"God is spirit,
and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24
[NRSV])
John 4:24 is one of the most common proof-texts used
against the Latter-day Saint belief that God the Father is embodied. However,
from the get-go, one must note the irony that most critics who raise this verse
are Trinitarians. Why? In this verse, there is a differentiation, not just
between the persons of Jesus and the Father, but between Jesus and God (θεος)! Notwithstanding, there are some elements on this verse that are often
overlooked by critics.
Firstly, the Greek of this verse is:
πνεῦμα ὁ θεός, καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτὸν ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν
The phrase, often translated, “God is spirit” is in
bold. In Greek grammar, this is a qualitative predicate nominative, which deals
with, not composition, but one's qualities. Furthermore, from the context, this
refers to man’s worship of God, not the composition of deity. Jesus is
addressing a Samaritan, whose theology privileged Mount Gezirim, while the Jews
privileged Jerusalem, one of the many disputes between them. Jesus, instead,
echoing the universalism of the New Covenant, states that proper worship of God
will not be localised in one place. In other words, this verse does not address
God's physiological nature--only the means by which men communicate with God.
Such must be done spiritually (i.e., spirit to spirit), and must develop a
spiritual nature.
Furthermore, taking the absolutist view of this verse
to its "logical" conclusion, one would have to state that it is a
requirement that men are to shed their physical bodies in order to worship
God--if God is only spirit and this passage requires men to worship God
"in spirit," then men must worship God only in spirit. Thus,
to cite John 4:24 against the teachings of Mormon theology is to claim that men
cannot worship God as mortal beings, which is ludicrous. It would also akin to absolutising 1 Cor 15:45, and stating that Christ currently exists in an unembodied spirit, notwithstanding Christ's corporeal ascension (Acts 1:11) and His being depicted as embodied in post-ascension visions of Jesus (e.g., Acts 7:55-56).
A related criticism that has been raised by some
opponents (e.g., Craig Blomberg in How Wide the Divide?) is that if God
were to possess a physical body, this would make divine omnipresence impossible
as God would be rendered "limited" or "finite" by that
body. Therefore, God, in LDS theology, could not be omnipresent, something
required by this verse. However, Latter-day Saints affirm only that the Father
has a body, not that his body has him. The Father is corporeal and infinitely
more, and if a spirit can be omnipresent without being physically present, then
so can a God who possess a body and a spirit.
Indeed, the Bible affirms that, though the Father has
a body (e.g., Heb 1:3), His glory, influence, and power fills the universe (Jer
23:34). He is continually aware of everything in the universe and can
communicate with, and travel to, any spot instantaneously (Psa 139:7-12).
Furthermore, a question that is begged is that “spirit”
is immaterial. However, many early Christians believed that “spirit” was
material (e.g., Origen, On First Principles, Preface 9 and Tertullian, Against
Praxaes, 7), something consistent with LDS theology (D&C 131:7).
Another related verse is Luke 24:39. However, as with
John 4:24, this is another example of eisegesis. What Evangelical critics fail
to note is that the converse of the statement is not true. A living physical
body most definitely does have a spirit. In fact, it is physically dead without
one (James 2:26). A spirit alone does not have a physical body. But if God has
a physical body, he also has a spirit. Therefore, even though God is corporeal,
it is appropriate to say that God "is spirit" (as in John 4:24), for
spirit is the central part of His nature as a corporeal being.
Moreover, it would not be appropriate to say that God
is only a spirit based on this verse--here, Christ clearly has a spirit and a
physical body. His spirit had just been recombined with His perfected and
glorified physical body in the resurrection, a point He took great pains to
demonstrate (Luke 24:41-43). He was not, however, "a spirit" in the
sense of being only a spirit.
Finally, in unique LDS Scripture, we find something
similar to John 4:24 echoed in D&C 93:33-35:
For man is spirit, The elements
are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fullness
of joy. And when separated man cannot receive a fullness of joy. The elements
are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and
whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple.
In this pericope, man is said to be “spirit,” though
such does not preclude embodiment.