God is Spirit
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18)
“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen” (I Timothy 6:16)
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (I Timothy 1:17)
The human mind cannot grasp the immense nature of God. We can only think in terms of size. Yet, God is beyond the human imagination, He is greater than our minds can begin to fathom, every term in our language has a point of limit but God is infinitely beyond any description.
A spirit God is:
- Invisible
- Unlimited
- Unconstrained
- Eternal
- Infinite
- Indescribable
A spirit God can only be known through that which He has revealed.
Creation ~ “His invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)
Jesus ~ “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life–the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.“ (1 John 1:1,2)
Scripture ~ 1 Samuel 3:21. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
The Trinity
God is one yet three individually distinct persons, all equal and all independent.
Each person is the fullness of God not one third of God. Each person is fully God yet God exists as one. They are not subordinate to one another.
The Trinity revealed in scripture:
- Genesis 1:26; 11:7
- Genesis 1:1 with Colossians 1;15-17
- 2 Corinthians 13:14
- 2 Peter 1:2
Each person of the trinity is a distinct person with distinct functions.
Father – First person who has father like qualities. He is the initiator, provider and protector
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
Son – Second person, Jesus, acts in obedience to the will of the Father carrying out the work of redemption and judgment. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8)
Holy Spirit – Works to keep us in Christ. Convicts, draws, seals, deposits
“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given
us of his Spirit” 1 John 4:13
Evidence of a true believer – Romans 8:9
The Basis of God’s nature with relationship to Mankind
Every person of the trinity
Every person of the trinity maintains all aspects of these attributes. Even Jesus, while on earth maintained these attributes. He submitted them but still retained them.
- Philippians 2:7 – heresy of kenotic theology– Gottfried Thomasius (1802 – 75), a German Lutheran theologian.
- “Kenosis” is a Greek term taken from Phillipians 2:7, where Christ is spoken of as having “emptied himself” (RSV) and taken human form.
Transfiguration is evidence of His true divine nature in its fullness being revealed (Mark 9:2,3).
1. Omnipresence
- God fills all space with the total presence of His being. God is not bound by space and time; in His nature He is infinite.
- God is not bound by anything; He is unlimited, unsearchable, immeasurable and incomprehensible.
- His omnipresence is all in His power – Hebrews 1:3
God is Omnipresent in His Knowledge
- Proverbs 15:3
- Hebrews 4:13
God is Omnipresent in His rule over all domains
- Isaiah 66:1
Note: Even in Hell God is present (Psalm 139:8). His presence is to execute just wrath.
2. Omnipotent
- God is unbound by any limitation to execute His will
- No one can understand the measure of His power.
“Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14)
- God exerts no effort in doing all that He wills. To create a flower is the same to create the sun.
God’s power is absolute. Nothing can stand against His power and nothing can limit or prevent it.
- “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart” (Proverbs 21:2)
- “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20)
- “ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
- ““Ah, Lord God ! It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17)
God’s power is manifested in our regeneration by taking what is dead and making it alive and keeping it alive.
- Ephesians 1:17-21
- “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)
God’s power is revealed by His will – Lord if thou art willing Thou can make me clean. There is no act of God more difficult than another or requiring more effort. All the works of God are equally manifested – is anything too hard for the Lord?
The Triune God is Omnipotent in His holiness, therefore God cannot sin, lie, nor can He deny Himself
3. Omniscience
“He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17)
God has and always has had understanding of all things to all degrees. God has full disclosure of all that occurs. It is more than foreknowledge, it is complete knowledge.
- Psalm 139:1-6
- “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19)
God knows all things because he decrees all things. He does not predict like a psychic or gain knowledge as events occur.
5. Divine Decrees
“The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11)
His decrees are the eternal plan or purpose of God whereby He has determined all things that come to pass. This is what makes the Almighty God almighty.
A decree is a set purpose or determination in regard to future events – Ephesians 3:11
- God’s decrees determine the free action of men (Acts 4:23-28)
- Decrees are founded in wisdom (Ephesians 3:9-11), formed in eternity past.
- Without decrees God would be a bystander to human events responding to the affairs of humans as they occur.
- The sending of Christ to be our Saviour was not a reaction to Adam’s sin but an eternal decree of the heavenly Father.
- The final defeat of Satan is an eternal decree not a wishful hope (Isaiah 46:9,10)
- Decrees do not create nor are they the author of sin. Man’s freedom is a decree yet man’s freedom is still under the decree of God (Genesis 50:19-20; Romans 9:18).
Apparent difficulties
- If God is all-powerful, why does He allow suffering and evil in the world?
- If God is all-knowing, why would He create someone knowing that they would end up in hell?
- If God is without limits, why does He not remove sin and Satan now?
- If God is Spirit why do we give Him male attributes? (Him and not Her)