A Picture of Him

New King James Version Bible

As a child, I imagined God to be this fatherly figure, with a beard, and long flowing robes, peering down at me from heaven, some place beyond the blue, watching and gently correcting me, like a father corrects a child.  I was taught that God sat on a high back throne, with Jesus, His son sitting to the right, in heaven. And the Holy Spirit was with us, to guide and help us. And that some day, we would go to heaven to be with Jesus. That imagery of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit remained with me through childhood and even through much of my adult life. It was reinforced by ministers preaching from their pulpits, the same message, and for a long time I believed it to be truth and searched no farther. But, how many folks know that; “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) This brings me to the title of my sermon; “A Picture of Him.”

When I seek truth, I go to the Bible, open it up and read the words of God. So, what does the Bible state in regards to a picture or the nature of God? Here are three fundamental truths to help us build an accurate picture of Him. (1.) God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are of one being. There is only one God in three persons. (2.) God is a spirit that dwells within physical bodies and (3.) He never went anywhere. Let’s look at each of these truths in more detail.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are of one being. “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” (1 John 5:19) Jesus himself proclaimed the Trinity when addressing Phillip. “Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Phillip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” (John 14:9-10) Jesus also made reference to the Trinity when speaking to Judas. “Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23). Paul writes in Romans about the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11), all who are lead by the Spirit are the sons of God (Romans 8: 14-17) and the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8: 26-27). We also know from scripture that these three persons of God, the Trinity, are all divine and equal to each other. In other words, there are no hierarchies or ranks. God, the Father is no higher in rank to Jesus who is no higher in rank than the Holy Spirit because they are one and the same! The Great Commission states; “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19) And in 2 Corinthians, Paul concludes his address to the church by stating; “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Clearly, baptizing folks in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exemplifies the equality of all three? Jesus continues and states we will have a “helper” in our lives. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16) God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one and the same. 

(2.) God is a spirit that dwells within physical bodies. (John 4:24) states this fundamental truth clearly and concisely; “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible really hits the mark in both God’s nature and how we need to worship Him. “God is a Spirit - This is one of the first, the greatest, the most sublime, and necessary truths in the compass of nature! There is a God, the cause of all things - the fountain of all perfection - without parts or dimensions, for He is Eternal - filling the heavens and the earth - pervading, governing, and upholding all things: for He is an infinite Spirit! This God can be pleased only with that which resembles Him: therefore he must hate sin and sinfulness; and can delight in those only who are made partakers of His own Divine nature. As all creatures were made by Him, so all owe Him obedience and reverence; but, to be acceptable to this infinite Spirit, the worship must be of a spiritual nature - must spring from the heart, through the influence of the Holy Ghost: and it must be in Truth, not only in sincerity, but performed according to that Divine revelation which He has given men of himself. A man worships God in spirit, when, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, he brings all his affections, appetites, and desires to the throne of God; and he worships Him in truth, when every purpose and passion of his heart, and when every act of his religious worship, is guided and regulated by the word of God.”

We also only have to go back to the beginning, in the Book of Genesis, to understand that God is spirit. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2) Spirit comes from the Hebrew word pneuma that primarily denotes “the wind,” “to breathe,” and especially, the spirit, which similar to the wind, is invisible, immaterial and powerful. So God, as a spirit, without parts or dimensions, needs a vessel, or holding place or body, in order to perform His will. And the dwelling location is us! Praise God!

We know as Believers and sons of God, our worth is not defined or bond to a physical location. Instead, our worth is defined on how best we tend to the Holy Spirit and builds upon the location that lies within each of us. (1 Corinthians 3:16) “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Therefore, it is the present location of the believer that has worth! In other words, God needs us! (Genesis 1:27) “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” So we are created in the likeness of God! When I look in a mirror or at others, I am looking into the face of God! And as sons of God, we are commanded by our Lord and Savior, to perform His will.

I watch a show called “Chopped” on the Food network. It pits four chefs against each other, who have to cook an appetizer, entrée, and dessert, made from mystery ingredients in a basket. One-by-one, these chefs must present their dishes to a panel of three food critics and if their dish has flaws in it, than that chef gets “chopped” and must leave the show. The last chef remaining wins $10,000 dollars. During a recent “Chopped” episode, one of the chefs was a Christian. There was another chef who hoped to win, so she could visit her very sick grandmother in Europe before she passed away. As God ordered it, the Christian and the woman who wished to visit her grandmother, were in the final dessert round. The woman lost, but as she was preparing to leave the stage, the Christian called out to her and made this statement. “I never expected to win and I would like to pay for your plane ticket so you can visit your grandmother.” She burst into tears and embracing him, sobbing, she thanked him for his “wonderful gift.” Grace, compassion, love, and sacrifice, all that and more were exemplified by the Christian to that woman in need. There was not a dry eye on that panel of food critics and judges! That is what God wants and needs us, as followers, to do in His name! And we can and we must perform these acts for others, because that is how God uses His followers. Frankly, we are no good to God dead. He can’t make use of a dead and empty vessel! So, we need to get busy living and living to the fullest and exemplifying the love, compassion, and caring that as Christ gives to us freely, so we must give those gifts to others.

And now I come to the third and final fundamental truth described in my sermon, (3.) He never went anywhere. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31: 6) “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.” (1 John 4:16) And finally, this scripture; “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, fear not, I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:13). Clearly, God has not gone anywhere, but will always be with us. Most importantly, God promises to never leave us. Period, that’s it. And, as I mentioned earlier, the dwelling place or vessel for God is us! Praise God! God equips us, here on earth, to serve and go to battle for Him:

1.We are created in God’s image. Genesis 1:27

2. God blessed us. Genesis 1:28, Matthew 5: 3-10

3. Jesus dwells inside us and our bodies are holy temples. 1 Corinthians 3:16

4. We are given the powers to heal, cleanse, raise the dead and cast out demons. Matthew 10:8, Acts 1:8, and John 14:12

5. We must put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6: 11 – 18

God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have not gone anywhere. The Trinity is very much alive within us and we don’t have to go looking beyond the blue. What we do need to do is focus on listening to our spiritual man and being obedient to His will. You don’t get much closer both physically or spiritually than that! So, is that image of a fatherly figure, with a beard, and long flowing robes, peering down at us from heaven, some place beyond the blue, starting to fade away? Amen!

- Mike West