"You have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your emunah (faith), being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your emunah (faith) -- the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Ruach haMashiach (Spirit of Christ) who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Messiah and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) sent from heaven -- things which malakim (angels) desire to look into.

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ); as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.' And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in Elohim (God), who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your emunah (faith) and hope are in Elohim (God). Since you have purified your souls in obeying the emet (truth) through the Ruach (Spirit) in sincere ahavah (love) of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure lev (heart)" (1 Peter 1:6-22, NKJV).

Let us now focus on only believers and the different yet divisive expressions of the besorah or gospel that we find in the Kingdom that results as a lack of harmony between the various parts of our Yahweh-created nature. Today we are focussing on the first chapter of the first letter of Peter which helps us identify four categories of believer that in turn define 13 believer personality types. We begin with the four categories:

• 1. Faith in Messiah/Christ (1 Pet.1:7 - the tested genuineness of authentic emunah or faith);
• 2. Affection for Messiah/Christ (1 Pet.1:8 - though you have not seen Him, you love Him);
• 3. Knowledge of Messiah/Christ (1 Pet.1:10 - concerning the salvation of which the prophets prophesied about the grace which was to be yours when searched for and enquired after diligently);
• 4. Obedience to Messiah/Christ (1 Pet.1:22 - Having purified your souls by your obedience to the emet/truth.

From these four categories pin-pointed by the apostle Peter, Neil Robbie has identified 13 personality types, eight of which are straight forward with five requiring a little more explanation:

• 1. The Dependent (emunah/faith) - "I trust Messiah";
• 2. The Romantic (affection) - "I love Messiah";
• 3. The Academic (knowledge and study) - "I know of Messiah";
• 4. The Worker (obedience) - "I serve Messiah";
• 5. The Messiah-Centred Dreamer (emunah/faith + affection) - "I love and trust Messiah";
• 6. The Hard-Working Lover (affection + obedience) - "I love and serve Messiah";
• 7. The Moral Student (knowledge + obedience) - "I know of and serve Messiah";
• 8. The Clever Closet Believer (knowledge + emunah/faith) - "I know of and trust Messiah";
• 9. The Tender-Hearted Soldier (emunah/faith + affection + obedience) - "I love, trust and serve Messiah but lack deep knowledge of Him" - This person exudes a warmth and unshakable confidence in Yah'shua (Jesus), he serves Him in the congregation/church and in the world but lacks a depth of knowledge which appears naïve to others. This person needs to spend more time reading, thinking, and studying to expand his knowledge of Messiah. Many charismatics come across this way;
• 10. The Unsure Servant (affection + obedience + knowledge) - "I love, serve and know of Messiah but lack confidence in Him" - This person comes across as sincere about Yah'shua (Jesus) and yet is timid and unsure of Him. People will ask, "why are you not more confident in Messiah?" This lack of confidence undermines both the pastoral work and evangelism of this person as promises which are not applied personally are unlikely to be applied to others;
• 11. The Cold Crusader (obedience + knowledge + emunah/faith) - "I serve, know of deeply and trust Messiah but lack tenderness and ahavah/love" - This person is strong, moral, and trusting but lacks affection and is therefore emotionally blunt. Many conservative evangelical and messianic men are like this;
• 12. The Keen but Lawless (knowledge + emunah/faith + affection) - "I know of Messiah deeply, trust Him completely and love Him passionately but my sinful desires overpower me" - This person needs self-control but lacks the desire to be obedient because their passions and desires are more pleasing to them than their desire to please Yahweh. This sort of person is not necessarily a liberal, but many liberals would fit this box;
• 13. The Complete Believer (knowledge + emunah/faith + obedience + affection) - "I know Messiah deeply, trust Him completely, love Him dearly and overcome my sinful desires" - This is what all believers should aim for. As John Piper says: "[Yahweh] is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him". Here satisfaction means "fully trusting in Messiah with complete knowledge of Messiah which results in total obedience to Messiah and deep, deep ahavah (love) for Messiah and others."

Given the fact that this relationship of the believer with Messiah (the Mystical Marriage of Messiah) is modelled on the human marriage relationship, it follows that these four categories and thirteen expressions can be translated and adapted to human marriage on a human level too and to a wife's relationship with her husband - her faith in, affection for, knowledge of and obedience to her husband. Since the husband is human this also requires faith in, affection for and knowledge of his wife. Given the different rôles of husbands and wives this means that the husband has a seven-fold relationship with his wife while she had a thirteen-fold relationship with her husband (since she is to be obedient to him - 1 Pet.3:1 - and not vice versa or co-obedience) because as head of his marriage and family he must cultivate a thirteen-fold relationship - that includes total obedience - with Messiah as His allegorical wife. That is another reason why the number 7 is associated with the female Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit/Heavenly Mother). As for the number 13, this represents the oneness of echad that is brought to pass by divine ahavah or love - see The 13 Bulls: Mystery of the Tabernacles Sacrifices and Mysteries of Yahweh's Sacred Calendar for in-depth studies.

It is clear, then, that the apostle Peter is calling the talmid or disciple to perfection just as His Master Yah'shua (Jesus) did (Mt.5:43-48). By a little applied divine tavnith (pattern) we are able to see all the elements that make up this perfection clearly. There is much more that may be gleaned from a deeper study of these things which we shall reserve for another time. In the meantime, we may confidenly apply the promise of Yahweh in our lives and see it come to fruition:

"Elohim (God) is my strength and power, and He makes my derech (way) perfect" (2 Sam.22:33, NKJV).

Acknowledgements

[1] Neil Robbie, Thirteen Christian Personality Types