God Is A Spirit
(John
Introduction
The subject which is at hand is the subject of the spiritual essence of God. God is a spirit. When we speak of essence we speak of the basic, unchanging nature of something or someone. Thus, God’s basic, unchanging nature is spirit. It would be in order at this time to attempt to define, or describe, what is meant by spirit. In the New Testament, the word spirit comes from the Greek word pneuma, which simply means wind. It is from this word that we get our English word pneumatic, which means wind powered. Spirit is non-material like the wind. That is, spirit is not a shape or form that can be perceived by the senses of man. Spirit cannot be seen, smelled, touched, heard, or tasted. Spirit may be manifest to the senses by that which is material, but pure spirit is not material. Thus, when we state that the essence of God is spiritual, we are saying that the very basic nature of God is not a bodily nature that can be seen, felt, touched, heard, or tasted.
Another thing we need to notice is that, while God may make Himself manifest to us in a variety of ways (the ultimate revelation being Jesus Christ Heb.1:1-3), God, in His essence cannot be perceived by our senses. He cannot be confined to a body. God transcends (or, rises above, and goes beyond the limits of) that which is material. God is greater than flesh, or material things. Thus, what we are saying is that, while God may manifest Himself to our senses, He is far greater than the things in which He manifests Himself to us. God is above a book, a man, a voice, a sight. God is spirit and is not limited by the constraints of material boundaries.
Lessons From John Chapter One
One of the greatest passages in the Bible that deals with the nature of God is found in John chapter one. Here much is said concerning who Jesus is, and His existence before the creation. The passage also tells us that God was manifest in Christ Jesus when He became flesh and lived among us. From this passage we shall learn several lessons.
The first thing we must notice is the fact that God transcends material existence. While this has already been mentioned, let us notice the passage which deals with this great truth. (John 1:1-3 KJV) “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The first thing we must notice is , that before everything else, God is. While this may seem to be grammatically incorrect, God is eternal. There is no past or future with God: He is eternal and lives in the “everlasting now.” Before there were any angels, before there was an earth, there was God. We also find (Heb 11:3 KJV) “ Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” In other words, everything that we see about us is a product of the creative power of God. There’s not one thing that was not made by God. This means that God was before matter. God is not material: He is pre-material, so to speak. God created material things. This being so, God must be something other than matter. God is spirit.
In John chapter one we also find that God is spoken of as the Word. A word is “An articulate or vocal sound, or a combination of articulate and vocal sounds, uttered by the human voice, and by custom expressing an idea or ideas; a single component part of human speech or language.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary) When a word is reduced to its basic components, there are two things remaining; the vocal sound , and the thought behind the articulation. This means that a word is essentially something that is not physical or material. A word, in its most basic of states is a thought in a mind. A word, or thought, presupposes intelligence. Now, before there was anything else, there was the Word. This Word is God. In the beginning, then, there was simple, pure, eternal intelligence – the Word/God. This means that, before there was any creation of material things, God is; and this signifies to us that God is spiritual in nature.
John
also states, (John 1:4 KJV) “In him was life;
and the life was the light of men.” We
also read of Christ , (1 John 1:1,2 KJV) That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of
life; (For the life was manifested, and
we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which
was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;). Here we find that God is life. As we consider what life is, we see that life
is not necessarily material in nature.
In fact, life is spiritual in nature.
As we read the account of the creation, we find God breathing life into
the nostrils of man. Man had been
created from the dust of the ground, but did not live. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life, and man became a living soul. Life
came from the spirit of God in man.
James tells us that “the body
without the spirit is dead.”
(Jas.2:26) Solomon stated
that both man and beast had the spirit of God in them to give them life
(Eccles.3:19-21). Today we see the
manifestation of life in men and in beasts.
We don’t see the life itself, but we do see the manifestation of it. We can also tell when the life is gone from
the bodies of men and beasts. Job
understood that the life which was his own self actually existed independently
of his body by the power of God. He
stated, (Job
In
the passage before us, Jesus is also spoken of as having an existence before He
took unto Himself a body. (John 1:1-4,14
KJV) “In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.” God took
upon Himself the earthly tent of human flesh.
Before this, however, He existed.
Jesus Christ had an eternal existence independent of anything and
anyone, and that before He became flesh.
We read in Hebrews 10:8 that a body was prepared for Jesus. In other words, Jesus existed in His
spiritual state before the incarnation (His becoming flesh). Paul told the Philippian church, (Phil 2:5-8 KJV) “Let this mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Again we see that Jesus existed with the
very same nature as God before He was made flesh. In fact, He was still God after He took upon
Himself the human body in which He dwelt for above thirty years. (
God Is Invisible
Another
thing that points to the spiritual essence of God is the fact that He is
invisible. Paul speaks of Jesus as (
What About The
Appearances of God?
One thing that is raised as an objection to the spiritual, or non-corporeal (immaterial, or without a body) nature of God is the fact that there have been times in which God appeared in the form of a man or an angel. This is a very valid point that must be addressed. In addressing this issue, two points must be made: one, God cannot be seen of man; two, the manifestation of God to man.
The
first point is a reiteration of a point that has already been made: God, as
spirit, is invisible and cannot be seen.
Added to this is the fact that man cannot see the fulness of God’s glory
and live (Ex.33:19-23) When Isaiah saw
the Lord, he fell upon his face confessing that he was a sinful man. (Isa.6:1-8)
(John
The second point is of great significance. The invisible God has been seen of men. This is not a contradiction that is found in the Bible. This is a paradox, or a situation that seems to be a contradiction, but isn’t a genuine contradiction. We know beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Bible teaches us that God is invisible and cannot be seen. We also know it to be true that God has manifest Himself to men in visible ways. Let us now dig a little deeper into this matter.
That
God cannot be seen is evident. What, or
who, was it that Moses, Isaiah, and others saw, then? One point that needs to be made is that God,
while in essence spirit and not confined to a body, can at times take unto
Himself a body. We know this is so from
manifold instances in the Scriptures, and from the fact that Jesus was God in
human form. The basic nature of God is
still spiritual when He does appear in a material way. When Moses saw God, he saw God’s glory. (Exo
24:11,17 KJV) “ And upon the
nobles of the children of
God appeared for the
purpose of communicating with man. From
the time God met with Adam in the garden till the time Jesus came, God’s
appearances were for the purpose of revealing His will, way and purpose to
man. (See Hebrews 1:1-3;2:1-4;
All the while that God
has manifest Himself to us, however, He has manifest
His word, will, way, character, and glory.
While God by nature is invisible, to communicate with man, He must
appeal to the senses which He has given man.
Man’s main avenues of perceiving facts are seeing and hearing. The manifestation of God to man has been
through these avenues. Man cannot
perceive that which is not presented to his senses. Thus God has revealed Himself to us. While God has thus manifest
Himself to us, believe it or not, in so doing He has hidden Himself from
us. God is so great that He fills Heaven
and earth. (Jer
Another objection that is raised is the fact that God is spoken of as having bodily parts. (See Isa.51:9;53:1 the arm of the Lord; Deut.8:3;Isa.1:20 the mouth of the Lord; 2Chron.16:9; Ps.33:18 the eye of the Lord; Ex.7:5; Ps. 75:8;Isa.62:8 the hand of the Lord) Again, this is a good point that must be addressed. One cannot assert one truth to the exclusion of another. What is meant by these statements if God is spirit and not material? This writer is convinced that these are anthropomorphisms, or an interpretation of what is not human in terms of human characteristics. In other words, these references are God’s means of taking the truths of His greatness and communicating them to us in words and terms to which we can relate. In other words, while God does not have hands, eyes, ears, or any other bodily parts, He speaks of Himself as having these terms so we can grasp the truth He is presenting about Himself. This may be compared to adults talking “baby talk” to children so that the child can understand what is being said. This is an accommodation to the infirmity of humans. These statements that portray God as having bodily features are God “lisping” as He speaks to us, that we might know Him better. Remember, God is first, foremost, and eternally spirit. We must allow every other representation of God to fit within this framework, or else we misrepresent God.
Making God in Our Own
Image?
There is a clear
danger to be seen in believing that God has always inhabited a material body
such as we have. That danger is the
possibility of idolatry. Man has an
incredible tendency to create an idol, even if that idol is in his own mind and
not a physical reality. (Let us not
forget that covetousness is idolatry
Paul told the Roman church that the condemnation of the human race came because men did not give God the glory due Him. In fact, they lowered God by trading His magnificence for an image that was like men (See Rom.1:18-23). They actually decided to make God in their own image! In doing so they tried to elevate man, and obscured the glory of God. God simply cannot be fully represented by or in anything material. God is spirit and transcends material existence. The Lord complained of the Israelites, “thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.” (Ps. 50:21) God is not like we are. We made in the image of God, but God is so much greater than we that we will never measure up to what God is. If we could, then we would be God, and that is an impossibility.
Finally, we must see
that this truth carries great implications for our worship. (John