Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Beelieve - Know God Intimately: Week 4, Part 1 God Is Spirit

To view previous lessons, please click here

Attribute: Merriam Webster Dictionary - 1: an inherent characteristic; also: an accidental quality
God Is Spirit

Definition:
God is a non-material personal being (Luke 24:39); self-conscious and self-determining (Ex. 3:14); living spirit (Josh. 3:10, Psalm 84:2, 1 Thess. 1:9); invisible (Colossians 1:15, 1 Tim. 1:17, John 1:18, I Tim. 6:16, Rom. 1:20).

God is spirit,” Christ declared, “and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). God is spirit. There is no article in the Greek text before the word spirit, and that stresses the value or real meaning of the word. What's more, the word spirit occurs first in the sentence for emphasis. The accurate idea would be something like, “Absolutely spirit in His essence is God.” Jesus did not leave any doubt about this truth. God is spirit!

Meaning:
God is someone we can get to know. He also has the fundamental characteristics of personality—intellect, emotions, and will. He thinks, He feels, and He acts. Because He is a living person we can get to know Him personally and communicate with Him freely when our spirits are made alive towards God through the new birth. He, unlike ourselves, doesn't need to be told what to do. On the other hand He tells us how to live in a manner pleasing to Him. Just because He can't be seen by the human eye doesn't mean He is not there and therefore should be ignored. Quite the opposite is true, His creation demonstrates His existence. Since he cannot be seen, we need to devote ourselves to prayer and study His Word so that we can get to know Him like He wants us to and begin to live our lives in a way that pleases Him.

Conclusion:
God has no image. He cannot be seen by the human eye, but creation points to His existence. His Son, Jesus testified to His existence and desire to be sought by His creatures. He also provided us with an example of how to live our lives seeking and serving God.

Application:
I need to study the Scriptures in order to find out more about God, both who He is and how He wants me to live. Also when I look at all the beautiful things in this world I will thank God for creating them and for creating me.

Since God is a living person, begin to talk with Him throughout the day. Share every detail of living with Him—joys, sorrows, victories, defeats, problems, pleasures, fears, frustrations, etc.

Wednesday, share with us, if you wish: In view of God’s spiritual nature, what changes do you think you should make in your priorities?
Wednesday
, Attribute of God – God Is Omniscient
Thursday,
share what you are thankful for regarding the two attributes we have discussed the past two days.

4 comments:

Denise said...

Awesome.

He & Me + 3 said...

I have been making a point to talk to Him more each day. Great post.

luvmy4sons said...

Great stuff once again...it seems more difficult to know Spirit because we are so tied to our flesh and what we see in this world...seeing Him in creation in the attributes of love and forgiveness is a great way to know He is real...most especially His Word which is living and active...Good stuff!

Aunt Angie said...

I have been reading down your page...THESE are FILLED with such wise words...thought provokers!

I hope all is well with your bunch!
Have a blessed day ;)