Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown, Ohio
Sunday, August 19, 1962
Kathryn Kuhlman
DOES GOD HAVE A BODY?
I never announced a sermon subject. I try to keep away from the spectacular. You can’t build a sound, solid ministry on entertainment. You can’t build a solid, lasting ministry on entertainment and music because each time you have got to add more glamour and it has to be bigger and bigger. You can only build a good, sound, solid ministry on THE WORD OF GOD. For when you build on the Word of God and people get a deep spiritual experience, they don’t have to be entertained. They seek HIM; they enjoy His presence; they are hungry for the Word. And so I have tried to keep away from anything that might seem as though I was using it as a drawing card. Therefore, I never announce a sermon subject.
But I got a letter. I picked it up three times. The third time I thought: I’m going to preach on it. That is why it happens that this morning I am using what I am for a sermon subject. Here is a portion of the letter:
“Dear Miss Kuhlman: We are the ones who sent Eve to ask you if God had a body. I hope you answer this yes or no.”
Does God have a body or does He not have a body? Somebody says: Well, it doesn’t make much difference whether God has a body or if He doesn’t have a body. If God only meant the Creator to me, if that is all that He meant to me, I wouldn’t care. I wouldn’t even spend my time thinking of whether He had a body or not. There are tens of thousands of people to whom this means nothing. You and I can’t blame them. That man who looks up and says: All right, I accept the fact that there is a great creative power. I will concede to the fact that there is a God, a marvelous Creator. I will concede to the fact that He is big; that He is mighty; and that He spoke the world, the universe into existence. But that is all the further I can go with you. He accepts Him as a Creator, He accepts One who is greater than man, but that is all the further he can go. I can well understand why that man doesn’t care. He doesn’t give two hoots if his God had a body or if He didn’t have a body. Do you want to know something? God is more than a Creator to you and to me. He is that and He is more.
I cannot begin to tell you my feeling concerning God the Father. You know how I feel about Jesus. We are mutual in our feelings when it comes to Jesus, our wonderful Jesus, who has made all these things possible to us. We WORSHIP Him; we ADORE Him. But, you know, God the Father holds a place in my heart that no one else can take or can even share. I could not begin to tell you my feeling regarding Almighty God.
I told you that perhaps my feeling, perhaps I am so sensitive to God the Father because of the feeling that I have had from childhood regarding Papa. Humanly speaking, I have no one as I have loved my Papa. I could not even share that love with Mama. I had the highest regard, the highest respect – I loved Mama. You know I did. But there was something about Papa. It was just … Papa.
I was always so proud when they would say, even as a freckle-faced, red headed kid – that’s Joe Kuhlman’s daughter. I stood so straight. I was so proud to be my Papa’s daughter. To this day yet, I think I had the most perfect father in the whole world. I know you feel yours is. I am sure mine was. My Papa! Maybe it was something that was instilled in me that I was supposed to feel as I did about Papa, because it has had a bearing in my feeling toward God the Father.
Remember that the Mighty Creator is our Heavenly Father and that relationship is real, if you are born again, if you have had that new birth experience, if you have passed from death unto life. There is a whole lot more involved in salvation, in regeneration, than our poor, little, puny minds can fathom. We use it so promiscuously in saying – Yes, I am a Christian. I have accepted Christ. Oh, sure, regeneration is marvelous; but I don’t think we fully understand everything that is involved in that transaction. We take it so for granted. The very moment that we accept Christ, the very moment when that one looked up and said – I know I am a sinner, forgive my sins, come into my heart, I surrender – and that transaction, that New Birth took place, not only did judgment take place, and that judgment was instantaneous, when the sins of the past were blotted out to be remembered against that one no longer, not only in that moment did that one become a new creature in Christ Jesus; but something just as wonderful took place. In that moment the Mighty Creator became their Heavenly Father, and they were legally ADOPTED of Him.
To me, that is one of the most thrilling facts of my entire existence. I can walk down the street with every part of my body tingling as I think of that glorious truth. As I walk down the street, literally, He is my Heavenly Father. I have been adopted of Him. I am His. I can look up and not only know Him as my Creator, but I know Him in that relationship as a child and a parent, that marvelous relationship as daughter and father. He is my Father. I can look up and say: Father! Our Father which art in heaven. He cares: He loves me. He will protect me; I am His. No one can harm me. I belong.
I felt so sorry as Bill Burns held that little four-year-old youngster on the 11:00 news this week and asked: “Who is she? To whom does she belong?” That poor little kid with straggly hair. All she knew was her name was Rosie. You felt like saying: To whom DOES she belong? She belongs to somebody! Wouldn’t they be distraught, nearly out of their minds? And only a little girl, four years of age. But there is many a youngster today who hasn’t the assurance that he is really loved, and that he really belongs. That feeling of belonging. Oh, to know that you are loved! To know that you belong.
Beloved, Papa is gone. That security has been taken from me. Mama is gone. That security is taken from me. Sometimes in the natural, you feel so alone. As I said to somebody the other day, there is never a day but what someone comes to me and stops me on the street, anywhere, even when I am trying to eat a meal, they will draw up a chair and say – Miss Kuhlman, would you just let me tell you my story. It had been a hard day the other day and I said to somebody, sometimes I feel like saying, after I hear their story – And now, would you like to hear my story? I have no one else I can bring my burdens to but Him. Sometimes I feel mighty alone. But you see, in that moment, though all earthly and human securities have gone, I am still secure. I have the greatest security that a human being can know. I have the greatest protection that a human being can know. I have the greatest inheritance that any human being can know. There is a keeping power; there is a love; there is a bond; there is a security that the man or the woman outside of Christ will never know. I need not have any complex along a certain line. Why? I belong to the Mighty God of this universe. He holds within the palms of His hands the destiny of kings, of empires, of statesmen, of nations, the destiny of this universe. He holds within the palms of His hands judgment and blessing.
I have been adopted of Him. He is my Heavenly Father. I belong, and I want to know whether that One to whom I belong has a body or does He not have a body. All right, now follow me. I will back up every statement that I make with Scripture.
First of all, we shall begin in the first chapter of Genesis, verses 26 and 27:
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26-27
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Those of you who have been following previous messages I gave know that we have established the fact that before God made man this planet on which we live – oh, the beauty of this earth – was once inhabited. Of course, I am convinced in my own mind that Lucifer once ruled and reigned and had as his kingdom this which we call the earth. And from his throne here on this planet, he ruled and reigned over thousands upon thousands and thousands of angels: one-third of the angels that God has created. And remember, angels are created beings. This earth was once inhabited with free moral agency. We know very definitely that something happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Something very definitely happened: a judgment. But during that time when Lucifer became jealous of Almighty God and began to ascend and he said: “I will be like unto the most High God,” jealousy filled his heart; and he was thrust down to the earth and God, in anger, reached down and literally turned this planet upside down. That is why the things that were once on the surface of the earth, we find in the bowels of the earth: the oil, the minerals. The result of that which was once on the surface: a judgment between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.
God said: I’ll not be defeated. I once set out to inhabit this earth with free moral agency. I will again have free moral agency on the surface of this planet. Therefore, He said, as recorded in Genesis 1:26 and 27: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: …” Watch the word “us.” To whom did He refer when He said, “Let us.” To the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. All Three were present at the time of the Creation.
We think of God being the Mighty Creator. Always keep in mind, God is the Big Boss, but remember, God is a person with a definite personality. Jesus Christ is a person with a definite personality, and the Holy Ghost is a person with a definite personality. Not one of the Three is just an influence. From the beginning of eternity all Three were present. That is the reason that Jesus offered Himself, through the Holy Ghost, to God the Father that He might be given for salvation of man. All Three were present at the time of the Creation. “Let us.” The Holy Spirit did not have His beginning at the day of Pentecost. Jesus Christ did not have His beginning when He came as a Babe here to this earth that first Christmas morning. “Let us,” and they were all Three there: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” How was man created? “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.”
Now, what does the word “image” mean? The word image means a likeness or an imitation of any person or thing. For instance, I don’t think I ever saw two people who looked so identical as Willie and his little boy. Your first words when you see Willie’s little boy are: My goodness! He’s the spitting image of Willie. And everybody knows what you mean when you say he is a spitting image of his father. How often you have turned and said to a mother: Why, your daughter is a spitting image of you. Therefore, it is not hard to understand when the Word of God says: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” We know that we were created in the likeness of Almighty God.
God definitely is a Person. God can both “WRITE and SPEAK. Follow me very closely. He wrote the two tables of testimony on stone. Turn to Exodus, chapter 31 and verse 18: “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” And remember when this was done. That was done at the time when the Lord spake unto Moses saying:
Verse 13:
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.”
Exodus 31:13
This is your answer to the keeping of the seventh day. The keeping of the Sabbath, the keeping of the seventh day, was “a sign between Israel and their God.”
Verse 16:
“Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.”
Exodus 31:16
Israel – the Jewish people. It is not a sign between God and the Gentiles. The keeping of the sabbath is a sign between Almighty God and Israel, the Jews. Keep Tuesday! I don’t care what day it is, but don’t force it down somebody else’s throat and tell them that they are all wrong in keeping the day they want to keep, when this Scripture will not force you to keep Saturday as a Sabbath.
Now in connection with that we have the 18th verse: “written with the finger of God.” His hands. I think of the hands of Jesus. The only hands in Glory that will have imperfection or any scars on whatsoever will be the hands of Jesus, for it was the nails that were driven through the hands of Jesus. His will be the only hands in all of eternity with any scars on them whatsoever. But remember, God the Father is a Person separate and apart from the Son. The hands of Jesus are not the hands of God the Father. You think of the tenderness of the hands of Jesus, but, beloved, when you think of the hands of God the Father, when you think of the fingers of God the Father, you not only think of the tenderness, you think of the strength; you think of power. Those hands represent judgment as well as tenderness, and represent power to give and to take.
I believe with all of my heart, with every atom of my being, that the same finger that wrote upon those tables of stone, for it said the finger of God wrote on these tables of stone, was the same finger, was that same hand that reached down in wrath, and in judgment, and literally turned this planet inside out; the same hand that reached down in the bowels of this earth and brought judgment upon this earth.
The finger of God. God not only wrote with his finger on the tables of stone, but He also wrote on the walls of Belshazzar’s palace. Turn to Daniel, the 5th chapter, verse 5: “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.”
“… fingers of a man’s hand.” Those were not the fingers of some human being. A fool is a man who will take issue with the Scripture. Those were not the fingers of a human hand. The fingers that wrote on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace were the FINGERS OF GOD. “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, … and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.” That’s all that he saw. He only saw that part of the hand that wrote. And the hand that wrote and the fingers that wrote the words of judgment on the walls of Belshazzar’s palace was the same hand and those were the same fingers that wrote on those tables of stone that day. Read the rest of that chapter, Daniel 5.
Now watch something. We go on. Not only does He have FINGERS, but the Word of God tells us that God has a FACE. Turn to Exodus 33, verses 14 to 18:
“And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Exodus 33:14-18
“And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
“For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
“And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.”
Moses was human. It is so wonderful to me because sometimes I feel I am so human I wonder if it is a sin. I have so appreciated the study of Paul, and nothing thrilled me more than when I found in certain places how human Paul really was. Paul, the greatest of all saints, at times so human, he wept; so human, it became disgusting with human nature. Moses this marvelous saint of God, Moses who had such power with God so human – when I see how human Moses was at times, it is very thrilling to me – that he said: ‘I love You, your presence is so real to me, but, please, will You just part the curtains a little. I feel Your presence, I couldn’t go on without Your presence; I couldn’t live without Your presence. I dare not direct and command the children of Israel, I couldn’t carry that terrific responsibility if it wasn’t for Your presence. I know You are there, and I don’t doubt for a minute. But, please, just between the two of us – please, just let me see You. Just let me look upon You. Please!’
And they were alone. Exodus 33:18: “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” It is sort of like Joe Kuhlman’s 5-year-old daughter begging Papa for something: Papa, will you, please! And Papa would have given me every dollar he had in his possession as he had that nickel for the ice cream cone. The Father couldn’t resist. He LOVES us! They were alone and Moses said: ‘Please, please, will You let me see Thy glory.’ And the Father couldn’t say no.
Verse 19:
“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”
Exodus 33:19
Verse 20:
“And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”
Exodus 33:20
‘Don’t you understand, Moses! I would like to show you My face. I would like to. I love you and I would like to do what you want more than anything else in the world, but you can’t look upon My face and live. Don’t you understand, Moses! Your body is still corruption. Your body has not yet put on incorruption. Your body is still mortal. You have not yet put on immortality.’
Don’t you understand, people! We couldn’t go to heaven in the same body that we have now. Your body couldn’t stand the glory of heaven. This which is corruption can’t begin to stand the glory, the righteousness and the perfection of God. That is the reason just a little of the very presence of the Holy Ghost, just a little of the Power of the Holy Ghost upon that which is yet corruption and somebody falls prostrate to the ground. We can’t fathom the BIGNESS of God, … the absolute perfection of God.
‘Moses, I would love to grant your request, but don’t you understand! The body that you are now in will practically be consumed with the Glory of My presence. Thou canst not see my face.’
And, beloved, God SPOKE. We have not the word of another. We have God’s own word, in the Word of God, when He referred to His face. And if God did not have a face, He would not have referred to His face in His conversation with Moses.
“And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” ‘One day, Moses, you will; but not now.’
“… for there shall no man see me, and live.” ‘You couldn’t take it. You couldn’t stand it.’
Verse 21:
“And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock.”
Exodus 33:21
Oh, His tenderness! Do you want to meet my father? I think I would be the proudest girl in the whole world, if it were possible for me to walk out before you and say to you: This is my Papa. Beloved, do you want to meet my Heavenly Father? Do you want to know how tender is my Heavenly Father? Do you want to know how wonderful is my Heavenly Father? I told you of His wrath, I told you of His judgments. I shall now show you His tenderness.
Verses 21 to 23:
“And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by
Exodus 33:21-23
meg and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
“And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
“And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”
‘Stand, Moses, at the Clift of the rock. I shall pass by, but knowing that your physical body is yet in the state of corruption, that it is yet in the state of mortality, that it would burn up and it couldn’t stand the Power of My Glory, you stand there and as I pass by, I will put My hand over your eyes, I’ll keep My hand over your eyes as I pass by, and after I have passed by, I will remove My hand from your eyes, I’ll take away My hand and thou shalt see my back parts.’
I believe with every atom of my being that Moses literally felt that hand, the hand that wrote on those tables of stone; the hand that wrote on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace. Moses literally felt the hand covering his eyes and he could not see as the Person of Almighty God passed by. And after He had passed by, He said: “And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt SEE my back parts: …” Therefore, we know that Moses saw the back parts of God the Father. “… and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen.” Therefore, He has referred to His FACE, His HANDS and the BACK PARTS of His body.
God has feet. Turn to the Book of Nahum, chapter one, verse 3: “The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his FEET.”
Now see something that is remarkable in the 3rd chapter of Genesis, verse 8: “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” God has hands, a face, feet, and Moses saw His back parts. This is wonderful. God also has a VOICE. This portion of the Word of God took place after the temptation of Eve. They heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
His hands that wrote on those tables of stone; His hands that wrote on the palace walls; His hand that once covered the eyes of Moses as He passed by, and then when His hand was removed Moses saw the back parts of His body. That’s thrilling! But one of these days, I am going to feel the touch of those same hands. One of these days, I can promise you something. I could be a little envious of Moses. He felt the touch of those hands. In some things I could be a little envious of Paul. How real was the Heavenly Father to him. But one of these days I am going to feel those same hands; those same fingers. I don’t want to feel those hands of wrath. God forbid!
Sinner friend, oh, to fall into the hands of an angry God. You don’t know! We have been talking about the tenderness of those hands. God forbid that anyone of us should fall into the hands of an angry God. Oh, the POWER in those hands ! the anger, for His anger is as perfect as His love.
You and I have seen the result of the power of those hands in judgment. We have seen it upon this earth. And there is coming a time when the world will continue to see the power of the judgment of God upon this earth. I only want to know the tenderness of those hands, and I shall know it, One day, beloved, the surface of this old earth is going to be renovated by fire. One day God is going to do a complete housecleaning job on this earth. In that day, that which John saw and recorded will become a reality.
That which we now know as Heaven is only something temporary. This planet, this earth on which we live will one day be man’s eternal Heaven. John saw it. Revelation 21:1 to 4:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:1-4
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
It does not say that Jesus will wipe away those tears. It does not say the Holy Spirit, the Mighty Power of the Trinity, will wipe away those tears. But the same hand that covered the eyes of Moses as He passed by him, those same hands will fold me close to Him. And He will take those hands and He will just wipe across my face and He will wipe away all tears.
Precious little mother, precious little saint of God, you have wept until the tears could no longer flow. I know, I have, too. But one day the hands of which we have speaking, the hands that hold life, will one day wipe the tears from my eyes and the tears from your eyes. Not a spirit, but God. You and I will cry no more, “neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
And that, my friend, is our inheritance in Christ Jesus.
PRAISE THE LORD!!!
