Spiritual Beings in a Physical World

8/24/2025

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,;’ … So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Today I want to look at one of the foundational ideas in the relationship between ourselves and our God. I speak to this often and want to clarify the concept. God is Spirit. God created us in His image. We use the pronoun “He,” but God is Spirit, ungendered, and could just as easily be referred to as She. Christ used the masculine concept of God the Father, which was culturally the norm in his day. We continue that tradition today, but there are religious traditions who also recognize the Divine Mother nature of our God, which also serves my heart at times. You will make your own decisions on how you turn to God.

So, God is Spirit. What is Spirit? In most religious practices spirit is regarded as the vital, animating force or core essence within living beings – what gives life, consciousness, and personal identity. Spirit is nonmaterial and distinct from the body. It connects us directly to God and spiritual realities and is the avenue Christ uses to unite with us.

Some people use the terms spirit and soul synonymously, but there is a distinction. While spirit is the deepest innermost part of our being, our soul is the seat of our emotions, will, mind, and personality.  It is our thoughts, feelings, desires, choices, and ability to relate to others. These are the faculties we use to interact with, interpret, and experience our earthly life. The soul is neutral ground between the physical world and the spiritual. Scripturally, the soul is immortal and animates the body, allowing us to live and act in the world. After death, our soul continues its existence, but its role here is integrally connected with earthly life.

Psalm 103:1 tells us, “Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”   God is to be served with the best we have; our better part, our soul, which comes immediately from God, and returns to Him, which is immaterial and immortal. Our spirit and soul are interrelated. It is our spirit that is our consciousness and awareness and observes our soul as we think and feel.

Bottom line, we are spirit, made in God’s image, and God breathed this nature into us. We are energy and vibrations, but also more than energy. God is spirit, and our communion with God as spirit is natural, normal, requiring nothing more than the awareness of this connection. Spirit has consciousness, will, and the ability to relate. This is how we know God, hear God, feel God. We are more than flesh and bone – there is a spirit within us that reflects God’s presence, and our spiritual nature is not something earned but gifted by the Creator.

Our journey on earth is temporary and we will be giving up these bodies eventually. But we are told in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. … So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Our bodies are vessels for this journey; they carry us through joys and trials. The outer world is fleeting, but our inner spirit grows, learns, is shaped by God. This is who and what we are.

The Bible tells us that God is Love, that God is Spirit, and that God is Light. The concept of Light is often used as a metaphor for spiritual awareness or the soul shining within us. According to 1 John 1:5, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Light is not just something God has – light is who God is. It symbolizes His absolute holiness, purity, righteousness, truth, and goodness. God’s light is unblemished, perfect, and without any evil or sin. It represents the fullness of divine holiness and moral perfection.

And because God is Light, we are light. This same quality defines us. Light represents God’s holiness, truth, and presence, whereas darkness stands for sin, evil, ignorance, and separation from God. In Genesis 1:3, when God said, “Let there be light,” it was the beginning of order, clarity, and life – setting the stage for creation amid chaos. Jesus proclaimed in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This metaphor shows Jesus as the source of spiritual illumination and salvation.

Light signifies the active presence of God in the world – His guidance, truth, and revelation to humanity. God’s light enables us to see spiritual truths, expose errors, and “… is a lamp for our feet, a light on our path,” as we are told in Psalm 119:105. The divine light is what spiritual seekers long for – a light that banishes all confusion and fear.

Believers are called “children of light” in 1 Thessalonians 5:5, and Matthew 5:16 urges us to “let our light shine before others.” This means reflecting God’s holiness and love in our lives, illuminating the darkness around us with acts of goodness, mercy, and truth. As light bearers, we are to live God’s truth and hope in a dark world.

When we live through our true nature of spirit, we choose to live by higher standards. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  We are called to live from our spiritual identity – not just follow the habits and values of the world. We live from what God has written on our hearts, so we choose love over hate, wisdom over impulse, grace over judgment. When we are living as spiritual beings and not as the physical world dictates, the “fruits of the Spirit” are visible, which include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

God is spirit, we are spirit, and God is accessible at any time. John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” God’s Spirit of Truth indwells us, guides us, comforts us, and empowers us to live fully. Even in moments of weakness, loss, or fear, Spirit affirms our true nature of wholeness and Light.

Every child of God is imbued with this quality, and we are to see Christ in every face we encounter. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” We honor God by recognizing the spiritual dignity in every person. Christ’s call for us to “Love each other” invites us to treat one another with compassion, patience, and understanding. He wants us to see beyond the surface, love beyond the surface.

This means we forgive more easily, serve more deeply, and act with greater compassion – recognizing the divine spark in everyone. As 1 John 4:11-12 teaches, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

We are not defined by achievements, possessions, or outward appearance. Instead, our inner life, our spirit, grounds us, allowing us to face life’s challenges with confidence and hope. As Psalm 46:1-2 states, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Trusting in God gives us courage to face challenges, and living spiritually means seeking God’s presence, wisdom, Light, and protection each day.

Light symbolizes God’s holiness, truth, and life-giving presence. It is both a metaphor and a reality in scripture for God’s spirit shining in and through creation, dispelling darkness, and calling us to live illuminated by divine love and righteousness. It is my prayer that we understand ourselves to be spiritual beings, made in God’s image, and free from the limits of the physical world. While in these bodies we must play by the rules of the earthly plane, but knowing that we are not ‘of this world’ transforms how we live, love, and connect with others, revealing the beauty, peace, joy, and purpose of our earthly journey.