The Pursuit of God · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Unknown Narrator
major
Also known as myself, Thou
He speaks as a soul in motion, praying in the first person and addressing God as 'Thou,' a pilgrim who has grown suspicious of a faith that leaves the heart neither hungry nor thirsty. His tension is the paradox of prevenient grace: he cannot claim credit for seeking, yet he must still rise and pursue, since God's drawing and his following are not rivals but one motion. His longing sets the book's early arc, turning doctrine into desire and mapping the interior journey from the outer court toward the Holy of Holies.
Jesus Christ
major
Also known as Christ, Jesus, One Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, The Lord Jesus Christ Himself
He stands as the beginning, middle, and end of everything for the seeking soul, the joy of heaven who enters sorrowful hearts and cannot be exhausted by eternity's praise. The tension he exposes is that Christ may be 'received' without kindling any love in the receiver, leaving a man saved but not thirsty, content with little. He matters to the early arc because the whole pursuit only makes sense if God is a knowable Person rather than an inference, an ideal, or a mere principle.
Abraham
supporting
Also known as thee
He is the patriarch whose long-awaited son became the delight and idol of his heart, the living bundle of every promise, covenant, and messianic hope. His agony on the slopes near Beersheba is the book's dramatic picture of the surrendered life, an uncleansed love meeting a command that seems to cancel the very promise it came from. He matters to the early arc because his dark-night solution, that God could raise Isaac from the dead, illustrates the first Beatitude and the step-by-step ascent no seeker can bypass.
Moses
supporting
Also known as thy
He is the man who met God in fiery manifestation, the one whose shining face proves that divine self-revelation is not a distant visit but a transforming nearness. His story anchors the tabernacle imagery that structures the book's journey: the outer court, the holy place, and the Holy of Holies where Jehovah himself dwells behind the veil. He matters to the early arc because he shows that God did not have to be persuaded to reveal Himself, and that the rending of the veil opens the same Presence to every worshipper.
David
supporting
He is the poet of longing who wrote 'my soul followeth hard after thee,' and who traced God's seeing hand back to the mystery of his own unfolding life before birth. His tension is Jacob's problem in psalm form: God is present at every point in space, yet men do not know it, and the Presence and the manifestation of the Presence are not the same. He matters to the early arc because his psalms give the book its warm language of personal feeling, turning deep calling unto deep into the very texture of the pursuit.
Nicholas of Cusa
minor
Also known as Nicholas
Medieval theologian quoted on the nature of God's presence.
Paul
supporting
He is the epistle-writer whose words keep surfacing as the book's doctrinal spine, insisting that God can be known in personal experience rather than merely inferred from evidence. His tension is with a Christianity that has made conversion mechanical and spiritless, where Christ is received without creating any special love in the receiver. He matters to the early arc because his teaching on prevenient grace and the knowable God supplies the theological ground beneath the narrator's restless, first-person pursuit.
Frederick Faber
minor
Also known as Faber
Hymn writer and theologian quoted on divine love and the soul's rest.
Israel
minor
The chosen people of God, referenced as a collective historical figure.
Isaac
minor
Also known as thy
Son of Abraham, mentioned in the context of patriarchal faith.
Jacob
minor
Patriarch who wrestled with God and received a new name.
Adam
minor
First man, referenced in discussing the fall and original sin.
Christians
minor
Also known as Their
Collective body of believers, often addressed as the audience.
The Christian
minor
Generic individual believer used as a type for spiritual instruction.
Levi
minor
Also known as thy
Priestly tribe of Israel, mentioned in passing regarding worship.
Elijah
minor
Also known as Eli
Prophet who encountered God in a still small voice.
The Godhead
minor
Also known as Godhead
The triune nature of God, discussed in theological context.
Solomon
minor
King of Israel, cited for his wisdom and temple dedication.
The Holy Spirit
supporting
Also known as the Spirit
The Holy Spirit works not through crowds but within the individual conscience, coming into the field of awareness where a person can know God as directly as any fact of experience. That inward quickening awakens a kinship the soul senses and leaps to greet, yet it is an inception, not an end. The Spirit thus stands at the hinge of Tozer's argument: the One who begins the glorious pursuit and keeps the burning heart longing for a God it has already found.
Self
minor
Also known as It
The ego or carnal nature that must be surrendered to God.
John
minor
Apostle and author of the Gospel and Epistles, cited for his teachings.
Thomas à Kempis
minor
Medieval author of The Imitation of Christ, quoted on humility.