Servetus and Osiander thought, that the soul being infused did convey into man the very spirit and substance of God ; an ab- surd opinion, for the essence of God is in- communicable.
A. Therefore, when it is said, the soul is a spirit, it is meant God hath made it intelligent, and hath stamped upon it his likeness, not his essence.
Q. But is it not said, that ice are made partakers oj the divine nature ?
A. By divine nature there, is meant di- vine qualities, 2 Pet. i. 4. We are made partakers of the divine nature, not by iden- tity or union with the divine essence, but by a transformation into the divine like- ness. Thus you see how God differs from other spirits, angels and souls of men. He is a spirit of transcendent excellency, " the Father of spirits."
Obj. Against this Vorstius and the An thropomorphites object, that, in scripture, an human shape and figure is given to God ; Jie is said to have eyes and hands.
A. It is contrary to the nature of a spi- rit to have a corporeal substance : Luke xxiv. 39., " Handle me, and see me : for a spirit hath not Hesh and bones, as ye see me have." Bodily members are ascribed to God, not properly, but metaphorically, and in a borrowed sense ; he is only set out to our capacity ; by the right hand of the Lord is meant liis j)ower ; by the eyes of the Lord is meant his wisdom. Now that God is a spirit, and is not capable of bodily shape or substance, is clear. 1. A body is visible, but God is invisible ; there- fore he is a spirit, 1 Tim. vi. U>., " whom no man hath seen, nor can see;" not by an eye of sense. — 2. A body is terminated ; can be but in one place at once ; but God is every where, in all places at once ; there- fore he is a spirit, Ps cxxxix. 7, 8. God's centre is every where, and his circumfer- ence is nowhere. — 3. A body being com- pounded of integral parts may be dissolv- ed,— quicquid divisible est corruptibile ; but the Godhead is not capable of dissolution ; he can have no end, from whom all things have their beginning. So that it clearly appears that God is a spirit, which adds to the perfection of his nature.
Use 1. If God be a spirit, then he is im- passible,— he is not capable of being hurt. Wicked men set up their banners, and bend their forces against God : thev are said to fight against God, Acts v. 39. But what will this fighting avail ? What hurt can they do to the Deity ? God is a spirit, and therefore cannot receive any hurtful impression ; wicked men may imagine evil against the Lord, Nahum i. 9., " What do ye imagine against the Lord ?" But God, being a spirit, is impenetrable. The wick- ed may eclipse his glory, but caiuiot touch his essence. God can hurt his enemies, but they cannot hurt him. Julian might throw up his dagger into the air against heaven, but could not touch the Deity. God is a spirit, invisil)le. How can the wicked with all their forces hurt him, when they cannot see him? Hence all the at- tempts of the wicked against God are fool- ish, and prove abortive : Ps. ii. 2, 4., " The kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and against his anointed. He tliat sits in the heaven shall laugh." He is a
GOD IS A SPIRIT.
spirit, he can wound them, but they cannot touch liim.
Use 2. If God be a spirit, then it shows the folly of the papists, who worship him by pictures and images. Being a spirit, we cannot make any image to represent Iiim by: Deut. iv. 12., " The Lord spake to you out of the midst of the fire, ye lieard tlie voice of the words, but saw no simili- tude."
1. God being a spirit is imperceptible, cannot be discerned; how then can there be any resemblance made of him ? Isa. xl. 18., " To whom then will ye liken God, or what likeness will ye compare unto him ?" How can you paint tlie Deity ? Can we make an image of that which we never saw ? " Ye saw no similitude." God is a spirit. It were a folly to go to make the picture of the soul, because it is a spiritual thing ; or to paint the angels, because they are spirits.
Ob J. Are not the angels in scripture repre- sented by the cheruhims ?
A. There is imago personce et officii, — there is the image of the person, and the image that represents the office. The cherubims did not re])resent tlie persons of the angels, but their office. The cherubims were made with wings, to show the swiftness of the angels, in discharge of their office ; and if we cannot picture the soul, nor the persons of angels, because they are spirits, much less can we make an image or picture of God, who is infinite and the Father of spi- rits.
2. God is also an omnipresent spirit ; he IS present in all places, Jer. xxiii. 24., " Do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith the Lord." Therefore, being every where present, it is absurd to worship him by an image. Were it not a foolish thing to bow down to the king's picture, when the king is present? So it is to worship God's image, when God himself is present.