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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 in these articles 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: 24 speaks of the Father. The word
pneuma is used of Christ in I Cor. 6: 17, 15: 45 & II Cor. 3: 17, 18. And 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 (I Cor. 15: 44). The word
pneuma expresses invisible characteristics 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).
"The King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God" (I Tim. 1: 17).
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto:
Whom no man hath seen, nor can see" (I Tim. 6: 16).
The distinction between spirit and flesh is maintained in Scripture, whether the word
"spirit" is used of God Himself or of others:--
"The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26: 41).
"A spirit hath not flesh and bones" (Luke 24: 39).
"That which hath been begotten of the Spirit, is spirit, and that which hath been
begotten of the flesh is flesh" (John 3: 6).
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6: 63).
"Who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit" (Rom. 8: 4).
"Their horses are flesh, and not spirit" (Isa. 31: 3).
The passages we have given are sufficient for our present purpose; the reader will
discover many more. The revelation of John 4: 24 renders it imperative that in our