GOD —— DOES HE HAVE FORM AND SHAPE?

 

DOES GOD HAVE A BODY?

Is God a personal being with shape and form? Does He have a head, chest, stomach, arms, legs and feet? Does God have eyes, ears, nose and mouth? Is God in one place at one time or everywhere? Does God have a body or is He a disembodied Spirit? There are some who teach God is not a personal being with a body. What is the truth of the matter? In this article you will find the answer. by Keith Hunt The leader of one of the large Sabbath keeping Churches of God has written: "Now, none of us would want to make God into an image of mortal man, but IF WE CLING TO A BELIEF THAT GOD HAD A BODY then we have inadvertently reduced God to an image made to look like mortal man. God is not created. HE DOES NOT HAVE A BODY" (Worldwide News, August 3, 1993, emphasis mine). Do you see the psychological mind play here? The writer is trying to intimidate his readers by saying that NOBODY wants to bring God down to the level of man, and if we say God has a body, that's just what we are doing - lowering the stature of God, and no one wants to be accused of that now, do they. What he also says is the reversal of what God said in the beginning. Turn to Genesis, chapter one. God had been busy for a number for days during that re-creation week, making various CREATURES of the land, sea, and air. Nothing is said about them having the form of God Himself. After all those creatures were created notice what God says in verses 26,27, "....Let us MAKE MAN in OUR IMAGE, after OUR LIKENESS....So God created MAN in His OWN IMAGE, in the IMAGE OF GOD created he him; male and female...." Right at the very beginning of the Bible, the Eternal God tells us that He created mankind in, not the likeness or image of the angels or any other spirit being, but He formed and gave mankind the IMAGE or LIKENESS of HIMSELF. God took the dirt of the ground and moulded the shape and form of man from it to resemble the image or shape of very GOD. Friends, you need to clearly understand this plain truth. The Bible is written so a young child can understand its basic most important truths and teachings. God has hidden some of His mysteries in parables and symbolism for the mature adult Christian, for those who have fed on the milk of the word and are ready for stronger meat, but the all important basic doctrines and truths that God wants all of His children to KNOW, and know that they know, is made easy to understand, if we will be as young children in simple belief, as Jesus once said, "I thank you Lord that you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes." I submit that in Genesis 1:26,27 we are being told by the creator that He does have a body and that His body is in the form and shape of the physical humans He created from the dust of the earth. I submit that is the truth of the matter and that is how a young child would understand those verses. It was certainly the way I understood those verses as a young child growing up in the church I attended from the age of six years old. The writer in the Worldwide News has turned the truth of God upside down. He says if we believe God has a body we make God to look like mortal man - yet God says I will make mortal man to look like ME! Do you see how the word of God has been twisted around to say the opposite of what was really said? Do you remember who started that way of thinking, reasoning and deceptive talk? It was none other than the great deceiver himself - Satan the devil. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat of every tree of the garden except ONE. They were not to eat the fruit from that tree - if they did they would surely DIE! Satan comes along (chapter 3 of Genesis) and completely changes the plain teaching and words of God, turns what God said UPSIDE DOWN. Satan told the woman that God did not mean what He said, nor did God say what He meant. The Devil told Eve that God was saying something else in what He said to her, and that something else was "Ye shall not surely die" but live forever as God, knowing the difference between good and evil (verses 1-5). Satan is still promulgating today his topsy-turvy deceptions on mankind. Jesus told the young man who came to Him asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, that he should "keep the commandments" but the ministers of Satan say "no, no, you do not have to obey those commandments to be saved." Paul was inspired to tell the church at Rome that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life" but the deceiver has got most ministers teaching that eternal life is the wage of sin, albeit in ever burning hell fire. Jesus told Nicodemus that when born of the spirit you would be like the wind, not being able to see it, but Satan has people thinking they are born of the spirit at conversion while still quite visible to other humans. Jesus said "no man has ascended to heaven" but most professing Christians believe millions are in heaven and thousands went to heaven before Jesus spoke these words. Jesus says "think not" and man thinks. Jesus said "believe" and man does not believe. Jesus says "this do" and man does not. Jesus said, "I will come again" and large segments of Christianity say no He will not. And on and on it goes. God said I will make man in my image, and a large Church of God is now saying, no way - "God is not created, He does not have a body." MOSES SEES GOD'S BODY God first revealed Himself in a mighty way to Moses from the burning bush. From that time on the Eternal and Moses were friends with a "buddy-buddy" relationship. This relationship between the Lord and Moses was so personal that it is recorded, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses FACE to FACE, as a man speaks unto a friend...."(Ex.33:11). Now our "no body" for God teachers will say either this is just a metaphor or God appeared as a human, but when in the "spirit" He has no body or face. Of course that is the answer they will give to any section of scripture where God appeared to men. But there was a time when God appeared to Moses IN THE SPIRIT FORM - the Lord opening up his eyes to see Himself in the spirit dimension, that the human eye can not usually see, I refer you to the example of the servant of Elisha in 2 Kings 6. So close a relationship did Moses have with God that on one occasion Moses was so bold as to ask the Lord to show Himself to him, not as a human but as He really IS. Moses' request is found in Exodus 33 and verse eighteen. Notice the reply from the Eternal: "....You can not SEE MY FACE; for no man can see me and live."(verse 20). God did not say to Moses that He did not have a body and so did not have a face and so could not show Himself in the spirit form as having a shape. To the CONTRARY, the answer to Moses SHOWS CLEARLY GOD DOES HAVE A FACE AND BODY! He told Moses that no man could look upon the face of God in spirit form and live. Now I ask you, how simpler can the word of God be in this matter? No theological degree needed to understand this verse, just believe it for what it says. Well friends, notice what God would do for Moses, "And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my GLORY passes by, that I will put you in a cliff of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away my hand, and you SHALL SEE MY BACK PARTS: but my FACE shall not be seen." (verses 21-23). There it is, how simple, how wonderful, is the word of the Lord. You can believe it - means what it says and says what it means. You do not need seductive men to "interpret" God for you. Truly I tell you with the words of the apostle John, "These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, even as it has taught you, you shall abide in it" (1 John 2:26,27). As a young child's mind together with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, you can understand the truth about God, you can know the things that God wants you to know about Him, the things that He has revealed about Himself, and one of those truths revealed to us is that God DOES HAVE A SHAPE, A BODY, A FACE! Moses was given the great privilege - only a few to be so given - of seeing God in His SPIRIT - GLORY - FORM. Moses could not look upon the face of God and live, but he was able to look upon the BODY of God from the back. Oh the truths of the word are so wonderful. Be not afraid of those who "set themselves" up as your teachers, who huddle behind closed doors with their theology degrees from theology schools of this world, and come forth to proclaim deeper understanding of God, which is really only old pagan myths from Babylon and Egypt. How the Lord must LAUGH at their imaginations, then again maybe He WEEPS at their hard heartedness for not being as little children in reading and believing His word. EZEKIEL SEES GOD The prophet Ezekiel was born in Jerusalem to a priestly family. At the age of 25 he was taken captive by the armies of Babylon about the year of 597 B.C. He was among the captives of Judah by the river of Chebar in the environs of Babylon. In the book that bears his name he tells us that the word of the Lord came to him (chapter 1, verses 1-3). Not only did the word of the Lord come to him but he also SAW things that very few, if any, other human has ever seen. From the midst of a cloud and fire he saw FOUR LIVING CREATURES - their likeness he explains in verses 5-14. In verses 15-21 he tells us about the FOUR WHEELS together with the living creatures. Now notice carefully verses 22-28. Above the heads of the four living creatures was a firmament of crystal. Ezekiel tells us there was a VOICE from the crystal floor above the heads of the creatures (verse 25). On the firmament was a THRONE - sapphire stone (verse 26). THEN NOTICE THIS! Upon the throne was the LIKENESS OF A MAN! He then goes on to tell us the appearance in COLOR of this likeness of man. From the LOINS up was as amber with fire round about. From the LOINS down was as fire with brightness (verse 27). So, what possibly could this man shaped likeness be? Was it just another creature of some kind, or some created angel? Ezekiel did not leave us to guess, or I should say, God did not leave us guessing, as this was all inspired from the Lord - what Ezekiel saw and wrote was what the Lord allowed him to see and told him to write. Ezekiel was allowed to see things in the SPIRIT DIMENSION - things the human eye cannot see unless God works a miracle of sight. What or WHO was this man above the crystal firmament upon the throne? Verse 28, "THIS WAS the appearance of the LIKENESS of the GLORY OF THE LORD." There it is, no guesswork needed, we are told in easy to understand language that what Ezekiel saw was the GLORY OF THE LORD - the appearance of the LIKENESS of the Lord. The Lord had said from the beginning as we have seen, that He made man in HIS LIKENESS, so it should not be at all surprising to find that when He allowed Ezekiel to see Him in His GLORY FORM, it was in the form, likeness and appearance of a MAN. This was not God appearing to man as flesh and bone as He did many times to Abraham, Jacob, Moses and others, but this was God showing Himself to Ezekiel in His SPIRIT GLORY form, and Ezekiel KNEW the Lord had a body in the form and shape of a man. This was definitely God on this throne - a throne that travelled the universe (which also tells us that God as a person can only be in one place at one time) - as this person goes on to speak to Ezekiel in the first person tense as THE LORD - see chapters 2 through 6. Nothing hard to understand here my friends, just believe what you read, that's all there is to it. Here in the book of Ezekiel we have revealed to us more of that spirit world that God lives in - the other dimension that is unseen to human eyes unless that other world is allowed to show itself to us by the Lord who made it. And at times - to a few selected humans - the Lord has chosen to even show His form and shape to men. It is always as the form of human kind, for the human kind was shaped in the form of the God kind. ISAIAH SEES THE LORD Another human that was blessed with seeing the Eternal in His Glory was Isaiah. It was about the year 760 B.C. and the prophet of God tells us: "the year that king Uzziah died I SAW also the LORD SITTING UPON HIS THRONE, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." (Isa.6:1). This was not the temple in Jerusalem but the very temple in heaven itself, continuing in verse two, "Above it stood the seraphim And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts...." This was no small thing for Isaiah, he knew exactly what he had seen, this was awesome - he proclaimed: "...Woe is me!....I am a man of unclean lips....for mine eyes have seen the KING, THE LORD OF HOSTS…." (verse 5). The Hebrew words used for Lord in verses 1,3,5 are ADONAI and YHVH - no mistaking - Isaiah did see the ETERNAL sitting on His throne in heaven. Now if God does not have a body then pray tell me how Isaiah could have seen God sitting on His throne with seraphim around about? If God did not have a shape and body Isaiah would have seen just an empty throne. Then again maybe (to our bodiless God teachers) the throne and seraphims were not really there either, all this was just the wild imagination of Isaiah, or just a dream, or maybe a metaphor, perhaps it was a figure of speech on Isaiah's part and not really something he literally saw. For those who want to "spiritualize" away the plain words of the Bible, nothing will convince them that what Isaiah wrote was what he literally did see. There are those Christians who believe Satan is not a literal spirit BEING but just a metaphor standing for evil. There are those who believe Jesus will not literally come back to earth as He said He would, but that He has returned via the Holy Spirit coming on the day of Pentecost. There are those who believe that the New Heavens and New Earth of Revelation 21,22, is just a figure of speech and metaphor for the time when there will be no more evil, when man through the help of the Holy Spirit will bring about universal righteousness. It is impossible to argue with or try to convince such people that they are in total error. But for those babes that the Eternal God has revealed His truths to, then Isaiah chapter 6 is another proof that the Lord does has a shape and body, albeit composed of eternal spirit. STEPHEN SEES THE GLORY OF FATHER AND SON ON HIS RIGHT HAND The early apostolic Church were in need of dedicated men to serve the Lord and brethren. The congregation of believers together with the apostles chose 7 men and ordained them to the office of the DIAKONEO (Acts 6:1-7). The man Stephen was one of those seven ordained. He was full of faith and power and did great wonders and miracles among the people(verse 8). He was so effective in his work for the Lord that the religious rulers brought him before the council for questioning. They set up false witnesses against him who said Stephen blasphemed their temple and law (verses 9-15). Stephen began his defense and preaching of Jesus in chapter 7. By the time Stephen had finished his sermonette, they were spitting mad - ready to literally kill him. At this point we are told: "But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and SAW the GLORY of God, and Jesus standing on the RIGHT HAND of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the RIGHT HAND of God" (verses 55,56). Now ask yourself this question: If God does not have a body how could Stephen know that Jesus was at the RIGHT HAND of God? If God is Bodiless, then Jesus could have been standing at God's left hand, or standing on his shoulders, or maybe on his chest or legs. How could Stephen say Jesus was at the right hand of the GLORY of God if that glory did not have a shape and form as like a man? The truth is, Stephen could say no such thing unless what he saw was TWO ETERNAL BEINGS.                The Father was in glory but it was a form and shape, details not shown, for the child of God does not see the face of the Father until Revelation 22; "when they shall see His face." And if that is not true, why did Jesus have John writing it. Stephen did see more of Jesus, for Stephen could see Jesus on the right hand of the Father. Now the New Testament plainly says Jesus is God. Both He and the Father are God - one God but two individuals (John 1:1-18; Heb.1:1-8). If Jesus is God, as He is, and if God does not have a body, them Jesus is also bodiless. Yet Stephen SAW Jesus at the right hand of the glory of God in heaven. If Jesus had a shape and form, and if Jesus is God, then the Father who is also God, has a form and shape - has a body. The logic of the one side must give evidence of the logic of the other side, unless you are going to argue that the Bible is a book of il-logic, then of course anything in the Bible is up for private interpretation and nothing is sure. But to the childlike mind the plain truth is easy to understand. The word of the Lord means what it says and says what it means. JOHN SEES THE BODY OF GOD Towards the end of the apostle John's life he was in the isle called Patmos (Rev.1:9). In writing the book of Revelation, John did THREE things - 1) bare record of the word of God. 2) bare record of the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3) bare record of all the things he SAW (Rev.1:2). John SAW MANY THINGS! One of the greatest things he saw was: "In the midst of the seven candlesticks one LIKE UNTO THE SON OF MAN, clothed with a garment down to the FOOT, and girt about the PAPS (chest) with a golden girdle. His HEAD and His HAIRS were white like wool, as white as snow, and His EYES were as a flame of fire. And His FEET like unto fine brass. He had in His RIGHT HAND seven stars and His COUNTENANCE (face) was as the sun shines in full strength" (Rev.1:13-16). As most Bible scholars know and admit, this is a picture of Jesus in His GLORIFIED form in heaven above. Then in chapter 4 and 5 we are given a view of the heavenly throne room. Much of this ties in with what we have already seen in Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1. There is a BEING sitting on a throne in heaven holding a book in His RIGHT HAND that only the true Lamb of God can open and reveal. These things in heaven above are real my friends, they do exist - the twenty four elders, the living creatures, the seraphim, the angels, the throne, the temple, the heavenly Jerusalem, and God the Father and Jesus Christ - all made of eternal spirit, all the living above having form, shape and bodies PHILIP ASKED TO SEE THE FATHER I guess after being with Jesus and seeing all the miracles, knowing He was from God, believing He was the literal "son of God" and sent from Father, it would only be natural that one of the disciples would at some point want Jesus to "show us the Father, and it will satisfy us" (John 14:8). The disciple to ask that request from Jesus was Philip. Notice the reply Jesus gave: "Have I been so long with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? He that HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER; so why say you then, show us the Father" (verse 9). Jesus was the "carbon copy" as they say, of the Father. In every part of life. Hem manifested the Father - in attitude, in emotions, in thoughts of mind, in love, mercy, kindness, justice, anger, and in BODY. Jesus was telling Philip and all of the disciples that the Father was just like Himself in EVERY WAY, except as He had told the woman at the well, the Father was SPIRIT, not flesh and blood, but composed of eternal spirit. Now if Jesus knew that God did not have form or shape, that He did not have a body as He did, then how could He possibly have told Philip that they had seen the Father by seeing and knowing Himself. The logical mind of man upon hearing the answer to Philip would have understood Jesus to be saying that the Father did have FORM and SHAPE, that He did HAVE THE APPEARANCE OF THE HUMAN KIND and was in mind and emotions just like Jesus. Now that is the simple and easy way to understand what Jesus said about the Father, and that is what all the rest of the Bible proves to be the truth of the matter. How wonderfully plain are the basic truths of the Lord, if we will only be as babes in belief. TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE - THE FACE OF GOD? Those who believe and teach that God does not have a body (and so no face, arms, hands, legs, feet), to those who believe God is some kind of "spirit" without form or shape, they by their very teaching will never see the face of God, I am not sure WHAT they expect to see if they would make it into the Kingdom of God, as far as looking for "the Father" of all things. But this I do know for those who will trust and believe the word of God as little children..... I can tell you with full confidence friends.......I can tell you with full assurance, this I can tell you is the "thus says the Lord" of the matter. The UNBELIEVING will be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone - the second death. And those that overcome shall inherit ALL THINGS and, "he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it....the tree of life......And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And THEY SHALL SEE HIS [THE FATHER'S] FACE and His name shall be in their foreheads....and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev.21:7,8; 22:1-5). The day will come my friends when the true believers will indeed see the very FACE of God the Father. What a great and precious promise. I hope you will be there to see the glory of our Father's BODY and share in His everlasting Kingdom. This has only been a short study about the truth of what God IS. I SHALL BRING MORE LATER. ..................