Section 2: The Essence of God — Chapter 5: God Is Spirit
Originally posted on 1/17/2020
The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us — there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.
The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. … I believe our future depends on how well we know this Cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky.[1] (Emphasis added)
The above quote, by astronomer Carl Sagan, is taken from his enormously popular book Cosmos, "one of the best-selling science books of all time."[2] Yet for all of its success explaining complex theories to non-specialists, it is the first line of the book that has garnered the most attention, one might even say notoriety. For in this first line, Sagan moves beyond the realm of science and into the realm of theology.
"The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be."[3]
In this statement Sagan claims that only the material universe exists. There has never been anything else other than the material universe, and there will never be anything else other than the material universe. That which is real, by which we mean that that is not imaginary or fictitious but actually occurs as fact, is composed solely of the random movement of molecules, atoms and quarks (and presumably any particles we may discover in the future).
Now, one always wishes to be kind but this is a conceit of the highest order. For it assumes that man knows enough to determine the limit of all that exists. It presupposes that our machines coupled with our mathematics can discover everything that is. If they cannot detect it, then it cannot be real. The intelligence of man is the standard against which all else is measured. Nothing can be beyond the grasp of our intellect.
What nonsense! There is no way to arrive at such a conclusion based upon science and mathematics (remember Lewontin’s quote in the previous chapter). There is no logical syllogism that will support such a claim. Instead, this is merely self-admiration and pride parading as honest investigation. God's fingerprints are so impressed into the warp and woof of the cosmos that only the willingly blind can fail to see them.
We made the claim in the last chapter that God is so completely different from his creation that there is no way for mankind to know that he exists if he did not reveal himself. In this chapter we will examine that claim more fully and explore the implications that arise from it.
God Is Spirit
When we speak of the essence of God, we are referring to the "stuff" that makes up God. The problem is, as we have seen, God is so completely unlike us that speaking of him in terms that we can understand is difficult. This is a case in point. For when we speak of the essence of God, inevitably we are forced into statements like, "well, he is not like this and he is not like that." In fact, when we speak of God as spirit, while we might think we know what we have in mind, in actuality we are reduced to such negative statements. Let me show you what I mean.
In John 4, we read of a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman as Jesus sits by a well. By verse 20 the conversation turns to religion. When the woman asks about the appropriate place for worship, Jesus responds by saying that a time is coming when the place of worship will not matter. Why? Because a time is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, that's why. The material circumstances of the worship will not matter (in particular the Jewish Temple system) because the worship will be purely spiritual in nature. So far so good.
But Jesus doesn't stop there. He continues with a statement about the nature of God which shows why true worship must be spiritual worship. Jesus says, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). In other words, true worship must be in accord with who God is. He is a spirit, therefore true worship must be spiritual in nature. Again, so far so good.
But what does Jesus mean when he says, "God is spirit?" When we worship God in our spirit, are we referring to a state of mind or an emotional response or something else? Is God just an idea or an attitude that resides in our own brains? Is God really just a metaphor for how we are feeling at the moment? What do we mean when we say the word “spirit?"
Well, we get some help from the context. Whatever we mean by the word "spirit," it must refer to something that is common to humanity, otherwise we would not be able to worship "in spirit." But that really doesn't help us much. We just moved the question around a little bit. Whether we are talking about God or man, what do we mean by "spirit?"
Fortunately, we do not have to guess. The Bible provides us with an answer. On the one hand we have to admit that it is a negative answer. The best we can do is, “it is not like this.” On the other hand, when we delve a little deeper we will find the answer surprisingly helpful.
Definition of “Spirit”
In Luke 24:36-48, Jesus appears to his startled disciples after his resurrection. The two disciples that saw Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) have returned to Jerusalem to inform the eleven disciples (and those gathered with them) that Jesus was alive. In the midst of this conversation, Jesus appears among them and greets them. With such a surprising turn of events, it's not difficult to imagine why they were startled and frightened. In fact, the text tells us that they thought they were seeing a ghost or, more literally, a “spirit!” This is the same word Jesus uses in John 4 to describe the essence of God.
Jesus, in an attempt to relieve their fears, tells his troubled disciples to look at his hands and his feet (Luke 24:39). "Touch me, and see," Jesus said. "For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Note: A Brief Explanation
Now at this point, we need to utter a clarification. After putting these two Scriptures together, someone will inevitably say, "Wait a minute… something’s not right here. First you say that God is a spirit. Then Jesus says that a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones as he has. But Jesus is God. So how can Jesus be God and not be a spirit?" This is an excellent question that deserves an answer.
The historical doctrine of the Trinity states that there is one God eternally existing in three persons — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We will discuss this truth in more detail later in the book. For our purposes now, what is important to realize is that God the Son has all the attributes of God because he is God. This means that he has existed, without being created, from eternity past.
At a certain point in human history, however, God the Holy Spirit "overshadowed" a virgin named Mary and conceived in her a son. The birth of this son is what we celebrate at Christmas. This little boy was God the Son and a human being at the same time. As God the Son he existed from eternity past. As a human being he was born on a particular day in human history. Similarly, as God the Son he has existed eternally without a body, solely as a spirit. But as a human being, he had a physical body just like you or I. So, when Jesus says, "for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have," he is referring not to his essence as God, but to the natural state of being human.
I understand this can be confusing. It's one of those truths about God for which we have no Lego in our set. But, as we have mentioned before, these are the types of mysteries we should expect when speaking about God.
Definition: Spirit Is Not Matter
With that clarification in mind, based on Luke 24:39, here is our negative definition of the word “spirit.” A spirit is not related to matter. It is something else. It is nonmaterial. What that something is exactly, is impossible to say. Still, we may learn a great deal about the essence of God by understanding that he is not connected, in any way, to matter. Put another way, God is, in his essence, completely unrelated to the created cosmos, and that fact has enormous implications.
Einstein’s general and special theories of relativity (which have proven to be so helpful in so many different areas that they are no longer questioned) state that matter and energy are related. In fact, matter and energy may be thought of as just two different forms of the same thing.[4] Likewise, space and time are equally related. To speak of one is, in one way or another, to speak of the other. As a result, when we say that God, in his essence, is unrelated to the created order, we are stating that matter, energy, space, and time do not touch him. He exists outside of the influence of all these things, for all these things were created by him.
We will discuss some of the implications that arise from God being spirit throughout the book. But for our purposes right now is enough to recognize that God dwells outside of or apart from the created order of matter, energy, time, and space. He is, in his nature, something different for which we have no further explanation.
God Is Personal
When one says that God is personal, immediately a follow-up question arises: what do you mean by "personal?” This question is good and appropriate, but also trickier than most people realize. For when we give a definition of what it means to be a person, we are immediately excluding all else that does not meet that definition from being a person.
For example, if one makes the definition of "person" too restrictive, then one may exclude the newly conceived baby in the womb or the elderly in a permanently vegetative state from being "persons." Once one concludes that these are no longer "persons," then any legal protections that they may (or should) have go out the window. On the other hand, if we make the definition too expansive then my Great Dane,[5] the cattle grazing in the fields, or even the slug on my back window could be considered "persons." As "persons," these creatures would have rights extended to them that they currently do not have and that would undoubtedly be inappropriate.
So what is one to do? It seems the best way to proceed is to recognize some general truths at the outset upon which, I believe, we all may agree.
First, nearly everyone has a general idea of what a person is, even if we have a hard time defining it. After all, we are surrounded by persons. I am a person, you are a person, our families are persons. Persons look like us. Like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's comment on pornography, we may not be able to define it but "I know it when I see it."[6]
Second, the biblical evidence is clear that God meets our general understanding of "personhood." He speaks (Josh 1:1), and is spoken to (Ps 18:6). He has a will (John 6:38) and directs his actions according to that will (2 Sam 7:10). He has emotions such as love and hate (Ps 45:7), compassion and jealousy (Ps 103:13; Deut 4:24). In other words, he is like what we are. We are people and do these things, so God must be a person too.
Third, the Bible teaches that people are created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). The word "in" is somewhat misleading in these verses. A better translation is that we were created "as" the image of God. Not only does this fit the Hebrew better, but it also makes better sense. Since God does not have a material form which can be copied, it cannot mean that God looked in a mirror and created what he saw. Instead, this text teaches that God created man to act as his image on earth. Still, the word "image" indicates that there must be some level correspondence between God and man. This correspondence cannot include appearance, so the resemblance between God and man must lie elsewhere.
Nearly all theologians will agree that the main area of similarity between God and man is found in the idea of personhood. This is a reasonable conclusion. But we must be careful how we state it. God is the creator. We are created as his image, he is not created in ours. Therefore, it is incorrect to draw our definition of person from what we see in man and then apply it back to God. Rather, we must start with God, list of those areas of agreement between God and man, and derive our definition from those similarities.
This means of defining the word "person" may seem contrived and overly complicated, but it is necessary. For if we define "personhood" in man as something that we do, then we are excluding people who cannot do those certain things. For example, if we define a “person” as someone who speaks, we exclude those people (a baby in the womb, for example) who cannot perform these tasks. Yet it is clear that God considers the baby not yet born to be a "person" (Jer 1:5).
On the other hand, if we derive our definition of what it means to be a "person" from God's revelation of himself, we avoid this difficulty. Under this scheme, all human beings, regardless of their function or utility or age, are persons because we are created as the image of God who is a person.
For the purpose of our study, it is not vital that we have a strict definition of what it means to be a "person." We have listed some of those areas where the nature of God is reflected in his created image bearer, man. That seems good enough. I say that because the statement "God is personal," is intended, in the end, to show one thing only. And that one idea is not dependent upon a technical definition of "person."
What is important for us to recognize is this: God it is not an impersonal force like gravity or electricity. He is not someone whom we can control if we just get the circuits right or do the math correctly. He is not a pre-programmed machine. There is no operating manual telling us how to obtain a desired outcome.
On the contrary, he has feelings, as we do. He has desires, as we do. He speaks, and desires to be spoken to, as we do. As we can be sinned against, so can he. But, unlike us so much of the time, when he is sinned against, he longs to forgive. We can love him, and be loved in return by him.
Because God is a person, we can get to know him, which is the stated goal of this book. Because God is a person, our relationship to him as the potential to be the most satisfying and rewarding of all our relationships to other persons.
God Is Invisible
Because God is not composed of matter, God is naturally invisible and undetectable. In order for something to be visible, light must strike an object and bounce off in such a way that the eye detects the redirected light and deciphers the meaning in the brain. If there is no matter for light to strike, there is no visibility. In order for something to be visible it must be composed of matter.
Imagine, for example, you are standing in a dark shed on a bright, sunny day. A ray of light penetrates the darkness through a hole in the ceiling. As you look at this ray of light, you actually do not see the light itself. You know it is there because of the twinkling dust particles within it and the circle of light on the floor. But the light itself cannot be seen. Visibility requires matter.
As a result, invisibility is a trait that we should expect from a being with no material component. And that is, of course, exactly how the Scriptures portray God. The apostle Paul cries out, "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever" (1 Tim 1:17). The apostle John states that, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known" (John 1:18; this claim is repeated in John 5:37; 6:46 and 1 John 4:12, 20).
Because God exists as a spirit outside of the cosmos — that is, he is untouched by matter, energy, space, and time — he is unlike anything seen (or unseen) in our universe. This is why ancient Israel was forbidden to make an idol to represent God.
Moses reminded the nation of Israel that God appeared to them without any form when God gave his people the Law. This is why they must not make any image to aid in their worship of God. There is no physical likeness in the entire universe that can accurately represent him.
In fact, when Moses gave this command, he was quite specific concerning the type of idols he had in mind.
Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them … Deut 4:15-19
Any of these idols would tie God to his creation and give the impression that God is part of the world around us. This is categorically false and therefore forbidden in every case. To be clear, this does not mean that God cannot be seen if he chooses to be seen. We have numerous examples through the Scriptures where God has appeared to people in a visible way.
Still, while God may be seen if he chooses to be seen, in his essence — when he is existing as he naturally is — he is invisible because he has no material component to be seen. When God chooses to be seen in a physical way, the physical manifestation of his being does not become part of God's permanent essential nature. God is, in his nature, a spirit, and no action by the created order or even God himself can change this.
This, of course, has an immediate application. Just because we cannot see God does not mean he is not here. Even though we cannot detect him, he is still active. Even though God is completely unlike everything we've experienced in the world around us, God remains real.
The author of Hebrews declares faith to be "sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb 1:1). This remains true today. Belief in God requires a trust in what we cannot see. But when we understand the true essence of God, this makes perfect sense. This requirement to trust in what we cannot see is not simply a test designed by God to separate those who have faith in those who do not. After all, all of us are lacking in the faith department to one degree or another. No, God's demand that we trust in what we do not see is merely God asking to be accepted as he really is.
Conclusion
God is a personal spirit. As a spirit, he is not related to matter, energy, space, or time. He created all these things which means, he controls them, they do not control him. Because he is not made of matter, he is naturally invisible. He has no physical component see. As a result, faith — that is, trusting in what we cannot see — it is essential to having a relationship with him.
[1] Sagan, Carl, Cosmos, (Ballantine, New York: 2013) 1-2.
[2] Ibid, back cover.
[3] Ibid., 1.
[4] I understand this is a gross oversimplification. But this is a theology book, not a book about physics. This statement is close enough for our purposes so we will stick with it.
[5] His name is Samson. He is a beautiful shade of blue and is as dumb as lettuce.
[6] “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that. 378 U.S. at 197 (Stewart, J., concurring) (emphasis added).