The next few posts I will cover topics I use to show Mormons their belief system is false. We will begin with a Biblical issue concerning God the Father.
Does God the Father have a Body?
The following is a paraphrase of an actual dialogue I had with two Mormon Missionaries.
Me: Do you believe God the Father has a physical body?
Missionary: Yes. If we look at Doctrines & Covenants 130:22 it says, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.” Now turn in your Bible to Acts 7:54-56. “When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” If Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father, then He must have a right hand. Therefore, God the Father has a physical body.
Me: I can see your point and that is one possibility. However, is it possible the words “Right hand of God” is simply an expression that means position of power and authority; like he is my right hand man?
Missionary: I guess so.
Me: How would we know which is the best interpretation?
Missionary: Look at what the Bible says.
Me: Great! Let’s see what the Scriptures have to say.
Notice how I acknowledge his answer as a possibility and then provide an alternative. It is important to affirm their answers and then ask a question to put the ball back in their court. I will now provide scriptures I use when discussing this topic.
God is a spirit and therefore cannot be physical
Mormons teach God the Father was once a man and lived an exemplary life and progressed to becoming a god. They teach God the Father still retains his body. However, the Bible teaches differently.
John 4:24“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
What is a spirit? In Luke 24:39 we see Jesus speaking to His disciples after the resurrection. They thought he returned as a spirit and wasn’t flesh and bone. Jesus refutes this false belief by telling them to see and touch Him; He then defines a spirit. “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
The post resurrection Jesus had a physical body and could be touched. In contrast He tells them a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones. Mormons teach God the Father has flesh and bones. The Bible teaches God is a spirit (John 4:24) and a spirit is without flesh and bones. A spirit is non-physical. God cannot be a spirit and have a physical body.
In my next few posts I will give additional Biblical support to the non-physical nature of God.