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How do we know there's a God? What is he like?

At what point did God remove his physical self?

Postby Big Ed » Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:12 pm

At what point did God remove his physical self from our world?

I was talking with a friend of mine and he reminded me that on many (well, at least "several") occasions God was physically present.
He walked around the Garden of Eden. He also had a "please take a shovel and bury your waste because I don't want to step in it" rule. This, among several other instances, leads the reader to fully believe God was her, on this planet, standing on 2 feet.

Was there a specific passage in the bible to help us understand where he went? Or why he is no longer physically here?
Big Ed
 

Re: At what point did God remove his physical self?

Postby jimwalton » Sun Feb 04, 2018 7:53 am

God doesn't have a physical self except in the person of Jesus. God is often spoken of anthropomorphically (given human characteristics, as when we speak of his hands or his eyes), but he has no physical self. He is a spirit (Jn. 4.24).

> [God] walked around the Garden of Eden

This is an anthropomorphism. God has no legs and was not walking. It means he was specially present there.

> "please take a shovel and bury your waste because I don't want to step in it"

???? Please explain, or give a Bible text. I'm clueless what this is about.

> This, among several other instances, leads the reader to fully believe God was her, on this planet, standing on 2 feet.

There are references to "the angel of the Lord", who is often called the Lord, walking around on 2 feet. It is much debated what or who "the angel of the Lord" is. There are 3 main theories:

(1) an special angel with a special assignment

(2) Jesus

(3) A representation of God.

> At what point did God remove his physical self from our world?

The only specific we can talk about here is Acts 1.9. This is the only specific point at which we can say God removed his physical self from our world, but at the same we can say that God's presence was still here (Matt. 28.20; Jn. 14.18).

Jesus specifically said that he would no longer be physically here because that was the only way the Holy Spirit could come (Jn. 16.7).


Last bumped by Anonymous on Sun Feb 04, 2018 7:53 am.
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