John 4:24
‘“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
With this verse, Jesus repeats himself. Usually, when God repeats himself, he is doing it for a reason. There is a saying in the sales industry that says a person has to hear something six times before it really sinks in. (Wives, take note: It’s normal for husbands to have to hear something at least twice before they get it! 🙂 )
With this verse, Jesus adds a bit of explanation. He says, “God is spirit…” Now to the casual observer, that might seem like a reasonable thing to say, but what does it mean that God is “spirit?” The question I am working up to is this: Which is more real; spirit or flesh?
It is easy to get caught up in the world of flesh. The excitement and emotion of being in this world can be overwhelming. Weather, politics, sports, entertainment, food, health issues and many other things keep our minds occupied. Things of the spirit can seem… well… otherworldly. Like they are not real.
Q: Which do you think is more real and why: the spirit or the flesh?
They are both real, but on earth it is more easy to perceive the physical rather than the spiritual. The consequences of our sin nature.
I see them as both being very real. They are completely real which makes them real and I am not sure I can quantify something being more true than another when both are true. However, like Rob said, it is much easier for us to perceive that the flesh is more real as we live day to day in a physical, materialistic existence. So, in a sense, we need to be awaken to the spiritual truth on a regular basis. I have to ask God to open my eyes to the truth of the spiritual realm as we see in 2 Kings 6: 8 – 23.
According to Gen. 2:7, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Both are real and important. So why would God do this? Put us in a position where we would one day be at war with ourselves?
I believe God does all things for His Glory ( His Holiness ).
We glorify God when we reject the sinful ways of our flesh, this world and in humility obey His Holy will.
Jesus Christ left so the Holy Spirit could come to teach, comfort and empower us to glorify God by doing His Holy will. Our obedience ( acts of holy worship ) bring glory to God as they are witnessed by this world.
Great comments! Thank you!!
This question touches on a personal fascination of mine: What is reality? Jesus says, “God is spirit…” which to me points to this reality of the flesh as being less real than the spirit. What I mean by “less real” is less substantial. Long after this universe has ceased to exist God will still exist and so will his heaven. I know that the Bible tells us that there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21: 1) but I suspect that the new will be more closely associated with heaven than what we have now.
When John’s gospel talks about Jesus as “light” or “living water,” he is pointing us to a different reality. When Jesus says “I have food to eat that you know nothing about,” he is pointing to a different, higher, more real reality than what we have now. Jesus points us to a different reality than the one we “see” with our eyes of flesh. What he is pointing us to is, I believe, more real than anything the flesh can know.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,..Jesus was real,..and so are we. His Spirit lives within the flesh of all who believe in Him. We wouldn’t have His Spirit if we didn’t first have this flesh,..we would still be dust of the earth,..and so,.. with my flesh,..I am still upset with Adam and Eve bringing sin into a beautiful sinless world through their disobedience and then hiding from God,..or at least trying to,..
I believe both are real,..not sure about the equal importance as the Trinity but both are very real,..we are created in the image of God,..God created flesh and gave us His Spirit through His Son that came in the flesh and walked among us,..how cool is that? God is one of us,..and His name is Jesus.
They are both real. But which one is more important.