"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."           John 4:24

Man is to worship God in Spirit. This verse is key to human distinction. There is a sense in which man is a paradox. He was created with all dignity and honor possible. Yet, he was also created out of the most base and lowly stuff of all—dirt (Gen. 2:7). But note: man is not only body and soul; he is also spirit. This is man’s distinctive difference from all other creatures. God breathes His own breath or spirit into the nostrils of man. God made no other creature like this. Man is a spirit, an immortal being made both for this earth and for eternity. God’s image in man is the spirit or the drive and ability to worship. Man has not only the soulish ability to reason and to relate, but an unquenchable spiritual drive and ability to reason after God and to relate to God due to the His Spirit dwelling inside of us.

Spirit is the innermost part of being, the very core and heart of life. Spirit is the very breath of God’s life, the very breath of God’s existence, the very being of God’s life. That is, spirit is eternal existence and being. God is Spirit, meaning he is the very embodiment of life eternal and He has created man as spirit; therefore, man is to worship God in spirit and in truth.

Study Questions:

1. Is the truth that God is Spirit hard for you to grasp?
2. How do you feel like your life is different having the Spirit of God dwelling inside of you?
3. Without the Spirit inside of us, we would not be driven to worship God. We would not know God. Take some time this week to worship your Maker and reflect on the truth that he has breathed life into your body and soul.

More Scripture: Genesis 2:7, John 17:3, Psalm 95:6, Genesis 1:26-27