I just recently picked up a .pdf copy of the Common Places of Wolfgang Musculus. I haven’t read it all yet (it’s huge!), but as I was scanning through the chapters, I couldn’t help but notice that he places the chapter “Who is God” prior to the chapter “What God is.”
Thus Musculus is not open to the charge of beginning with the impersonal substance and moving to the persons.
Perhaps even more interesting is that Musculus answers the question of “Who is God?” by appealing to the Old Testament. Essentially, he says that God is the God of the Hebrews. He saves the question of Jesus for the next chapter, where he explains that Jesus is consubstantial with this God.
Still yet, another chapter is reserved for the Holy Spirit.
The whole discussion of “essence” and “person,” for Musculus, is included between discussions on the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His systematic and scholastic thought is embedded in the midst of his biblical theology.
Wedgewords 