Commenting
on the NASB translating John 4:24 as “God is spirit” as opposed to the KJV “God
is a spirit,” James White, a
long-standing anti-Mormon, wrote the following:
The KJV translation, “God is a spirit,”
misses the point of the anarthrous use of “spirit” here. “God is spirit” = πνευμα ο
θεος, where the
position of the predicate nominative (the verb being assumed) tells us
something about God, that is, it is
descriptive. (James R. White, Is the
Mormon My Brother? Discerning the Differences between Mormonism and
Christianity [2d ed.; Birmingham, Ala.: Solid Ground Christian Books,
2008], 245 n. 14)
Elsewhere in
the same volume, we read:
Some have argued that it is not Jesus’
primary intention here to address the nature of God. And that is quite true, it
isn’t. He is, in fact, addressing the matter of worship. (Ibid., 139)
Of course,
White appeals to texts such as Luke 24:39 against LDS theology vis-à-vis God
the Father being embodied (p. 245 n. 15 [on this and other texts, including
John 4:24, see Lynn Wilder vs. Latter-day Saint (and Biblical) Theology on Divine Embodiment]). Notwithstanding, White is correct to note that worship and not God’s ontological
nature, is the main focus of John 4:24.
