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“The Trial”  — Section 2

The Nature of God – Corporeal body or spirit essence

Representative of a Christian church:
One of the basic beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that God has a body of flesh and bones, and that Jesus Christ does as well (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).  This is a difficult position to support.  John 4:24 points out that “God is a Spirit” and nothing more.  No where in the Bible does it state that God has a physical body.  In fact, in Colossians 2:9, speaking of Jesus, it reads, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”  These missionaries will probably use Genesis 1:26-27 to support their belief.  These verses state, “And God said, 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…”  I believe these verses are speaking of a spiritual creation, not a literal one.  I would also point out that the apostle Paul, in Romans 1:21-25, condemned those who did not glorify God as God, but instead changed the “…glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man…who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator…”.

Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
We do believe, as stated in Doctrine and Covenants 130:22, that, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also”.  Yes, John 4:24 does state that God is a spirit, but the rest of that verse states, “…and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”  We do not leave our bodies at home when we go to church to worship.  We worship with our spirits, with our bodies, with our souls.  Since we are created in the image of God, it makes sense that God likewise has a spirit, a body, and a soul.  The context of the scripture in John 4:24 informs us that the people of Samaria were not worshiping the Father in truth, because in John 4:22, Christ told the woman “…ye worship ye know not what.”  In 2 Kings 17:28-24 we learn that these Samaritans were pagan worshipers, so it appears that Christ was pointing out that God also had a spirit, and was not a pagan god.  The scriptures as teach that “…God is love.” (1 John 4:8), “…God is light…” (1 John 1:5), and that “…God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29).  God can be described in many ways and He can do many things.  The statement that “God is a Spirit…”  (John 4:24) points out one of the facets of God’s being, just as these other descriptive verses do.  A close examination of Romans 1:21-25, the verse that you quoted earlier, reveals that these people were worshiping birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things, as well as graven images of corruptible men.  Christ was declaring an eternal truth when he told pagan Samaria that God was a spirit, and not a graven image.  Acts 8:13-20 points out that these Samaritans didn’t receive the “…word of God…” until Philip preached to them, much later.  If they had not received the word of God, they were living by another word, or gospel.  You mentioned Colossians 2:9 earlier.  Please note that Colossians 1:18-19 informs us that Christ is the “…head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;…for it pleased the Father that in Christ should all fulness dwell;”.   Thus it pleased the Father that in Christ was the fulness of the Godhead to dwell, during his mortal life with a mortal tabernacle.  The interpretation of the word “bodily” in Colossians 2:9 can be seen as a reference to the Church, as the following verse says, “And ye are complete in Him.”   John 15:15 tells us that Christ gave of this fulness to His followers.  This fulness is the “way, the truth, and the life.”

Representative of a Christian church:
Can you, however, show us any verse in the Bible that states that God has a body of flesh and bone?  Surely something of this importance would be stated clearly in the holy scripture.

Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
There is no verse in the Bible that categorically states that God has a body of flesh and bone.  Nevertheless, that very concept is plainly and clearly taught for those wishing to understand it.  Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus was in the “express image” of His Father.  In the book of Acts, it is recorded that as Stephen was being stoned, he looked up into heaven and saw “…Jesus standing on the right hand of God,”.  This fact is clearly stated in the next verse also, as it reads, “…and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.”  (Acts 7:55-56).

Representative of a Christian church:
We would state that 1 Peter 4:6 teaches that Christ does not have a body, nor does the Father.  That verses states that, “…for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”  So God lives in the spirit, as a spirit, as would Christ also.

Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
I think we would all agree that Christ had a physical body during His ministry here on earth, and we maintain that He could not have laid down that physical body after His resurrection.  Luke 24:36-39 teaches that after Christ’s resurrection, He said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”  After His resurrection and as He bid farewell to His apostles, two angels declared, “…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”  Thus, they saw Him ascend into heaven with a resurrected body of flesh and bone, and He will eventually return just like that.  James 2:26 tells us that “…the body without the spirit is dead…”.  The resurrected Jesus has a spirit, united with a perfected body of flesh and bone which He displayed to His apostles, united in perfect life, never to be separated.  His spirit is not dead, His body is not dead.  Luke 23:46 tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, His spirit left His mortal body and death ensued.  Three days later He was gloriously resurrected as His spirit and body were reunited, making Him the “first resurrection”.  Death would have once again played a role if His spirit had separated from His body at this point.  Paul described that scenario as an impossibility in Romans 6:9-10 when he stated, “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him.”  These scriptures beautifully demonstrate that Christ now has a perfected body of flesh and bone.

Representative of a Christian church:
Hebrews 5:8-9 informs us that Christ’s perfection did not come until He had suffered on the cross.  It says he ‘learned obedience’ and that He was ‘made’ perfect.  It makes sense that the Father was greater than Christ in all ways, even including perfection.

Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
We can agree that Christ was ‘perfect’ after His resurrection.  It is very clear that Christ has a body of flesh and bone AFTER His resurrection, and that body of flesh and bone was part of His ‘perfection’.  Now since He returned to His Father, who was also perfect (see Matthew 5:48) and He was also perfect (Hebrews 5:9), isn’t it logical to conclude that the Father also has a body of flesh and bone?  Their ‘perfection’ cannot be of different types or kinds.  They were both perfectly created.  Christ was the ‘express image’ of the Father.


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