In Deuteronomy chapter
4, the God of the Israelites (Jehovah) is making a critical point (using
Moses as his spokesman to the people) about future worship the people might be
enticed to engage in. He makes it unmistakably clear they didn’t see any “form”
when he appeared to them, but only the fire and cloud. Hence they should never
conclude that God looks human, animal, or some other inanimate object such as
the sun, moon, or stars.
Since
God made such a fuss about not making anything as a representation of him that
is in this physical realm, would he then change his mind and want mankind to
believe he indeed can be viewed as human? What I am referring to is the
perception of many that Jesus was God in human form. Wouldn’t that be a direct affront
to what God said in the above passage of Deuteronomy? In support of the
conclusion that God didn’t change his stance, is Jesus’ own words that “God is a Spirit.” Since
that was spoken by Jesus, while he was standing right there in front of humans,
it would stand to reason that Jesus was not God in human form. But I’m sure
someone somewhere has a different view. It will be interesting to see what, if
any, feedback I get on this.
Quoting
Jesus: “God is a Spirit, and those worshipping him must worship with spirit and
truth.” The circumstances surrounding that statement involved a Samaritan woman
that Jesus engaged in a conversation. She raised one of the differences between
her beliefs and those of Israelites. Jesus’ response involved two key points
recorded in the 21st and 24th
verses.
(Other translations) In verse 21 Jesus indicates that the location is not important to true worship. In verse 24 he indicates that sincerity, obedience, and understanding the true essence of a personal relationship with our Creator are the key elements to true worship in a manner that God approves.
Focus more closely now on verse 24 and consider: How does a person worship "in spirit"? According
to the actual Greek text, the word "pneumati"
(as used in verse 24) can have two meanings. The first is a personage (God, the
demons, spirit beings). The second is a dominate disposition (meek, haughty,
etc.). A current-day example might be when someone says: “You have a very kind
spirit.”
In context of the scripture, to worship God
"in spirit" would be to demonstrate the qualities of a true Christian
such as recorded at Galatians
5:22,23. (Note that none of the things listed in Galatians have to
do with ceremony, ritual, or formalistic worship.) In contrast, the religious
leaders in Jesus day were more concerned with outward
appearance than with sincere devotion.
