Does God have a physical body?

from the old testament

• In Deuteronomy 4:12, Moses was reminding the Israelites of their encounter with God at Mount Sinai: “You heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice.” When God had “appeared” to them with a storm, they did not see God because He has no body. Instead, they only heard His voice.
• Because God has no form, the second commandment forbade making any image or likeness of God (Exodus 20:4). Any attempt to physically represent the invisible God inherently misrepresents Him.
• Solomon noted God’s lack of physicality when dedicating the “house of God,” the temple (1 Kings 8:27). While God would have a special presence within the temple, nothing physical could contain Him because He is infinite spirit.
• God, Himself, said, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me?” (Isaiah 66:1). Because God is not physical, He cannot be contained.
• Because the infinite God is unknowable to finite men and women (Job 11:7), God uses human language to which we can relate. An “anthropomorphism” is a human description applied to God so that we can understand something about him using language we understand. For example, Deuteronomy 33:27 refers to God’s “everlasting arms.” Since God is spirit, He doesn’t have arms. However, by describing God as figuratively holding us with His arms, He communicates what His protection is like.
• Another example is found in one of Hezekiah’s prayers: “Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God” (2 Kings 19:16). Since God is spirit, He doesn’t have eyes or ears. However, God sees and hears everything, so Hezekiah used language to which he could relate—eyes and ears—to metaphorically represent God’s omniscience (all-knowing) and omnipresence (all-present).

from the new testament

• The phrase, “God is spirit” is found in John 4:24. Jesus explained that God was spirit, and thus everywhere, to help the Samaritan woman see that worship is not about geography but sincerity and truth. Rather than expecting God to be found in a specific location, we can pray anywhere. However, those prayers must come from hearts that conform to God’s revelation (truth).
• Paul affirms God’s invisibility in 1 Timothy 1:17, calling Him “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God.” God’s nature is fundamentally different from ours, including that He is invisible because He is spirit.
• Paul also told the Athenians that “the God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man” (Acts 17:24). God is not bound to a physical place because He is not a physical being.
• Although no one has seen God, the Son of God added on humanity to be like us (Philippians 2:7–8a). Because of this, Paul could say that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). By looking at Jesus, we “see” God who is spirit.
• John likewise commented that the Word (Jesus) “became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). By this he meant that they saw the glory of the invisible God by seeing His glory in His Son, Jesus. Though Jesus is fully God, adding on humanity does not mean that God has a body. Rather, Jesus’ physical body is specific to His human nature. Thus, when God’s Son added on humanity, the divine essence remained purely spirit.
• Just like the Old Testament used anthropomorphic language to metaphorically refer to God as having body parts, so does the New Testament. For example, Jesus referred to God’s “finger,” saying, “if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). He was referring to God’s finger figuratively to illustrate demons being easily cast out by God.
• Another use of figurative language is found in Peter’s quote of Psalm 34: “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12). Because God is pure spirit, He does not have ears, eyes, or a face. However, using this language helps us understand that God knows everything and actively helps those who are His while also personally being against wicked men and women.
• In His humanity, Jesus had a real body (c.f. 1 John 4:2-3). However, that body only applied to His humanity and did not change nor limit the divine nature, which remained pure, infinite spirit.

implications for today

“God is spirit” means that God is pure spirit. He cannot be understood by an image or contained in a place. He is invisible, eternal, and limitless. However, though we cannot see Him, He has revealed Himself to us. He did this first through prophets, and then through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Understanding that God does not have a physical body corrects a common misconception that God is like us. While the Bible uses human-like descriptions (His “hand,” His “eyes,” etc.), these are figures of speech that help us understand His character and actions.

Because God is spirit, He is completely unlike us. Therefore, we cannot reduce God to something we can see or touch. That’s why true worship isn’t about religious rituals held at specific locations but comes from pure heart devotion informed by Scripture.

God as pure spirit is deeply comforting for believers. He is not far away or inaccessible to us. Precisely because He is not bound by space, He is near every believing individual all at once. He sees all, knows all, and is never absent.

Finally, His choice to reveal Himself through the incarnate Christ shows the wonder of His condescension—the lowering of Himself to our level. While He remains spirit, He made Himself known through the humanity of Jesus. We do not see the Father directly, but we know Him truly through His Son (John 14:9).