The Living God

GOLDEN TEXT: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” —John 4:24

PSALM 103:8-13; ISAIAH 40:25-29; MATTHEW 6:9; JOHN 10:30

THE woman of Samaria suggested to Jesus that she considered the proper place to worship God was not at Jerusalem, but in that mountain of Samaria. His reply to her was that, in the words of our Golden Text, “God is a Spirit.” This is a simple, yet comprehensive description of the great God of the universe—as comprehensive, that is, as it is possible for our finite minds to grasp. He is a spirit being, invisible and powerful. The heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handiwork; but, as human beings, we can know only that he is a Spirit.

The implications of this great truth are many and varied. Jesus’ lesson to the woman at the well is one of these great truths. Being a Spirit, God is not confined to locations. To the Athenians, when speaking on Mars’ Hill, Paul expressed a similar thought—God “dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” (Acts 17:24) Great cathedrals and temples cannot attract nor confine him. The splendor of such edifices may impress the human mind and make one feel that God is near, but actually he is just as near to those who worship him in the open field or in their own humble homes, as he is to those who bow down before him surrounded with stained glass windows, gold trimmings and burning candles.

While we cannot visualize the form of God, as a being, through his Word he has revealed much concerning his character, his disposition. He is loving and kind; he is wise and just. These qualities we can understand to a limited extent. We see God’s power displayed in all his works of creation, but such power is too great for our limited minds to understand except partially. We believe that divine power will operate to restore the dead to life, for God has said so. We can understand to some extent what that will mean in human experience, but cannot grasp how it will be accomplished.

David wrote, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.” But how “gracious,” how “merciful”? David uses an illustration to help us understand—“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” And again, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” And still another illustration, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear [reverence] him.”—Ps. 103:8-13

Through the Prophet Isaiah the Lord asks, “To whom then will ye liken me, or [to whom] shall I be equal?” (ch. 40:25) The obvious answer is, none. Then the Lord asks us to consider the stars which he created and controls. He “bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might.” Surely such power and wisdom are beyond our comprehension.

The Lord warns his people not to think that they can hide their way from him. “Hast thou not known?” he asks, “hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” Here again, by comparison, we are helped to appreciate at least to some extent the marvelous qualities of God.

God is a Spirit. He is abundant in mercy and all-powerful, and with it all he is our Heavenly Father, so interested in us, his children, that he wants us to go to him in prayer. Jesus said, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matt. 6:9) Although as consecrated followers of Jesus, we are God’s children, we should not assume to become familiar with him. Ever and always we must recognize the sacredness of his name.

God’s interest in all his human creatures is revealed in his plan, through Christ, to establish a “kingdom” on earth, through which his will is to be done. So we pray; “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) The more we learn about God and the glorious attributes of his character, the better we understand what it will mean for all mankind to have his holy will the supreme law in the earth.

Another means of knowing God is to look at Jesus. “I and nay Father are one,” the Master said. (John 10:30) This does not mean that Jesus and God are the same person. Speaking with reference to God as a person, Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28) His oneness with the Father was a harmony of purpose.

The night before Jesus was crucified he prayed that his followers might be “one” with him and with his Father in the same way that he was one with the Father—“that they may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” (John 17:21) Thus Jesus himself explains what he meant when he said, “I and my Father are one.”

QUESTIONS

What do you understand by the statement, “God is a Spirit”?

Do we need a special building in which to worship God?

What illustrations did David use of God’s mercy and grace?

What illustrations did God use, speaking through Isaiah, to help us understand his power?

Who has the privilege of addressing God as “Our Father which art in heaven”?

What did Jesus mean when he said, “I and my Father are one”?

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