God Is Spirit
Scripture Reading — John 4:19-26
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
The Bible says that God “is immortal and . . . lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). There will come a day when believers in Christ will see God, as Jesus said (Matthew 5:8). Until then we live by faith, not by sight.
For several centuries materialism—the idea that only physical or material things are real and of value—has been very influential. Sometimes it has taken shape in Marxist revolutions and societies; sometimes it is seen in the notion of contentment through wealth and physical comforts. Materialism is skeptical of the God who is spirit, whom no one can see.
Many people figure that if we cannot see God, he must not exist. But do we think that way about places and people we’ve heard of but haven’t seen? Perhaps you have a cousin whom you’ve heard of but have never met, or maybe you’ve heard about black holes in space but haven’t seen them. Does that mean they don’t exist?
Another pitfall (among many) is circular reasoning. For example: “Miracles cannot happen because God does not exist.” That’s like saying, “My mind is made up; don’t bother me with any evidence.”
The Bible teaches that God exists and that his Spirit guides us “into all the truth” (John 16:13). God’s Spirit convinces us that God is real and assures us that through Jesus we are saved from the consequences of our sin and given new life. That’s why we worship him!
O God, help us to know you and to worship you in truth. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — George Young
George Young, a native New Yorker, worked as a taxi driver in New York City before studying to become a pastor. Then he, his wife Ruth, and their children were missionaries for many years in northeastern Japan. They worked with ministers and believers from the Reformed Church in Japan to spread the good news of salvation in Christ and establish new churches. Now George and Ruth are retired and live in the northeastern United States, nearer to their children and grandchildren.
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