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God is a Spirit

Discussion in '2003 Archive' started by Mark R, Aug 2, 2003.

  1. Mark R

    Mark R New Member

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    My wife and I attended a wedding this weekend, when I got home and checked the mail I had a letter from a man that visited our church on Father's Day (June 15, 2003) accusing me of compromise with the liberal feminist agenda." I 'bout fell out of my chair! I thought, "That's a new one!" What gives? On Father's Day when introducing the sermon, I said that God has utilized every one of our most precious human relationships in an effort to fully reveal His heart of love for the redeemed. Fatherhood, brotherhood, friendship, and even motherhood (Isa.66:13) are used as illustrations for God's love. I did say that God is a Spirit and therefore in His essence neither male nor female. I believe this is what set the man off. Am I wrong on that count? Have I been duped by feminist thinking and theology? What say you?
     
  2. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    The word Spirit in Hebrew is feminine and in the Greek Scripture it is neuter.

    John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

    Him:auton: pronoun personal accusative masculine singular


    Technically, I believe you are correct because you used the words “male” or “female”.
    God is masculine.

    The Scripture always refers to God and each member of the Godhead as masculine with masculine nouns and pronouns.

    To me masculine and feminine are not the same as male and female. However Jesus did become flesh as a male.

    Personally I wouldn’t worry about it.

    You can't please everyone, it's impossible.


    HankD
     
  3. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    My only argument would be that God is spirit and not a spirit. He is the very essence of spirit, and hence neither male nor female.

    The scriptures come to us through a patriarchal society and hence all the references to the masculine gender. The historical image of a father is fitting and proper.

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
  4. G. M. Ward

    G. M. Ward New Member

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    The word Spirit in Hebrew is feminine and in the Greek Scripture it is neuter.

    John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

    Him:auton: pronoun personal accusative masculine singular


    Technically, I believe you are correct because you used the words “male” or “female”.
    God is masculine.

    The Scripture always refers to God and each member of the Godhead as masculine with masculine nouns and pronouns.

    To me masculine and feminine are not the same as male and female. However Jesus did become flesh as a male.

    Personally I wouldn’t worry about it.

    You can't please everyone, it's impossible.


    HankD
    </font>[/QUOTE]What does the Bible say? Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
     
  5. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    OK, that's a good point!

    But don't forget verse 26:
    Genesis 1
    26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
    27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

    To which is the reference of "in His own image"?

    Male and female or multiple persons in the Godhead seeing that "Adam" is in the singular but consists of more than one person.

    If you say that it is male and female then are you saying one of the persons in the Godhead is "female"?

    HankD
     
  6. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    At what point in creation history did the term Adam become a name of a specific person, whereas, in the beginning it was referring to the whole human race, male and female?

    I don't think that Mother-God is correct at all, since God is Spirit, and there is no gender in being Spirit, as demonstrated throughout scripture.

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
  7. Mark R

    Mark R New Member

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    Thanks people! I don't believe I said what the man thought I said. One question for Jim, by saying, "God is spirit" and not "a spirit" does the door for pantheism swing open? "a spirit" would seem to differentiate God from all other spirits?! Not dogmatizing, just wondering
     
  8. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    Interestingly enough, the very verse quoted, John 4: 24 was used by the pantheists to establish their doctrines,,,,"God is a Spirit..." The term Spirit designates a singular definition as to the essence of God. The text is correct in John 4:24, but must be taken in context.

    LeConte writes: "God is spirit, for spirit is essential life, and essential energy, and essential love, and essential thought; in a word, essential person." John 4:24; 1 John 1:5; 4:8 we have "spirit", "light", "love". not a spirit; not a light; not a love. God is not just the source of those attributes, but the very essence of those things.

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
  9. Paul of Eugene

    Paul of Eugene New Member

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    OK, that's a good point!

    But don't forget verse 26:
    Genesis 1
    26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
    27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

    To which is the reference of "in His own image"?

    Male and female or multiple persons in the Godhead seeing that "Adam" is in the singular but consists of more than one person.

    If you say that it is male and female then are you saying one of the persons in the Godhead is "female"?

    HankD
    </font>[/QUOTE]Hank, the image of God in man is not found in the physical attributes, not even the sexual attributes - look to the mind and the soul for the image of God in man. These are things that transcend physical gender and women as well as men are in the image of God.
     
  10. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    Thanks Paul,

    I was just "going with the flow" of this thread anyway.

    HankD
     
  11. USN2Pulpit

    USN2Pulpit New Member

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    Ergun Caner preached a sermon about this at the last SBC pastors conference. He pointed out that God was not male in relation to gender, but that he was "Father" in relation to his children. It was an interesting point.
     
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