Heb, 1:3 ... "He (Jesus) is the radiance of [God's] glory and the exact representation of His nature."
Please fix your attention on the words "of His nature." They translate the original in Greek, which is upostasewV autou (hupostaseôs autou). The word upostasewV literally means "reality" or "substance," and in this case refers to the nature of God Himself. When we consider the composition of our bodies, we easily understand that we are made of earthly elements fashioned into flesh and bones and various organs. But what is God composed of? This question would take us far beyond the limit of human capacity. We know that He is not made of material elements, for Jesus said in John 4:24 that "God is spirit." Whatever spirit is (which is God's nature) is what the word upostasewV in Heb. 1:3 refers to; and it says that the character of Jesus perfectly corresponds to it. In other words, character takes shape and is perfected the more the individual is modeled after God. And since John 14:9 says we see God in Christ, the last statement may be rephrased to say: Character is shaped and perfected the more the individual is modeled after Christ.
As I was developing this series of articles, I could have made a list of the qualities that seem to me to constitute and define good character. But I knew that was the wrong way to go about it. It is not my prerogative to make such a decision and bring forth such a list. I believe that no one, not even moral philosophers, have the ability to do it irrefutably. In my study of philosphy, both in university and in private, I have read with interest their various prescriptions for good character. And they are indeed varied, as one rejects the others to replace them with his own.
One example is that of Aristotle (384-322 BC) in his great work called the Nicomachian Ethics. He defines character in terms of what he called "The Golden Mean."
"The qualities of character can be arranged in triads, in each of which the first and last qualities will be extremes and vices, and the middle quality a virtue or an excellence. So, between cowardice and rashness is courage; between stinginess and extravagance is liberality; between sloth and greed is ambition; between humility and pride is modesty; between secrecy and loquacity is honesty; between moroseness and buffoonery is good humor; between quarrelsomeness and flattery is friendship; and between indecisiveness and impulsiveness is self-control."
This seems quite convincing, and if you read no one but Aristotle, you might think that here is a defi-ition of character that can be used to advantage. The only trouble is, if you consult another philosopher, you find that he rejects both Aristotle and others and constructs his own model of character. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), for example, had this to say about Aristotle and his disciples:
"All these were attempts of the Greeks to check their own violence and impulsiveness of charater; more truly they reflected the Greek feeling that passions are not of themselves vices, but the raw material of both vice and virtue, according as they function in excess and disproportion, or in measure and harmony."
This German philosopher, who was an atheist, constructed his own definition of character. A generation later, Nazi ideologists applied Nietzschean philosophy, and thus was created the monster that disrupted Europe in the 1930-1945 period. One can have "good character" by the Aristotelian standard, or even "good character" by the Nietzschean standard, and yet have a contemptible personality and lifestyle by the Christtian standard. In future articles, the Christian model of good character will be presented,
