Learner Guide for Adults and Children: "What is God?" (The Lordship Catechism, Part 5)
Series: The Lordship Catechism (Part 5)
Authors: Drs. John M. Frame and Steven L. Childers
Title: Learner Guide for Adults and Children: "What is God?"
Question: What is God?
Answer: God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
Scripture Verses for memory and study
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)
“True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” (John 4:23)
“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Tim. 1:17)A
A Mind for Truth
When Jesus tells us what God is like he says, “God is spirit” (John 4:24). Although God is everywhere, we cannot see and touch him because he is invisible and does not have a body. Even though we cannot see and touch the wind, we know it is real and powerful. And even though we cannot see and touch God, we also know that he is real and powerful.
God made everything, visible and invisible, but he himself was not created and is not made of anything we can see or touch. God’s invisible spirit is the only spirit that is not created. We have a spirit, too, that God created. God also created other spirits like angels.
Jesus has always existed in spirit as God’s invisible Son before he was born in Bethlehem with a body. And Jesus’ spirit is not made of anything we can see or touch. Although Jesus’ invisible spirit is still invisible in heaven, as it was before he had a body, he now also has a physical body in heaven. So when Jesus says “God is Spirit,” he is referring to God’s invisible spirit that has always existed as God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God created us with a physical body that we can see and an invisible spirit that we cannot see. Sometimes the Bible calls our invisible spirit our “soul.” Our spirit is that invisible part of us that thinks about things, feels things, and decides to do things. We cannot see our invisible spirit’s thoughts (such as our questions or ideas), or feelings (such as our sadness or happiness), or decisions (such as our decision to obey or disobey).
God created our spirit to be a lot like his spirit so that we could know, love, and honor God “who is spirit” with our whole spirit–including what we think, how we feel, and what we do. That’s what true worship is and that’s what God really wants from us.
Jesus says, “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23). This means that we should worship God with our whole heart–including all our thoughts, feelings, and actions. We do this when we sing, pray, and learn God’s word at church services, with our family, and by ourselves. We should also worship God with our whole heart in everything we do. (1 Cor. 10:31)
A Heart for God
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you for teaching us that you are spirit and you want us to worship you in spirit with our whole heart. We praise you for making us with a body we can see and a spirit that we cannot see so that we can know you, love you and honor you. We confess that we do not love you and honor you as much as we want to and know that we should. Thank you for forgiving us and loving us through your Son, Jesus, even when we don’t love and worship you with our whole heart. Please help us, by your Holy Spirit, to honor you and love you more with all our thoughts, feelings, and actions both in church services and everywhere, all the time. Amen.
Hymn:
Immoral, Invisible, God Only Wise
Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908)
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see:
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
A Life for Ministry
When you lose something that you love a lot, something that is very special to you, you look everywhere to try to find it. The Bible teaches that God lost something that he loves a lot, something that is very special to him, and he is searching throughout the whole world to find it again. Jesus tells us that what God, our heavenly Father, lost and is searching for is our wholehearted love for him and worship of him. (John 4:23)
How do we love and worship God with our whole heart?
One way is by believing things about God that are true. The Bible tells us true things about what God is like and what he does in the world. We show our love for God and honor him when we believe what the Bible teaches about him is true.
Another way we love and worship God is by sharing with him all the feelings of our heart. When we feel happy, God loves it when we share our happy feelings with him. And when we’re sad, God loves it when we share our sad feelings with him.
We also love and worship God by what we do and do not do. In the Bible, God gives us his commandments, including the Ten Commandments, to teach us things that we should do and things that we should not do to show our love for him and for others.
We should love and worship God with our whole heart–including what we believe, how we feel, and what we do–not only in church services, but everywhere and all the time.