The Attributes of God Steve Lawson
Trinity Bible Church, Men's study, 1/27/22
LESSON 3. The SPIRITUALITY of God
MESSAGE INTRODUCTION
The concept of spirituality is used to communicate a variety of different ideas. For some, this word indicates a conscious commitment to the things of God. To others, to say that someone is spiritual is to suggest that he or she has a generic interest in religious or supernatural matters. However, to speak of GOD'S spirituality is actually to identify Him as ________—an immaterial, invisible, and infinite being that is fundamentally distinct from material, visible, and finite creatures. In this message, Lawson investigates what it means to affirm that God is a spiritual being and why this aspect of His character is crucial to our understanding of who He is.
TEACHING OBJECTIVES
1. To explore what it means that God is immaterial, invisible, and infinite
2. To describe the connection between God's spirituality and His ______________ with His people
3. To commend God's infinite and mysterious nature as an invitation to greater ______________
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. The ____________________ God
a. God is spirit and therefore does not have a material __________ (John 4:24).
b. When Scripture attributes human anatomy to God, it does so ______________.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM: A figure of speech used by writers of Scripture in which human physical characteristics are attributed to God for the sake of illustrating an important point. For example, Scripture sometimes speaks of the "face" or "arm" of God, even though God is revealed to be spirit and not limited in time and space by the constraints of a physical body. Anthropomorphisms essentially help to make an otherwise abstract truth about God more __________.
I. The Bible speaks of God's hands (Jeremiah 18:6), eyes (2 Chronicles 16:9), arms (Isaiah 53:1), and ears (Psalm 130:2).
ii. God sometimes ____________ to describe Himself using human qualities, in order to reveal Himself to us in ways that we can most easily understand.
c. Rather than being a limitation, God's absence of a physical body is part of what makes Him the divine Lord of all!
I. Since He has no body, God is not subject to spatial constraints.
ii. As such, God can be ____________ in all places at all times.
iii. It is precisely because God does not have a physical body that He is able to keep His promises to be with His people (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).
d. Because God is spirit, we can be assured that wherever we go and no matter how alone we may feel, God is with us still.
II. The ____________________ God
a. Because God does not have a material body, He cannot be seen by human __________.
I. Though people sometimes claim to have seen God, the truth is that He is __________(1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16).
ii. The only physical manifestation of God in human form is Jesus Christ, the God-man (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15).
b. While we cannot actually see God, we must know Him through His ______________ to us.
I. We can know about God by examining the world that He has made. (Romans 1:19-20)
ii. We can know about God by reading what the Scriptures say about Him.
iii. We can know about God by entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ, who is God in human form (John 1:14).
c. Because God is invisible, Christians must live by __________, hoping for the day when we shall be in His physical presence and see Him face to face.
III. The ____________________ God
a. As a spirit being, God has no boundaries or limits.
I. The fullness of His being permeates every part of time and __________.
ii. God's greatness surpasses human understanding.
b. The mystery of God ought to heighten our sense of worship.
I. If it were possible for us to figure out God completely, we would not be drawn to ________ Him.
ii. Because He is beyond human comprehension, He brings us to our knees in wonder and amazement.
iii. Since we can never know God completely, there is always room for us to grow and deepen in our relationship with Him.
Review Questions
1. To say that God is spirit is to say that _____.
a. The physical is ontologically inferior to the spiritual
b. God is more of an idea than a concrete reality
c. He does not have a material body
d. Human beings, as mortal creatures, cannot interact with God
2. Why does Scripture use human anatomy to describe God?
a. To show us what God is not like
b. To depict what God would look like if He appeared in human form
c. To convey the idea that God's body is made of spirit, not flesh
d. To reveal God's character in a way that we can easily understand
3. Because God does not have a body, He is subject to severe spatial constraints.
a. True b. False
4. All of the following except ____ are reliable ways to learn about God.
a. Entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
b. Talking with people who attest that God appeared to them
c. Reading the Bible
d. Studying the physical world
5. The fullness of God's being exists in every part of the universe.
a. True b. False
Discussion Questions
1. Does God have a body? What is true as a result?
2. Though God is immaterial, Scripture affirms the original goodness of our human bodies and reminds us that we will live eternally in a resurrected and embodied state. What are ways that we can delight in and glorify God through our materiality
and embodiment?
3. In what way does understanding God's spirituality bring comfort to us? How does this divine attribute address a situation in your life?
4. How will a better understanding of God's spirituality affect your life and worship?
QUOTATIONS
LAB Commentary: John 4:24 "God is spirit." In the Greek text, the word spirit comes first for emphasis: "Spirit is what God is." Here is a simple yet sublime definition of the nature of God. He is spirit. God is not a physical being limited to place and time as we are. He is present everywhere, and he can be worshiped anywhere, anytime.
Wayne Grudem: God's spirituality means that God exists as a being that is not made of any matter, has no parts or dimensions, is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses, and is more excellent than any other kind of existence.
Charles Hodge: Everywhere in Scripture God is represented as a spiritual Being, without form, invisible, whom no man has seen or can see; dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, and full of glory. He is not only the creator and preserver, but the governor of all things. He is everywhere present, and everywhere imparting life, and securing order.
Albert Barnes: John 4:24, "God is spirit." By this is meant that God is without a body; that He is not material, physical, or composed of parts; that He is invisible, in every place, pure and holy. This is one of the first truths of religion, and one of the sublimest ever presented to the mind of man! Almost all nations have had some idea of God as material, but the Bible declares that he is a pure spirit. As he is such a spirit, he dwells not in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48), neither is worshiped with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things, Acts 17:25. A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship, therefore, is such as he seeks—the offering of the soul rather than the formal offering of the body; the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips.