God is a Human?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• Is God a human?

• What does it mean that mankind was created in God's image and likeness?

• How are the terms “image” and “likeness” used in the rest of the Bible?

• Is God ever described with body parts in the Bible?

• Has anyone ever seen God?

• John 4:24 says that "God is Spirit". In context, what does that mean?

VIEWS TO CONSIDER:

• EVANGELICAL VIEW: God is a being of spirit only. With the exception of the person of Jesus after his physical birth on earth, God does not have a physical body or body parts, nor does his spirit naturally have any form, shape, body parts etc. The revelation that mankind was created in God’s likeness and image refers only to non-physical, non-visual similarities (ex. ability to reason, choose, love, reflect God’s goodness etc.)

• LATTER DAY SAINT VIEW: God the Father is a perfect, glorified human male with a perfected physical body of flesh and bone which is eternally united to his spirit, which spirit also has human form. This description applies to Jesus as well since his physical resurrection. The Holy Spirit is also a human male, but he only has a body of spirit (not of flesh). Spirit is matter (just less fine than physical matter) and therefore spirits still have gender, location and visible form (though they are often invisible to mortals). Mankind was created both in God’s physical image & likeness of God (physical body, human form etc.) as well as the non-physical image & likeness of God (intelligence, free will, a divine potential etc.) While God the Father is generally invisible (hidden) from the eyes of mortal, fallen mankind, there have been a some (ex. John the Beloved, Steven and even some in these latter days) that have seen the Father in vision, and these have described him in human form.

CONTENTS:

• Image & likeness: Adam & Eve are created in God's

• Image & likeness: Seth born in Adam's image and likeness

• Image & likeness passages – Physical/visual meaning (Count: 132)

• Image & likeness passages – Non-physical/non-visual meaning (Count: 1)

• Image & likeness passages – Could go either way (Count: 3)

• Image & likeness passages – Other similar passages

• Image & likeness passages – Fallen man is still in the image of God

• Appearances of God (a human form is described)

• Appearances of God (form not described)

• Apostles believed that God the Father had a visible form

• Descriptions of God having human body parts (non-appearances)

• Descriptions of God having non-human body parts (non-appearances)

• "God is spirit” - Meaning of "spirit"

• Invisible?

• Living God: "Living" refers to body and spirit united

• Male Gender (He, His, Father etc.)

• Man of war

• Jesus and Father = "two men"

• See God - Christians

• See God - No man?

• Son of Man

• Spirits have form

• Visions of God in human form

IMAGE & LIKENESS: ADAM & EVE: Moses recorded: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:26-27). That is quite a revelation! What does it mean? Does this language (“image” and “likeness“) refer to similarities that are physical/visual similarities (the form/shape of our bodies etc.) or non-physical similarities (perhaps the ability to love, to rule, to choose, knowledge etc.)? Or both? Since the answer is not specified in the context of this particular Genesis 1 revelation, let us look at the rest of the Bible to see how this language is used. Below is a list of ALL references to “image” or “likeness” in the Bible, broken out by whether those terms (within their context) are referring to either a physical/visual likeness/image or a non-physical/non-visual likeness/image.

IMAGE & LIKENESS: SETH BORN IN ADAM'S IMAGE AND LIKENESS:

• Gen. 5:1-3 God created man, in the likeness of God made he him… And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth

• Note: This is surely a particularly important passage in determining the meaning of being born in one’s “likeness” and “image“, for the author (Moses) compares Seth to his father Adam using the same exact language that he (Moses) used to compare mankind to God. The context of Gen. 5:1-3 (“begat“, the naming of the child etc.) indicates that the terms “image” and “likeness” are referring to the birth of Seth. Since it is very difficult to determine non-physical qualities of a child when they are first born, this passages is likely suggesting that Seth was born with a strong physical resemblance/likeness to his Father, Adam. The application of this passage to mankind’s relationship to God strongly suggests that our bodies were created in the image and likeness of God’s body, even that mankind and God are the same race and that we are his offspring (just as Seth was the offspring of Adam).

IMAGE & LIKENESS PASSAGES – PHYSICAL/VISUAL MEANING (Count = 132):

• Gen. 5:1-3 Adam… begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth

• Gen. 31:19 Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s

• Gen. 31:34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them

• Gen. 31:35 He searched, but found not the images

• Exo. 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth

• Exo. 23:24 Thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images

• Lev. 26:21Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image

• Lev. 26:30 I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images

• Num. 33:52 Destroy all their molten images

• Deut. 4:16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth

• Deut. 4:23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee

• Deut. 4:25 And shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image

• Deut. 5:8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or the likeness of anything

• Deut. 7:5 Ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images…and burn their graven images

• Deut. 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn

• Deut. 12:3 Ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods

• Deut. 16:22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image

• Deut. 27:15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image

• Judges 17:3 I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.

• Judges 17:4 his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

• Judges 18:4 Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image?

• Judges 18:7 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image:

• Judges 18:18 And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image.

• Judges 18:20 And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

• Judges 18:30 And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

• 1 Sam. 6:5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land;

• 1 Sam. 6:11 And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.

• 1 Sam. 19:13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

• 1 Sam. 19:16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster.

• 2 Sam. 5:21 And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.

• 1 Kings 14:9 thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger

• 1 Kings 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.

• 2 Kings 3:2 He put away the image of Baal that his father had made

• 2 Kings 10:27 And they brake down the image of Baal

• 2 Kings 11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly

• 2 Kings 17:10 And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:

• 2 Kings 17:16 And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves

• 2 Kings 17:41 So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children

• 2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places, and brake the images

• 2 Kings 21:7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house

• 2 Kings 23:14 And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves

• 2 Kings 23:24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols

• 2 Chron. 14:3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images

• 2 Chron. 14:5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

• 2 Chron. 23:17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces

• 2 Chron. 28:2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.

• 2 Chron. 31:1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces

• 2 Chron. 33:7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made

• 2 Chron. 33:19 and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled

• 2 Chron. 33:22 Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made

• 2 Chron. 34:3 and the carved images, and the molten images.

• 2 Chron. 34:7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem

• Job 4:16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence

• Ps. 17:15 I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness (Note: This reference to likeness could refer to the glory of God’s body/“face” or to God’s “righteousness”)

• Ps. 73:20 As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image

• Ps. 78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

• Ps. 97:7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

• Ps. 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

• Isa. 10:10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

• Isa. 17:8 shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

• Isa. 21:9 Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

• Isa. 30:22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold

• Isa. 40:19 The workman melteth a graven image

• Isa. 40:20 A cunning workman to prepare a graven image…

• Isa. 40:18-19 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

• Isa. 41:29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

• Isa. 42:8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

• Isa. 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

• Isa. 44:9 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity

• Isa. 44:10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?

• Isa. 44:15 Yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.

• Isa. 45:20 They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

• Isa. 48:5 Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

• Jer. 8:19 Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

• Jer. 10:14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

• Jer. 43:13 He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh

• Jer. 50:20 Her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

• Jer. 50:38 It is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.

• Isa. 51:17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

• Jer. 51:47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon

• Ezek. 1:5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

• Ezek. 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side

• Ezek. 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps

• Ezek. 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

• Ezek. 1:22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above

• Ezek. 1:16 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

• Ezek. 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

• Ezek. 6:4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken

• Ezek. 6:6 your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

• Ezek. 7:20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein

• Ezek. 8:3 Where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

• Ezek. 8:5 behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

• Ezek. 10:1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

• Ezek. 10:10 And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.

• Ezek. 10:21 Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

• Ezek. 10:22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.

• Ezek. 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them

• Ezek. 21:21 He consulted with images, he looked in the liver.

• Ezek. 23:13 The images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion

• Ezek. 30:13 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph

• Dan. 2:32 This image’s head was of fine gold

• Dan. 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

• Dan. 2:35 And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

• Dan. 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold

• Dan. 3:2 The dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

• Dan. 3:3 The dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

• Dan. 3:5 Ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up

• Dan. 3:7 all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

• Dan. 3:10 All kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image

• Dan. 3:14 Not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

• Dan. 3:15 Ye fall down and worship the image which I have made

• Dan. 3:18 We will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• Hosea 3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image

• Hosea 10:1 according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images

• Hosea 10:2 He shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

• Hosea 11:2 They sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

• Hosea 13:2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding

• Amos 5:26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

• Micah 5:13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.

• Nahum 1:14 Out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.

• Hab. 2:18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

• Matt. 22:20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? (see also Mark 12:16)

• Luke 20:24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Cæsar’s

• Acts 14:11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

• Acts 19:35 Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

• Rom. 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

• Rom. 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection

• Rom. 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh

• 1 Cor. 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (Note: The context is the glorious resurrection of our physical bodies).

• 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

• Ro. 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

• Phillip. 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

IMAGE & LIKENESS PASSAGES – NON-PHYSICAL/NON-VISUAL MEANING:

• Col. 3:9-10 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him (Note: Image here clearly refers to knowledge)

IMAGE & LIKENESS PASSAGES – COULD GO EITHER WAY:

• 1 Cor. 11:7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man (Note: The passage seems to suggest that men (male humans) in are God’s image in a unique way which does not correspond to women. This could be referring to God and men both being males (a physical/visual image), or it could refer to man being the head of the wife/family (a non-physical image).

• 2 Cor. 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (Note: Up for interpretation, but image here is likely referring to a visual/physical image since the Bible teaches that the visible Christ is the image of the invisible God, see Col. 1:15, John 14:9)

• Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature

• Rom. 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren (Note: Up for interpretation, but this passage is likely referring to a visual/physical image since the context is the resurrection of our physical bodies)

IMAGE & LIKENESS PASSAGES – OTHER SIMILAR PASSAGES: These passages below do not use the term "image" or "likeness", but they are comparing God and man using similar language like "after God" etc. These may or may not be related to our being created in God's image and likeness, but I thought that they should be mentioned.

• Eph. 4:23-24 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

IMAGE & LIKENESS PASSAGES – FALLEN MAN IS STILL IN THE IMAGE OF GOD:

• James 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

APPEARANCES OF GOD (DESCRIBED WITH A HUMAN FORM): Note: This list will exclude appearances of Jesus after his birth on earth, though these could be appearances of either the Father or the pre-incarnate Christ.

• Dan. 3:24-25 Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?… Lo, I see four men loose… and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Note: Nebuchadnezzar saw a being in the form of a human man and concluded that it was the Son of God. This supports that he (and likely those in his culture and time) believed that God has a physical form. However, there are other interpretations of this passage that suggest that “Son of God” may be translated as “a son of God” which could refer simply to an angel or messenger from heaven.

  • Exo. 24:1-11 Andy they saw God… there was under his feet… And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink

  • Exo. 33:21 I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen

  • Gen. 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… amongst the trees

  • Gen. 18:1 And the Lord appeared unto [Abraham] and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him, and when he saw them, he… bowed down and said, My Lord… and the LORD said unto Abraham…

  • Gen. 32:30 I have seen God face to face

APEARANCES OF GOD (FORM NOT DESCRIBED):

• • 1 Kings 11:9 The LORD… appeared unto [Solomon] twice

  • Exo. 24:9 Moses, Aaron, Nadab & Abihm & seventy elders… saw the God of Israel

  • Gen. 26:2 And the Lord appeared unto [Isaac]

  • Isaiah 6:5 Mine yes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts

  • Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (“God” in Pauls’ letter to Titus is God the Father; see Titus 1:1,4, 3:4-6. In verse 13, he states that the Father and the Son will appear).

APOSTLES BELIEVED GOD THE FATHER HAD A VISIBLE FORM:

• • John 14:8 Lord, shew us the Father

DESCRIPTIONS OF GOD HAVING HUMAN BODY PARTS:

• • Duet. 3:24 O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand

  • Deut. 4:34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

  • Deut. 5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

  • Deut. 7:19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the Lord thy God brought thee out: so shall the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.

  • Deut. 11:2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm

  • Exo. 16:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt

  • Exo. 32:11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

  • Gen. 49:24 His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob

DESCRIPTIONS OF GOD HAVING NON-HUMAN BODY PARTS: Note: It seems very clear to the creator of this website that when context is applied, the non-human parts listed below are examples of metaphorical, poetic, non-literal language. This cannot be said with many of the passages that describe God with human body parts, or appearances of God in human form (ex. “Thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen”, “and under his feet was a…” etc.)

• • Psalms 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings

  • Psalms 91:4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

  • Ruth 2:!2 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge

GOD IS… : There are various passages (all recorded by John the Beloved) say “God is…” and then give a noun (see below). Some Christians have tried to apply these passages literally to the nature of God’s actual being, substance etc., suggesting that He is literally love, light, Spirit (no physical body), literally life by nature etc. However, when we apply the context of these statements (ex. sin, love, worship, salvation etc.), we can see that these passages are all likely to be understood metaphorically, speaking of character, worship, how to be saved etc. (not the actual nature of God’s substance):

• • 1 John 1:5-6 God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth

  • 1 John 4:16 God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God

  • John 4:24 God is spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth

  • John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

"GOD IS SPIRIT”: John 4:24 states that, “God is spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth“. To conclude that “spirit” here must refer to a being without a physical body would miss much of the Bible’s use of the word. The words “spirit” is often used in scripture as a synonym for “truth“, “life/breath“, “light“, “purity“, “godliness” and/or “holy/spiritual“. It is also used to describe physical beings such as prophets, Christians, Jesus etc. (see examples below). Paul once even referred to our future resurrected physical bodies as “spiritual bodies” (see below). To know which meaning should be applied, we must apply context. The context of John 4 is true Christian worship (not the nature of God’s substance/form), so applying one of the meanings above to John 4:24 would make a lot of sense, the overall message therefore teachings that we should be holy, pure, spiritual etc. because God is those things (a message common throughout the Bible, for example: “Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy“, Lev. 19:2). Below is a list of passages where the “spirit” has meanings other than “no physical body”, including passages where the word is applied to physical beings. Below are also a few passages which similarly appear to describe God is a less literal sense using the same "God is..." verbiage:

• • 1 Cor. 15:44 Paul calls our future resurrected physical bodies “spiritual bodies”

  • 1 Cor. 6:17 He that is joined to the Lord (a Christian) is one spirit

  • 1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, believe not every spirit (human), but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit (Christian) that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit (false prophet) that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

  • 2 Cor. 3:17 The Lord (the resurrected Christ) is that spirit

  • John 3:6 That which is born of the Spirit is spirit (a Christian)

  • John 6:63 The words that I speak unto you, they (revelations from God) are spirit, and they are life.

  • GOD IS LIGHT: 1 John 1:5-6 God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth

  • GOD IS LOVE: 1 John 4:16 God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God

LIVING GOD: "LIVING" REFERS TO BODY AND SPIRIT UNITED

XXX

XXX

XXX

MALE GENDER: The Bible, from beginning to end, consistently refers to our deity (the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit) with male pronouns such as “He“, “His” and “Father“, “Son“, never using female pronouns, and never using non-gender terms like “it”. Some say that such language must be metaphorical or anthropomorphic language since the Bible speaks of God as a “Spirit” (John 4:24). However, the word “Spirit” has many meanings and is often applied to physical beings, and even beings that are known to be true spirit beings (ex. Yahweh of the Old Testament, OT angels etc.) have appeared to mankind in form (always in a male form). The more direct interpretation is to accept that God is a male being. Viewing God as a male might explain why Paul, in 1 Cor. 11:17, spoke of males as being especially in God’s image: “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man“). Note: The list below is not comprehensive; I tried to grab at least one references from all Bible books.

• Gen. 1:5 And God… the darkness he called night

• Gen. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them

• Ex. 8:27 Sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us.

• Deut. 1:11 The Lord God… he hath promised you

• Deut. 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God

• Joshua 2:11 Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

• Judges 10:6 the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him.

• 1 Sam. 2:3 the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

• 1 Kings 8:20 Lord hath performed his word that he spake

• 1 Chron. 13:10 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him

• Ezra 1:2 The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me

• Ps. 18:6 I called upon the Lord… he heard my voice

• Isa. 12:2 Lord Jehovah… he also is become my salvation

• Jer. 10:10 The Lord is the true God, he is the living God

• Isa. 42:5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens

• Amos. 3:7 the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret

• Zeph. 3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save

• Mal. 1:9 beseech God that he will be gracious unto us

• Math. 6:8 Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him

• Luke 1:55 He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever

• Luke 11:13 much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

• John 4:23 the Father seeketh such to worship him.

• John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things (Note: Speaking of the Holy Ghost)

• Acts 1:7 …which the Father hath put in his own power

• 1 Cor. 8:6 The Father, of whom are all things, and we in him

• Heb. 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

• 2 John 1:9 He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

• Rev. 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father

MAN OF WAR:

• Exo. 15:3 The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

JESUS & FATHER = "TWO MEN":

• John 8:17-18 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. (Note: The Greek word behind "men" here is anthrōpōn, which literally means "a man, human".)

GOD THE FATHER IS INVISIBLE?:

• Col. 1:15 [Christ] is the image of the invisible God (Note: Invisible means “not seen”, it does not mean “no body” or “without form”. There are many things that we cannot or do not see that still have form, matter, shape etc. This passage must be understood within all Bible revelations, including the passages that show that some have seen God the Father in visible form)

• 2 Cor. 4:4 Christ is the image of God

SEE GOD - CHRISTIANS:

• Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in hearth, for they shall see God

SEE GOD - NO MAN? There are a few passages that indicate that no man has ever seen God, which might naturally suggest that no one has ever seen God the Father. Some conclude from this that God does not have form and that no one has ever seen God the Father in any sense. However, since the Bible give many instances of when man has seen God, even God the Father, we must look at all of scripture to come to a proper understanding. 1 Tim. 1:6, Exo. 33 and Judges 13:22 seem to be key as they suggest that God does have a form but we, as fallen beings, cannot physically survive to be in the full force of the glory of his presence (similar, perhaps, to the fact that man will die if we get too close to the sun). However, apparently, God can reveal himself in limited, partial, or reduced-glory forms or in vision since the Bible gives such accounts.

• John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time

• 1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time

• 1 Tim. 6:13, 16 God… dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see

• Judges 13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God

• Exo. 33:18-23 Thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen

SON OF MAN: A common title of Jesus is "son of man". One interpretation of this statement is that it is another way of saying "Son of God". In other words, Jesus is the Son of the Man, the Man of Holiness, God the Father. All of mankind are sons of men (that is, we each have a mortal human father), but only Jesus is the Son of Man, that is, only he is the Son of a perfected, immortal, divine man and Father, God the Father. (Note: Remember that there are no capital letters in Hebrew, nor in Greek, so any capitalization in our English Bibles are merely our own added interpretations).

• Dan. 7:13 One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven

• Matt. 9:6 Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins

• Matt. 11:19 Son of man came eating and drinking

• Matt. 12:8 Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath

• Matt. 12:32 Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him

• Matt. 12:40 Shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in … the earth

• Matt. 13:237 He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man

• Matt. 13:41 Son of man shall send forth his angels

• Matt. 16:13 Whom do men say that I the Son of man am

• Matt. 16:27 Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father

• Matt. 16:28 There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom

• Matt. 17:9 Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen

• Matt. 17:12 Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them

• Matt. 17:22 Son of man shall be betrayed

• Matt. 18:11 Son of man is come to save that which was lost

• Matt. 19:28 when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory

• Matt. 20:28 as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto

• Matt. 24:30 then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven… and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory

• Matt. 26:64 Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

• Mark 8:38 Of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed

• Mark 9:12 Written of the Son of man, that he must suffer

• Mark 9:31 Son of man is delivered into the hands of men

• Luke 6:22 cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake

• Luke 9:56 Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives

• Luke 9:58 Son of man hath not where to lay his head

• Luke 11:30 As Jonas was a sign … so shall also the Son of man be

• Luke 12:8 Him shall the Son of man also confess

• Luke 12:40 Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not

• Luke 17:22 Ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man

• Luke 17:24 Lightning … so shall also the Son of man be

• Luke 17:26 Days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man

• Luke 17:30 Thus shall it be … when the Son of man is revealed

• Luke 18:31 All things … concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished

• Luke 21:36 Accounted worthy … to stand before the Son of man

• John 3:13 No man hath ascended up to heaven, but … the Son of man

• John 3:14 As Moses lifted … so must the Son of man be lifted up

• John 5:27 Execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man

• John 6:27 Everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give

• John 6:53 Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man

• John 6:62 If ye shall see the Son of man ascend upXXX

• John 12:23 hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified

• Heb. 2:6 What is … the son of man, that thou visitest him

• Rev. 1:3 In the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man

SPIRITS HAVE FORM:

• Matt. 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit

• Matt. 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with them

VISIONS OF GOD IN HUMAN FORM: Note: This list will exclude appearances of Jesus after his birth on earth.

• Acts 7:56 I (Stephen) [saw] the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God

• Gen. 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

• Isaiah 6:1 I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up

• Rev. 4:2-5:10 I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper… the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him… And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book… and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book…? An no man in heaven, nor in earth was able to open the book.. And I beheld… a Lamb as it had been slain… and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the… elders fell down before the Lamb… and they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the boo, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by they blood… and hast made us unto God kings and priests (see also Rev. 5:13, “Honor… be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” – the man that John saw on the throne is clearly the Father)