God is a Spirit

The word Spirit in Hebrew is feminine and in the Greek Scripture it is neuter.

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

Him:auton: pronoun personal accusative masculine singular


Technically, I believe you are correct because you used the words “male” or “female”.
God is masculine.

The Scripture always refers to God and each member of the Godhead as masculine with masculine nouns and pronouns.

To me masculine and feminine are not the same as male and female. However Jesus did become flesh as a male.

Personally I wouldn’t worry about it.

You can't please everyone, it's impossible.


HankD

 

My only argument would be that God is spirit and not a spirit. He is the very essence of spirit, and hence neither male nor female.

The scriptures come to us through a patriarchal society and hence all the references to the masculine gender. The historical image of a father is fitting and proper.

Cheers,

Jim

 

The word Spirit in Hebrew is feminine and in the Greek Scripture it is neuter.

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

Him:auton: pronoun personal accusative masculine singular


Technically, I believe you are correct because you used the words “male” or “female”.
God is masculine.

The Scripture always refers to God and each member of the Godhead as masculine with masculine nouns and pronouns.

To me masculine and feminine are not the same as male and female. However Jesus did become flesh as a male.

Personally I wouldn’t worry about it.

You can't please everyone, it's impossible.


HankD </font>[/QUOTE]What does the Bible say? Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 

OK, that's a good point!

But don't forget verse 26:
Genesis 1
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

To which is the reference of "in His own image"?

Male and female or multiple persons in the Godhead seeing that "Adam" is in the singular but consists of more than one person.

If you say that it is male and female then are you saying one of the persons in the Godhead is "female"?

HankD

 

At what point in creation history did the term Adam become a name of a specific person, whereas, in the beginning it was referring to the whole human race, male and female?

I don't think that Mother-God is correct at all, since God is Spirit, and there is no gender in being Spirit, as demonstrated throughout scripture.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Interestingly enough, the very verse quoted, John 4: 24 was used by the pantheists to establish their doctrines,,,,"God is a Spirit..." The term Spirit designates a singular definition as to the essence of God. The text is correct in John 4:24, but must be taken in context.

LeConte writes: "God is spirit, for spirit is essential life, and essential energy, and essential love, and essential thought; in a word, essential person." John 4:24; 1 John 1:5; 4:8 we have "spirit", "light", "love". not a spirit; not a light; not a love. God is not just the source of those attributes, but the very essence of those things.

Cheers,

Jim

 

OK, that's a good point!

But don't forget verse 26:
Genesis 1
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

To which is the reference of "in His own image"?

Male and female or multiple persons in the Godhead seeing that "Adam" is in the singular but consists of more than one person.

If you say that it is male and female then are you saying one of the persons in the Godhead is "female"?

HankD </font>[/QUOTE]Hank, the image of God in man is not found in the physical attributes, not even the sexual attributes - look to the mind and the soul for the image of God in man. These are things that transcend physical gender and women as well as men are in the image of God.

 

Thanks Paul,

I was just "going with the flow" of this thread anyway.

HankD

 

Ergun Caner preached a sermon about this at the last SBC pastors conference. He pointed out that God was not male in relation to gender, but that he was "Father" in relation to his children. It was an interesting point.