When Christ Jesus declared, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth," John 4:24. he advanced a teaching destined to transform the world's understanding not only of man's Maker but of man's being.
Jesus knew better than anyone else that the selfhood of each individual, as the offspring of the one Spirit, is spiritual, not material. The master Christian taught—and, best of all, confirmed by healing others—that "it is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." John 6:63. He told his followers to "take no thought" for the material things of life and body. See Matt. 6:25.
To think of ourselves as primarily a physical rather than a spiritual creature defeats the true worship of divine Spirit as our sole creator. How can we fully honor our Maker as incorporeal Spirit if carnal-mindedness—relying on the material senses to define the status of life—governs our thoughts of ourselves as His creation?
