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God Is Spirit
Blue Letter Bible
One
of the things that many people wonder about God is His form. Does He have a
physical or material body? What does God look like?
There
are those who reason that since humanity is made in the image of God, and that
we have a body, then God must also have a body.
This
assumes that the image of God is physical. But the Bible teaches that God does
not have a body.
God
Is Spirit
The Scriptures teach that God is Spirit. Jesus said: "God
is Spirit" (John 4:24).
By
nature, God is a Spirit-being.
However,
a person defines spirit, the definition does not include flesh and bones. This
can be seen in an encounter Jesus had with His disciples after His
resurrection:
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39).
Jesus
clearly said a spirit does not have flesh and bones. God, therefore, being a
spirit, does not have physical form.
God
Is Invisible
A
spirit is also invisible. Although God led Israel by means of a pillar of fire,
He was never seen by the nation. Moses made this clear to the people.
“You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to
you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully” (Deuteronomy
4:15).
The
Apostle Paul wrote.
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the
only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy
1:17).
He
Is Known As The Invisible God
God
is known as the invisible God.
But He said, "You cannot see my face; for no
man shall see me, and live" (Exodus 33:20).
John
wrote.
“No one has seen God at any time. The one and only God
who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him” (John 1:18).
Paul
testified.
“For since the creation of the world his invisible
attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20)
To
the Colossians he wrote.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
over all creation” (Colossians
1:15).
Paul
wrote to Timothy.
“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).
To
Timothy again, Paul wrote.
“Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable
light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and
everlasting power. Amen.” (1 Timothy
6:16).
He
Is Not Subject To Limitations
As
spirit, God is not subject to the limitations of a body as are human beings. He
does not have any body parts, neither does He have human passions.
.
God is not composed of any material elements. Therefore, He cannot be seen without our natural eyes or experienced by our natural senses. In the Book of Job the question is raised.
.
God is not composed of any material elements. Therefore, He cannot be seen without our natural eyes or experienced by our natural senses. In the Book of Job the question is raised.
“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover
the limits of the Almighty” (Job 11:7).
The
answer is no. God's depths and limits are not discoverable.
The
Spirit Is Life
Spirit
is not so much an attribute of God as it is a mode of His existence. God acts
and exists as a spirit. Jesus said.
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits
nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).
God
Did Not Allow The Making Of Idols
In
addition, God specifically forbade His people to make idols.
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not
make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship
them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:3-5).
Moses
also wrote.
“And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you
statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross
over to possess.
“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form
when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act
corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the
likeness of male or female, ‘the likeness of any animal that is on
the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the
likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish
that is in the water beneath the earth.
"And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to
heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven,
you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has
given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
"But the Lord has taken you and brought you out
of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be his people, an inheritance, as you are
this day’” (Deuteronomy
4:14-20).
Isaiah
wrote.
“To whom then will you liken me, or to whom shall I be
equal says the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25).
One
of the reasons for this is because God is a Spirit.
God
Became A Human
When
Jesus came to earth two thousand years ago, He took upon Himself a human nature
which included a body.
Though
He will forever be in that body, His Divine nature is not material. His body is
a human body, not a divine body. Previously to His coming to earth, He did not
possess a body.
He
Does Not Have A Shadowy Existence
This
does not mean that God lives in some shadowy existence. God is a real person
with genuine existence. His nature cannot be fully appreciated by the human
mind or described in an adequate manner by human language.
This
Is Difficult To Comprehend
The fact that God is a personal Spirit is difficult to
comprehend. We wonder, "How can something be personal without being
material?"
While
we cannot understand how this can be so, this is what the Scripture says
concerning the nature of God. Consequently, we accept it by faith.
Summary
The
Bible teaches that God is spirit. A spirit, by definition, is invisible. It
does not have any physical form.
God,
therefore, has no physical form. This is one of the reasons that the Lord did
not allow idols of him to be made.
How
God can exist as a spirit without any sort of body is a divine mystery.
The
Bible speaks of God as the invisible God.
Jesus
Christ, God the Son, took upon Himself human nature including a physical form
when He came to the earth, but did not possess a divine body.
Blue
Letter Bible provides powerful tools
for an in-depth study of God’s Word through our free online reference library,
with study tools that are grounded in the historical, conservative Christian
faith.https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_1298.cfm
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