By Dr. Anne Davis

We need to begin by identifying God, who has no physical form (Ex 33:20; 1 Tim 6:15-16). The Bible tells us that God is Spirit, and it uses a figure of speech called anthropomorphism to describe Him with physical attributes so we mortal human beings can identify with something that we cannot see, hear, or touch. 

Did you notice that I identified God as Him? That is a form of anthropomorphism. God is not a “Him”; God is Spirit. So, what is Spirit?

The Bible describes Spirit as the movement of wind. “God caused a wind [רוּחַ Spirit] to pass over the earth, and the water subsided” (Gen 8:1). How does this help us understand God? We cannot see wind, but we can experience what wind does like blowing clouds across the sky or howling during a wild storm. 

The Bible also describes Spirit as breath. “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath [רוּחַ Spirit] of life” (Gen 6:17). We cannot see breath, but we can see droplets of water when we blow warm air on a cold day.

We can experience the actions of God through our knowledge of past events. God parted the Red Sea so the people of Israel could pass through to escape their bondage in Egypt. He stopped the flow of the Jordan River so they could cross over to Jericho in the Promised Land. He raised Yeshua from the dead to demonstrate that He was the Creator of life.

So, how do we draw near to something that has no physical form? The Apostle Paul explains that we can “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). Only by changing from all our sinful ways to become like Christ can we come into God’s presence. When we walk by the Spirit we are in the presence of God.

Of course, when we walk by the Spirit we are still in a physical form, but so was Yeshua. After his resurrection he told his disciple, Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see my hands; and reach here with your hand and put it into my side” (John 20:27). So, when we “walk by the Spirit” we become like Yeshua as a spiritual person. Of course, we can only do that occasionally and from time to time, but when we do, we are in the presence of God.

How is it possible to walk by the Spirit to draw near to God? The answer is in submitting to Yeshua as Lord and learning to be like him. The role of Yeshua is to lead us to God, who is Spirit. And that happens as we become more and more like our Lord.

Please give us your thoughts on this article!

• Did you agree?  
• Did you disagree?
• Do you have something to add?
• Do you have a personal experience you would like to share?