This is our first day of "Is your God too small?". In this section, this part one section, we're talking about God as being other. He's not like us; we often make him like us, but we want to look at who God truly is so that we're not worshipping a God that we have made up in our heads but a God that really and truly exists.

In this section, we're looking at God as Spirit, God as invisible, and God as holy and pure. First, let's talk about God as other. What does that mean? Well, God is not like us. He doesn't have a physical body; he is a Spirit. Without a physical body, it is difficult for us to really connect with him, which is one of the wonderful reasons Jesus Christ came. As a man, we could look at him, touch him, talk to him, and eat with him. The men and women that traveled with him knew him in his physical form, which he took on in order to come and save us. But God is Spirit.

He represented himself to the people of Israel when they left Egypt with a pillar of fire at night so they could see and a pillar of smoke during the day. He represents himself through what we call anthropomorphism, which is just a fancy name for saying putting a human form on something that isn't human. God uses these anthropomorphisms by saying that he has wings and keeps us under his wings. He talks about us being in his hand; he uses different terms that all help us understand and connect with God.

We also have an invisible part of us; we also have a spirit. Christ came and died, and we became part of the new covenant, which gives us a new heart and a new spirit. It is one of the ways that we hold the image of God. There are others, and we will talk about those at another time. But it is one of the ways God is Spirit and we are also spirit.

There are a lot of things in our lives that are invisible to us. Just take the air that I'm breathing right now; I've got a little list here. It is 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, and has small amounts of other gases, including argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, and hydrogen. We can't see it, and yet without it, we do not exist. There are also a lot of other things that we can't see. We have alarms in our house in case there is carbon monoxide. And we cannot see that, feel it, or taste it, yet it is there.

In the early 2000s, when Fukushima hit, it laid out an amazing amount of radiation. Radiation is something we cannot see, but yet it will kill you. It did kill people, and the marine life around Fukushima because it is deadly, even though it is invisible.

Our entire lives are impacted by things that are invisible, mostly by our God, who is Spirit and invisible. He is here right now. With me and with you. I cannot see him, and yet the spirit that connects with him, I feel him with me. In the Old Testament, they didn't have the Spirit inside of them like we do today. The Spirit would come upon certain individuals, and those individuals could then be led by the Holy Spirit, but not everyone had the Holy Spirit. Our spirit, the one that he has given us, connects with his Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is always relating to us, even when we are unaware. He is encouraging us, leading us, helping us, inspiring us, and giving us discernment. He takes our prayers and makes them palatable to God because we don't always know what to pray. I may pray for something that sure sounds like the right thing to pray for, but it's the exact opposite of what will really help me.

The God who is other who is not like us. In this series, we're going to talk about all of his character and his attributes that are very different than we are, that are other, but other became man to relate to us. He is not a God who is distant and disinterested. He is the God who cares, who loves us, who saved us, and who became human and took on a human form in order to connect with us. Jesus, the invisible, made visible. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. God took on flesh so that you and I could connect with him.

He is the image of the invisible God. He said, "When you've seen me, you've seen the Father". So when we look at Jesus, we know and hear who God is. In Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. So when he walked the earth, those who were his friends, those who were his disciples, and those who were his enemies got to see Jesus and talk to him. It is faith that connects us with the God that is other.

Yes, Jesus is a historical person. There is a lot of evidence to the fact that he lived, but yet I have to believe that He is the Word made flesh. I have to believe that He is God incarnate. I have to believe that the other took on human form so that he could speak with us, save us, and connect with us. We live by the faith of who God says that He is—this God that is other. We live by the faith that Jesus Christ took on a form of a human and came down to be with us. We live by faith that God is who He says He is. That Christ walked on earth and that we will see him one day.

So this is just the opening of our "Is Your God Too Small?" series, where we are talking about God who is other, and we are going to be diving into this in great detail in the weeks to come. So buckle your seat belts. There is nothing more astonishing and wonderful than learning about God, and we are going to dive deep. I'm so glad you're here.

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