and the lovely person of Jesus have been burned up in the fire of Spiritualism...
Early Writings - Experience and Views p77

This seems to indicate that an airy fairy heaven is not a glorious one, I wonder if the usual cloud-sitting, harp-playing heaven has made people think of it as a boring place where people only exist as 'spirits'. It has made them prefer this down-to-earth existence now.

This reminds me of Nirvana where the enlightened Buddhist goes, he becomes one with the universe, so ceases to exist. Isn't it strange that these people spend their whole lives working hard to get to a place that is close to our idea of where the wicked will spend eternity. The devil has fooled so many peoples and religions.

Our job is to tell people that God exists! That heaven is a gloriously real place with a throne and Persons on it.

Won't it be exciting to see the Father for the first time?

Jesus has form

In looking at "The Godhead in Black and White" I found some neglected truths. Truths you must never give up or compromise, Geoff. These are things the church needs to hear. They are certainly things I needed reminding of, and to appreciate again or for the first time. Thank you!

The first truth:

Jesus has a form and is a person.

... I have often seen the lovely Jesus, that he is a person. I asked him if his Father was a person, and had a form like himself. Said Jesus. "I am in the express image of my Father's Person.

I have often seen that the spiritual view took away all the glory of heaven, and that in many minds the throne of David, and the lovely person of Jesus had been burned up in the fire of spiritualism. I have seen that some, who have been deceived, and led into this error, would be brought out into the light of truth, but it would be almost impossible for them to get entirely rid of the deceptive power of spiritualism. Such should make thorough work in confessing their errors, and leaving them forever. {Experience and Views p64 para1,2}

This is wonderful in that we can relate to Jesus personally, so we aren't relating to some vague thing as the 'spiritualisers' propose. We have 'the lovely person of Jesus' on the throne of David.

He was in in the express image of the Father, not in features alone, but in perfection of character.

We have an actual Person, not made in human image but who is the express image of His Father.

Websters 1828 defines 'express' (adjective) as: Plain; clear; expressed; direct not ambiguous.
1. Given in direct terms; not implied or left to inference. This is the express covenant or agreement. We have his express consent. We have an express law on the subject. Express warranty; express malice.
2. Copied; resembling; bearing an exact representation.

So Jesus is a plain, clear, unambiguous, exact representation of the Father. And in two ways:
Physical: in form and features.
Character: perfection of character.

When Jesus said He who has seen Me has seen the Father, He means that they are alike in character. This is great news. They are both loving and gracious, merciful and longsuffering. They are also alike in form and feature but separate persons.