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observe. If, for example, we begin with the statement that God is almighty, we provide no adequate definition, for it
immediately raises further questions: Is He an almighty force or is He a personal God?  Is He human or
superhuman? Such questions are answered by the opening words of the definition - `God is a Spirit'. With this
knowledge as a basis, the attributes of God become intelligible.
We do not propose to follow the Westminster Confession further, but to follow the doctrine of the Apostle John,
who has stated in at least three places what God is:
As to Essence.
God is SPIRIT (John 4:24 R.V margin).
As to Manifestation.
God is LIGHT (1 John 1:5).
God is LOVE (1 John 4:8).
The revelation given in John 4 tells us that `God is Spirit', but, inasmuch as there are both good and evil spirits,
we need the expansion which the epistle provides. The statement that `God is Spirit' differs from the other statement
by the absence of the verb `to be' and by the order of the words Pneuma ho Theos, literally -`Spirit the God'. This is
an example of one of the commonest figures of speech - or the placing of a word out of its usual order in a sentence
for the sake of emphasis. The name of this figure is hyperbaton; hyper, meaning `over' and baton, from banein - `to
step'. Modern English is almost devoid of inflections, and while this makes the learning of the language less
formidable, it also makes it imperative that words in a sentence be kept in their true order. In a language as rich in
inflections and case endings as the Greek, the subject of a sentence can be moved from one end to the other without
risk of ambiguity. For the sake of any to whom these things may be unfamiliar, we give a few examples of this
figure:
Romans 5:8.
`But God commendeth His love toward us'.
Order in original:
`But commends His love to us God'.
1 Timothy 3:16.
`Great is the mystery of godliness'.
Order in original:
`Great is, of godliness, the mystery'.
John 1:1.
`And the Word was God'.
Order in original:
`And God was the Word'.
In each case the transposed word receives added emphasis by the use of the figure. To express this emphasis in
English, we may translate: `God is Spirit'. It is not our intention here to speak of the Trinity in the Godhead. We
have dealt elsewhere with the subject of the deity of Christ, and we take the present opportunity of declaring our
belief in the personal character of the Holy Spirit. What we are seeking here however, is the teaching of Scripture
concerning God, whether known to us as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.
We find in the Scriptures that the revelation of God as Spirit applies to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Himself. John 4:23,24 speaks of the Father. The word pneuma is used of Christ in 1 Corinthians 6:17; 15:45 and
2 Corinthians 3:17,18. The same word is used for the Holy Spirit. Both angels and demons are spoken of as spirits
(Acts 8:29; Heb. 1:7,14 and Mark 7:25). The new nature also is spirit (John 3:6 and Rom. 8:4,9) and the
resurrection body is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:44). The word pneuma expresses invisible traits and feelings (see Matt.
26:41). Scripture insists upon the distinction between spirit and flesh, as of two separate kingdoms.
In the gospel that reveals to us that God is Spirit (John 4:24), we find stressed the thought of invisibility, which is
an important characteristic of the spiritual:
`Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape' (John 5:37).
`Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father' (John 6:46).
`No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son (or as the Critical Texts read - "God only begotten"),
which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him' (John 1:18).
The same truth is revealed in many Scriptures:
`The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen' (Rom. 1:20).
`Who is the Image of the invisible God' (Col. 1:15).