God-Who Are You, and What Do You Want from Me?
Study Course
(A new lesson is posted each Friday morning)
Lesson 3 God is a Spirit
God has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind in three Persons; God the Father, God the Son; God the Holy Spirit. This is referred to as the Holy Trinity. All are equally God, all having the equal amount of power. There are many things about the Trinity man cannot understand, but there is enough that can be known to be able to see who God is and how He interacts with His creation, especially man.
Each Person of the Trinity has a specific work they do, even though they are all equally God. In general, God the Father serves as supreme designer, planner, and author. God the Son has the role of the worker carrying out the directives of the Father. God the Holy Spirit serves as the completer, bringing to final form that which has been brought into existence by the Son at the Father’s command.
We see this general plan in the work of salvation for man after he allowed sin to enter into himself. Sin had separated man from God.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities [sins]have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
It was God’s will that the fellowship be restored rather than having man to perish for his sin.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The price that is required to pay the penalty for man’s sin is the shedding of innocent, sinless, human blood. However, all of mankind has sinned, therefore, no one is qualified to pay the price that God requires. God’s plan to redeem man from the price that his sin was costing him could only be paid by God Himself. God the Son, Jesus Christ, became a human being Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Do you see the working of all three Persons of the Trinity? God the Father willed that man should be saved from his sin; God the Son was to be the actual One to live a sinless life so He could be the payment God the Father required; and God the Holy Spirit made it all happen through the virgin birth of God the Son revealed as Jesus Christ. We also see the working of the Trinity in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. God the Son, Jesus, paid the price required for your sin by dying, and was buried. God the Father accepted that payment, and God the Holy Spirit raised God the Son back to life, known as the resurrection of Jesus.
While we cannot see God in any of the Persons of the Trinity with our eyes, the world is filled with the results of their activity. We see the seasons change, and day and night continue to be right on time each day. We see all of the activity within the plant, animal and insect world and know that it is God who is in control. But where we are able to see the results of the working of the Trinity is within man, and you in particular.
God the Father has willed that you be born. You were not an “accident,” and you certainly were not created without a God-designed purpose.
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee…
God the Son engineered who you would be with all of the characteristics, personality, likes, dislikes, talents, and abilities you would need to be the person He created you to be.
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
God the Holy Spirit brought you into the world through your physical birth to the parents that were to do their part in continuing to shape what had already been formed within you.
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Truly, God is to be worshipped and praised for His amazing creation, as well as His continued interaction with it. But too often we are not sure how to worship Him. Do you simply read your Bible out of a sense of duty? Do you ask Him for things in prayer? Do you go to church and listen to the preacher even though you don’t understand it? do you give of your time and money to help others in need? How do you actually worship God?
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
What does it matter if God is a Spirit or not? How does that affect me and my daily life? The fact that God is a Spirit matters greatly. Because God is a Spirit, He can interact with you directly through your spirit. If God was a person like you and me, and you wanted to worship Him, you would need to go where He was. If He were not a Spirit, He could only be in one place at a time, instead of all places at all times as we saw in the last lesson.
In John chapter 4 we read of a woman who was talking with Jesus, and, thinking He was a prophet, or preacher, said that her ancestors worshipped in the temple which they had built in the mountain where they lived, but the Jews claimed that they must worship God in the temple in Jerusalem only. She was asking Him where the true place of worship was.
John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Jesus replied to her that the time was coming that they would no longer worship in the mountain temple or at Jerusalem, knowing that both of those places would be destroyed.
John 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Then He told her that the way they were worshipping was not right, and that they didn’t know what they worshipped.
John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what…
What He was telling her was that what they called “worship” was only religion. Religion is the actions of man trying to impress God to gain His favor. Religion is a series of laws, of “do’s and don’ts,” of words that are repeated which only come from the mouth, and not from the heart. Jesus then told her what true worship really was.
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Because God is a spirit, He can speak directly to your spirit through His Holy Spirit that dwells within you once you place your trust in Christ as your personal Saviour. If God was a person like you and me, we would need to be in communication with Him in some other way than spiritually. Since we are created in the likeness of God with a spirit, we can have fellowship with Him directly. This is very important since Satan can also tempt us with his lies through our spirit. Jesus left nothing to the imagination, or to man’s interpretation, and very plainly stated that God is a spirit.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
If we do not worship God, who is a Spirit, in spirit, we neither give him the glory due to his name, and so do not perform a real and proper act of worship, nor can we hope to attain favor, and acceptance with him, and so we miss the objective of worship. Jesus is stressing that it is not the place where you worship, but rather, the state of your mind and heart: in truth. You can go into a church building, and claim to be worshipping God, but your mind is on the things of this world, and your heart is being controlled by sin. When you worship God in spirit, your worship comes directly from your heart which cannot deceive God, who, since He is a spirit knows all truth within you. Our words and actions can be deceptive, but God sees the truth of our heart.
Jesus is certainly not claiming that the church is not essential but is pointing out that you do not go to church to obtain worship, but rather, you bring your worship that dwells within your heart and mind into the church to offer it to God. The worship you offer to God must originate within you, not within a building.
Sheri was excited to be on her way to college, and yet there was an element of the unknown. High school was really nice, but she was not sure how it would be away from home for the first time in her life, except for church summer camp. She would be living in a dorm room with one other girl whom she has never met. During the long trip to the college, she was praying that her roommate would be nice, and not weird. She was praying that she would also be a Christian so they would have much in common. She knew God was in charge, but to have a roommate who drank, and partied a lot would make life for her very difficult since she didn’t get involved with either of those things.
She arrived late in the day, and after the registration process was completed, she was shown to her room. Her roommate had not arrived yet, so she had the room all to herself, which meant she had her choice of which bed to claim. The next afternoon, the door opened to her room and in came Nancy, her new roommate. They were about the same age, and it seemed like they had known each other all of their life, which was a relief to Sheri. Classes started the next day, and the schedule was difficult to follow since several of the classes were on the other side of the campus from each other, which meant no delays in getting from one class to the next. Sheri and Nancy only had two classes together, and it seemed like the teachers delighted in piling the homework assignments on heavily right from the start. Both girls were very busy late into most nights studying for the next day. When they did have a break, they talked about everything under the sun. Sheri told about being raised in a Christian home, and at a young age had accepted Christ as her personal Saviour. She had been a part of a very active teen ministry, which was a lot of fun. Nancy was raised by her grandma since her parents divorced when she was a baby, and her dad was later killed in a car accident. Her Mom lived out of state and was remarried to a man who didn’t get along with Nancy, so she lived with her grandma. She went to church with her grandma every Sunday and had recently placed her trust in Christ.
On Sunday’s both girls attended the chapel services on campus. The service was nice, but they both agreed that it wasn’t like the church they attended back home. One Sunday morning the Pastor preached a message on prayer that stirred both of their hearts. They decided to get up an hour earlier each day, and share Bible verses with each other, and pray for the classes of that day. At first, Nancy was hesitant with doing that in their room. She thought that the only time she could pray was in the church building. How could God hear her prayer if she wasn’t in the church? She had always heard that the church was God’s house, so she assumed that He would only hear her inside of it. Nancy admitted that she wanted to pray more often because there were things that needed God’s attention sooner than when she was in church but didn’t know if God actually heard her.
Sheri took her Bible and showed her that God is a spirit, and when Nancy trusted Jesus to save her, God’s Holy Spirit moved into her to guide her, as well as to help her to pray anytime and anyplace. Nancy could not understand how that could be, but she also knew that God’s Word did not lie. As they both prayed, Nancy felt like God was right there with her, and that there wasn’t anything that she couldn’t share with Him. She could ask Him for the help she needed and know that her prayer had been heard. She also could worship God all the time and thank Him for His many blessings. Since God is a spirit, He lives within her all the time.
Lesson 3-
1. God has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind in T____ Persons; God the F_____, God the S___; God the H____ S______.
2. Where we are able to see the results of the working of the Trinity is within M___, and you in particular.
3. You were not an “A_________,” and you certainly were not created without a God-designed P________.
4. Because God is a Spirit, He can interact with you D_________through your S________.
5. Too often we are not sure how to W_________ God.
6. Satan can also T_______ us with his lies through our spirit.
7. Jesus is stressing that it is not the P______ where you worship, but rather, the state of your M____ and H_______: in T______.
8. The three Persons of the T_______ are God the F_______, God the S___; God the H_____ S______.
9. You bring your worship that dwells within your H_____ and M_____into the church to offer it to God.
10. The worship you offer to God must originate within Y___, not within a B__________.
11. Since we are created in the L__________ of God with a spirit, we can have fellowship with Him D__________.
12. God the Father has W________ that you be born.
13. God the Father W______ that man should be saved from his sin; God the Son was to be the actual One to live a S______ life so He could be the P_______ God the Father required; and God the Holy Spirit made it all happen through the V_____ birth of God the Son revealed as Jesus Christ.
14. God the S___ engineered who you would be with all of the characteristics, personality, likes, dislikes, talents, and abilities you would N____ to be the person He C__________ you to be.
15. Religion is the actions of M___ trying to impress God to gain His F________.
16. God the H___ S______ brought you into the world through your physical birth to the parents that were to do their part in continuing to S____ what had already been F________ within you.
17. While we cannot see God in any of the Persons of the Trinity with our E____, the world is filled with the R_________ of their activity.
18. God is to be W____________ and P_______ for His amazing creation, as well as His continued I_______________ with it.
19. John 4:24 God is a S______: and they that worship him must worship him in S______ and in T_________.
20. We also see the working of the Trinity in the D_____, B________, and resurrection of Jesus.