God Is A Spirit

John 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

2 Corinthians 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Explanation

God is a spirit describes what He is in essence. A spirit is a being without flesh and bones.

Luke 24:39  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

A spirit has a body, a spirit-body; but it has no natural body, no material body. God cannot be seen by human eye; God in His pure essence, has never been seen.

John 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Application

God is a spirit, and mans trouble is that he is spiritually dead. As is stated in Eph. 2:5 below, we are all dead in sin, but, those that have received Christ (John 1:12), have been made alive “quickened” with Him.

Ephesians 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins

Ephesians 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by (grace ye are saved;)

John 1:10-12
10  He[Jesus Christ] was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

‘Quickened’ means to be made alive. In this case ‘spiritually’ alive.

There is clearly two types of lives and therefore two types of deaths. The Lord Jesus Himself teaches this to Nicodemus in the lesson that we must be born-again:

Born Again

John 3:1-8
1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

From the moment of receiving Jesus Christ, I was ‘born again’. As the Lord explained to Nicodemus, everyone has to go through two births to be a son of God, or child of God.

• Physical birth to come into existence in the world into a biological family
• Spiritual birth to become part of God’s family. The Christian becomes a son or daughter of God.

I from then on have a spiritual part to my being that is alive, that was formerly dead.

This part is like God and enables me to know Him, relate to Him and therefore develop a relationship with Him.

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Romans 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

This mysterious working of the Holy Spirit with my spirit brings me do identify with God as my heavenly Father. Not easily explained, but the believer knows that he is a child of God. This has at least part to do with the relationship that initiated when I was born-again. Before receiving Christ as Saviour my thoughts of God were few and were not thoughts with any identification. God was remote, unknown, unknowable. Not anymore, He now by His Spirit begins His work of drawing me to Himself for me to get to know Him, trust Him and love Him. This is all possible now because I have been reconciled to Him:

Romans 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Colossians 1:20-21
20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled