God is

God is: Spirit

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

This statement defines God’s nature, He is spiritual. Jesus then adds to the description, “for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). This means that God is not corporeal (physical) in form, He is not a mixture of matter, not a visible substance. God is not even refined matter. Many early day philosophers thought God, and the soul of man to be made of a something like very small atoms or such a substance. Simply put, God is not composed of any material substance at all. The same Bible that declares that God is a spirit also often talks about God’s hands, eyes, feet, and so on (Isaiah 65:2; 59:1), but such statements were never intended to teach that God has a physical body.

*** Please note the following expressions which are used in reference to God and understand the nature of what is being said of God.

- Statements concerning His eyes and ears we understand His omniscience, His constant watchful care, and willingness to hear our prayers.

- The expression His face, refers to the manifestation of His favor (his grace and mercy).

- His mouth, is the revelation of His will.

- His nostrils, the acceptance of our prayers.

- His heart, the sincerity of His affections.

- His hand, the strength of His power.

The Invisible God

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17); “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). It is rather silly for a person to say that they do not believe in God because they cannot see Him. Moses reminded the Israelites that when God came down on Mount Sinai and gave them His laws, that they “did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire” (Deuteronomy 4:15).

*** Note *** it would be foolish for the children of Israel to attempt to make a visible image of God (an idol) because they have not seen anything to fashion the image after. Jesus states plainly, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18). Moses was told, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:20). Knowing the Bible does not contradict itself and accepting these truths can only help us to understand more fully scripture such as the following –

· God is a spirit but this does not mean that God is a mere idea or some sort of impersonal essence, God is an actual person, who speaks, loves, expresses wrath, and so on. God exists in a way we can not comprehend in physical terms – God is real

· The same Bible that says that no man has seen God, at times describes people seeing God, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved” (Genesis 32:30); “Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6; Deuteronomy 34:10; Isaiah 6:1). In all such verses men are only seeing a vision, or toned down appearance of God, yet no man has seen the full revelation of God nor seen God as He is in His natural state.

“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man.” (Romans1:22-23) We need to be cautious that we do not lower or degrade the true nature of God into a physical appearance as we would expect God to look like if we were to see Him face to face.

When the Bible speaks of God being clothed in “white” (Daniel 7:9), it is referring to His purity. When God is called the “ancient of days”, His eternal nature is being described, or when He is spoken of as having white hair, the Scriptures are not describing His personal appearance, but His wisdom.

God is not “politically correct”, He is not a believer in all religions, He is not an advocate for homosexual rights (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), He is not your “buddy” or “pal”, neither does He “understand (empathize) ” when you sin (1 John 2:1-2; 3:5), and He does not place a higher priority on “love” or on His “commandments” (1 John 2:3-5). God expects His children to be holy in conduct and the Bible is clear when it states that one day, only the righteous will actually see God as He is, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8); “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14); “They will see His face” (Revelation 22:4); “Because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Practical Applications

*** God is personal:

God is not some sort of impersonal influence, but rather God is consistently represented as a “He” or a “Father”. Human beings are created spirits in a physical body, and we are “persons” and not influences. Obviously then, the “Father of our spirits” is personal (Hebrews 12:9).

*** As Spirit, God expects spiritual worship:

“God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). God is not impressed with external worship, things invented by men. God is not in awe by pomp, pageantry, ceremony, or earthly things. The nature of God (spirit) becomes the foundation of worship; the will of God is the rule of worship (truth). God is a Spirit, and His command is to worship in spiritual worship. There is no record of ornate temples, or pomp and elaborate ceremonies in the New Testament _ (God’s Word).

God stressed that what He desires and values are spiritual realities such as obedience (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Samuel learned long ago, that God is not impressed by outward, external appearances, but rather prizes a godly character, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Time and again we see examples of those who chose to worship God according to their minds and thoughts rather than worshiping God in “spirit & truth”. God’s word warns of the need to follow God’s word in our worship to Him. As Christians there a very important lesson for us to learn with regard to the external appearance of our worship and how we viewed by the world. Many congregations stumble, when the selection of elders and preachers is at issue. Many desire to select the “movers & shakers” – the most popular, the aggressive, those who will do a good job of selling the church to the community. Many want people who are smooth in their words and make everybody feel good even if they are lost and need to be told they are lost. What really matters is, does He pray, does He care about truth. What is their family life like, What is really most important to these people. We find the real qualities desired by God in His Word “but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God”. (1 Peter 3:4) – See also 1Peter 5:1-7. It is so easy to forget such truths in a world that looks at the accomplishments of man. God is a spiritual being and obviously He is not impressed by earthly things.

*** NOTE*** God has always been far more impressed in the character of the individual believer than in the size or prosperity of a local congregation (Revelation 3:15-17; compared with 3:8, and 2:9 compared with 3:1). It is vain to think that God will overlook subtractions and additions to His word as long as a group puts on a good show (Matthew 7:22-23; 2 John 9).

*** Created in the image of God: Genesis 1:26

If God is a pure spiritual being, then man can not be created in the image of God, with regard to our external bodily form and figure. The image of God can not consist in a physical likeness, thus our existence in the likeness of God must refer to our spiritual nature or our soul. We manifest (exhibit) the image of God when we pursue spiritual things, demonstrate rational thinking, demonstrate compassion, or simply, when we live like Christ (John 13:34-35; Ephesians 4:24,32; 5:1 “Be imitators of God, as beloved children”).

*** Our only hope for fulfillment:

With God being a Spirit, and the creator of Our image (our spiritual being) we can only expect that he knows and understands what we need for satisfaction (peace and comfort) in our lives. Created in His image means we must have the same needs and longings as has been created within our being. Is it not interesting to know that God created man to have dominion over the earth and all things of the earth and yet – We find an emptiness in our lives that can only be filled by The Creator “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations” (Psalm 90:1). For hundreds of years (thousands of years) man has continually looked all over to find meaning in life and strived for inner peace. In the end we always come to the same conclusion and that is God and only God is the source of comfort and peace.

*** God is Infinite:

Whatever God is – He is infinitely so: He is infinite in wisdom, infinite in goodness, infinite in knowledge, infinite in power, infinite in Spirit…and whatever perception can come into our minds – does not do justice to God and His nature. Jesus disciples desired to see God (John 14:9), and Jesus told them they could see God by looking at Him. This is true in the sense that they could look upon His nature and actions in life to more fully comprehend Him. – yet the truth is, God is far above anything we can imagine. Paul noted, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

*** Value your spirit:

What is made in God’s image is not our body, but our soul. As Christians we understand we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and should take care of the temple. Even more is our need to guard and care for the part which is created in the image of God. The soul is what will continue after the physical body we posses fails. The soul will partake of the divine nature of God in Heaven or eternal condemnation with the devil and his angels. Jesus expressed this concept in the following words, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33).