Character guide

Jesus Christ

major

Also known as Jesus, Christ, the Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, the risen Saviour, Saviour Jesus Christ

Moody's central figure is not a distant doctrine but a living person to be known intimately, the way a man knows a friend of years rather than a name overheard. The tension he resolves is the gap between a sinner's fear of a hating God and the truth that Christ came to save his people from their sins, not in them. Everything in the book's argument runs through him: he is the new and living way, the deliverer who does not leave rescued souls still enslaved to temper and lust.

Unknown Narrator

major

Also known as your, himself, mine, yourself, myself

This voice opens the book 'To the Reader,' explaining that these pages began as addresses preached in Great Britain and America and are now sent out with prayer that the reader be established in faith. It moves easily between the pulpit and the pew, telling stories like the prodigal who saw 'God is Love' in gas-jets and returned weeping, then turning to ask you directly whether you know Christ only by hearsay. Its urgency shapes the whole arc, from the love of God to the final plea addressed to backsliders.

Peter

supporting

Also known as thee, your, Thou, thou, thy

Peter stands in the book as the disciple who knew Christ personally yet stumbled, the very pattern of a believer whose acquaintance with Jesus must deepen into something sturdier. His story carries the tension between bold confession and cowardly collapse, and Moody uses that arc to insist that Christ delivers from besetting sin rather than leaving his people in prison. For readers wrestling with their own inconsistency, Peter matters because his restoration keeps the way to God open after failure.

Paul

supporting

Paul appears as the standard of intimate knowledge, the man who would not be content with a historical Christ or a slight personal acquaintance. His famous longing to 'know Him and the power of His resurrection' becomes Moody's measuring rod for every reader, the desire that separates a nominal churchgoer from a disciple. He matters to the book's middle arc because his teachings on grace and salvation keep pressing the question of how a man can be just with God.

Gotthold

supporting

Also known as myself

Gotthold surfaces as a meditative presence, the kind of voice that turns doctrine into inward reflection rather than argument. Where Moody preaches, Gotthold ponders — weighing what it means to know Christ intimately and to be delivered from sin rather than merely forgiven for it. His reflections give the book's middle chapters their quieter register, inviting readers who hesitate at the door to consider the love of God at their own pace.

Nicodemus

minor

Also known as Ye, your, ye

Pharisee who came to Jesus by night; example of seeking spiritual truth.

The Master

supporting

Also known as the Master, The Master

Under this title, Jesus is teacher and Lord, the one whose words in John 14 and 17 anchor Moody's most tender passages about the Father and Son coming to abide in the believer. The tension he embodies is the staggering claim that God loves sinners as he loves his own Son, a truth hard for a wandering man to believe. His washing of the disciples' feet becomes the book's picture of unchanging love, the model for how the way to God is walked.

Moses

minor

Also known as himself

Lawgiver whose serpent of brass prefigures Christ's crucifixion.

John the Baptist

minor

Also known as John

Forerunner who pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God.

Abraham Lincoln

minor

Also known as Abraham

Historical figure mentioned for his humility and reliance on God.

Matthew

minor

Also known as I.

Apostle and gospel writer; his account of Christ's teaching is referenced.

Adam

minor

First man; his fall introduced sin, contrasting with Christ's redemption.

Satan

minor

Adversary who tempts and accuses; defeated by Christ's work.

Judas

minor

Also known as himself

Betrayer of Christ; example of lost opportunity and remorse.

Jeremiah

minor

Also known as Mine

Weeping prophet; his laments and calls to repentance are cited.

Moody

minor

Also known as Mr. Moody

Evangelist whose preaching and personal testimony are referenced.

Elijah

minor

Also known as himself

Prophet of fire; his boldness and dependence on God are examples.

Ephraim

minor

Also known as Thou, thee, your, Thee, ye

Tribal name representing Israel's waywardness and God's call.

Charlie Ross

minor

Also known as Charlie, Charles

Kidnapped child; used as an illustration of lost condition and seeking.

Israel

minor

Also known as thy, thou

Nation of God's chosen people; their history illustrates redemption.

John Bunyan

minor

Also known as John

Author of Pilgrim's Progress; his spiritual journey is referenced.

Philip

minor

Also known as thine, thou

Apostle who brought Nathanael to Jesus; example of evangelism.

The Lord

supporting

In Moody's addresses, the Lord is less a personage than a presence pressing on the reader's conscience — the God whose love is declared from Ephesians and burned in gas-jets over a Chicago pulpit. The central tension is human mistrust: men assume God hates them and flee, while the Lord waits to receive and forgive. This perceived distance between sinner and Savior drives the book's opening appeal and shapes every argument that follows.

The Spirit

supporting

The Spirit operates in Moody's pages as the quiet power behind every honest question — 'Have I been born again?' — pressing even the upright Nicodemus to admit that morality cannot substitute for new creation. The tension is that men keep trying to patch up the old Adam themselves, while the Spirit alone can make the Ethiopian white. This impossibility of self-salvation anchors the book's middle chapters and turns every reader back toward grace.

Columbus

minor

Explorer; his faith and perseverance are used as an analogy.

Maggie

minor

Illustrative character in a story about seeking and finding.

The Jews

minor

Religious leaders and people who rejected Christ; contrast to believers.

Papa

minor

Father figure in an illustrative anecdote about faith.

David

minor

Psalmist and king; his repentance and faith are cited as examples.

Isaiah

minor

Prophet whose visions of God's holiness and redemption are quoted.

Lot

minor

Righteous man whose worldly compromise serves as a warning.

Nebuchadnezzar

minor

Babylonian king humbled by God; example of pride's fall.

Luke

minor

Gospel writer and physician; his accounts of Christ's parables are cited.

Ananias

minor

Disciple who restored Paul's sight; example of obedience.

Death

minor

Personified as an enemy conquered by Christ's resurrection.

The Israelites

minor

Also known as The bitten Israelites

People of Israel in the wilderness; their healing from serpent bites prefigures faith in Christ.

Job

minor

Suffering servant whose endurance and restoration are cited.

Pharaoh

minor

Egyptian king whose hardened heart is a warning.

Lazarus

minor

Man raised from the dead by Jesus; proof of divine power.

Absalom

minor

Rebellious son of David; example of pride and downfall.