When we talk about God, too many people take a quick look at the skies and imagine an old bearded man, sitting on a golden throne of fire with a frown on His face. Unless we know the attributes of God as revealed in Scriptures, even well meaning Christians may have the wrong picture of God.
There are many things the Bible has revealed about God. Putting these things together gives us a composite view of who the Christian God is. It also helps us to differentiate between the one true God and the myriads of gods lining the shrines and temples of various world religions. The first attribute we will look at today is the non material nature of God.
GOD IS SPIRIT
The bible, in referring to God, uses anthropomorphism, that is, explaining God using features that humans can easily relate to. For example, in describing his ability to help, the Bible says “God’s hand is not short….” In describing his ever present help, the Bible says “…He never sleeps….” Many people have therefore built a man out of God. In reality, God is a Spirit. That means he is non-spatial (does not occupy space), non temporal (does not dwell time) and immaterial (He is invisible). The Bible says in John 4:24 that “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” In Numbers 23:19, the Bible further contrasts the immaterial God from physical man by saying “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
It is the fact that God is Spirit that makes Him Omnipresent (present everywhere) and infinite (beyond our normal existence/not restricted by our restrictions). Having this understanding should make us honor and worship Him correctly. Like Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is Spirit….” That is a statement of fact; but knowing the fact does us no good. This knowledge must move us to action. Jesus went further to describe the required action. He said “…they that worship him….” It means it is not everyone who knows that God is spirit actually seek to worship Him. Some people just know for the sake of knowing. It is important that this knowledge produces worship. What kind of worship though? Jesus said “…must worship in Truth and in Spirit“. That is to say, our worship must be based on a correct understanding of God and from the depths of our hearts and soul. May God give us the grace to worship correctly. God bless you.
