The Spirituality of God

Ours is a material world, one that is made up of physical matter that can be seen, smelled, tasted, heard, and felt with our senses. Because of that, it is exceptionally difficult for us to conceive of realities that are not made up of atoms and molecules—the constituent parts of material realities. Yet, from the beginning of human history, people have sustained a belief in a spiritual realm, an aspect of reality that is nonphysical. Across geographical and cultural divides, people have for a variety of reasons believed in the existence of immaterial spirits, including such things as ghosts, human souls, angels, demons, and deities.

This common belief in spirits is one piece of evidence that such a thing as spiritual reality exists, but the definitive proof regarding the existence of spirits is found in the Bible. When we look at Scripture’s teaching on the subject, we find that spirituality is an attribute of God. For example, Exodus 31:3 refers to the “Spirit of God.” Moreover, one of the persons of the Trinity is the “Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).

If we are not careful, we might see references to things such as the “Spirit of God” as indicating that spirituality is simply one thing that God possesses or one aspect of His character. We might be tempted to think of God as a composite being, one made up of spirit and other constituent parts, similar to how each human being is made up of a spirit or soul and a body (see Ps. 31:9; Matt. 10:28). However, God is not a composite being made up of various parts. The Lord does not merely possess a spirit; rather, He actually is spirit, as we see in John 4:24.

When the Bible says that God is spirit, it is not saying that He is an impersonal force like the wind but rather that He is a personal being who transcends what is physical. Furthermore, the Bible does not mean that God is a finite spirit. Our souls or spirits, although they are invisible, are nonetheless confined to one place at a time. However, as we will see when we consider God’s omnipresence and infinity, God is spirit without bounds. That God is spirit means that He cannot be contained or measured.

Today’s passage tells us that because God is spirit, He must be worshiped in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Fundamentally, this means that God must be worshiped in a manner consistent with His nature. Since we cannot see His nature, for He is invisible spirit, this means that He must reveal to us who He is and how He is to be worshiped.