Is God Spirit or Man?

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Are we all created in the image of God? There are some who do believe that we have been created in the image of God and therefore God must look like or be a human being just like us. But if God is a spirit, why, or how, are we made in His Image? 

[SHOW OPEN]

The Bible: The basis of our faith in the Church Of Christ, which answers questions about proper worship, the right relationship with God, and most importantly, salvation. That’s in the Bible. 

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: I’m Bob Pellien and welcome to the program, That’s in the Bible. Our question for today comes from Yolanda in Sacramento, California, and she asks,

[00:47] If God created us in His image, was He man or spirit?

If God created us in His image, was He man or spirit?
-Yolanda – Sacramento, California 

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN:  Thank you Yolanda for your question. Dear friends, let’s take a good look at the first book of the Holy Bible, the verse that inspired Yolanda’s question, and that verse is Genesis 1:27, and it reads this way: 

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him;…
-Genesis 1:27 New King James Version 

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Dear friends, after reading this verse, many mistakenly conclude

that God is a man that looks like us then. Is that true? If not, then what does it mean that we were created in His image?

To fully respond to your question, Yolanda, let’s even expand it more. So we will pose important questions today about “being made in the image of God”, God’s nature or state of being, and even other important elements of the true God that must be worshiped by true worshipers. 

So, let’s break it down into these four important questions:

1. What is the nature of God?
2. Is God a spirit and a man? 
3. Were we created in the image of God, and what does that mean?
4. What should we do after learning the true nature of God? 

[02:33] What is the nature of God? 

So let’s start with the first question, what is the nature of God? Is God a human being with flesh and bones like we have dear friends? It was our Lord Jesus Christ himself who responds to that question and he does so here in John 4:24, he said: 

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:24 New King James Version 

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So dear friends, our Lord Jesus Christ made it very clear that God is spirit. But there may be some of our viewers who may be thinking of this follow-up question which needs to be posed as well, which is; what is a spirit and how is a spirit different from a man or different from a human being according to the Holy Bible? Well it was our Lord Jesus who further explained that here in the Luke 24:39 NKJV when he said: 

Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
-Luke 24:39  New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So here Jesus makes it very clear that a spirit, which God is, does not have flesh and bones as Jesus had or as any of us have now as human beings.

[04:10] Is God a spirit or a man? 

But then, could it be that God is both a man and spirit as taught by many who believe in the Trinity, right? That is a very common mistake, dear friends, made by many preachers in our time. So, let’s just ask, should we believe that? Would God agree if anyone insisted that God became a man? Well God Himself responds to that question, recorded by the Prophet Hosea, in 11:9 it says: 

I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not come with terror.
-Hosea 11:9 New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So dear friends, God clearly here does not agree that He is a man or that He would become a man for He is a spirit and not man like you and I.

[05:19] Were we created in the image of God, and what does that mean?

But, were we created in the image of God, but what then does that mean? Since God is a spirit and we are human beings with flesh and bones it clearly then, it’s not teaching that we look like God or that God looks like us or we have the same nature as God. No. So in what way are we created to be in the image of God? This time it’s Apostle Peter who wrote down a response to that, and it’s recorded, the response is recorded in 1Peter 1:15-16: 

but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
-1 Peter 1:15-16 New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So dear friends, in what way are we to reflect or be in the image of God? We can’t be a spirit for we have flesh and bones so we are to reflect the image of God’s holiness, He is holy and expects us to be holy as well, thus sustaining a Godly image. 

What should we do, dear friends, after learning the true nature of God? It is not enough just to know that God exists, remember even the devil knows God exists. It is also not enough to know that the true God is a spirit, or to know that the true God is not man, or to know that God is Holy. We are to reflect holiness as we live out our lives here on this Earth. Knowing all those things also will not be enough. What then is also necessary, or required, for someone who learns all this and learns who the true God is. What then is next? Psalm 100, the Bible’s response is recorded here in Psalm 100:2-3: 

Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
-Psalm 100:2-3 New King James Version

[06:43] What should we do after learning the true nature of God? 

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So, once we have learned that the true God is a spirit and not man, what’s expected of us? What’s next? It is expected that we would serve the Lord, and serve Him with gladness. That is what we strive to do here inside the Iglesia Ni Cristo, the Church Of Christ. It is also the reason we invite you, dear viewers, to join with us in worshiping the Lord God in spirit and in truth. Learn with us how we are to live a life of holiness thus reflecting the image of our holy God. Wherever we live in this world, every day we should live our lives to the best of our ability to be faithful in obeying God’s words to be holy.

Dear friends, let’s review the questions that we began with and let’s see what the Bible has revealed to us in response. We asked:

1. What is the nature of God?Well, we learned that God is a spirit.
2. Is God a spirit and a man?Once again we learned from the Holy Bible that God clearly does not agree that He is a man or that He would become a man, for He is a spirit and not man or not a human being as we are.
3. Were we created in the image of God, but what does that mean?We have learned from the Holy Bible that yes we have been created in the image of God! But that does not mean that we look like God or that He looks like us. It does mean however that we are to reflect in our life as the true people of God, His image of holiness for He is Holy and expects His true people to be holy as well.
4. What should we do after learning the true nature of God?The Bible then revealed to us that once knowing the true God it becomes our inherent duty to serve Him with gladness and worship Him in spirit and in truth.

We’d like you to continue learning about the teachings of the Holy Bible taught inside  the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church Of Christ. To do so, please visit us online and browse the different topics or set up an appointment to meet with a minister of the gospel. If you have any questions about the Bible or salvation, please email them to us. I’m Bob Pellien. Thanks for watching. See you next time on That’s in the Bible!