So many people are curious about God’s appearance. Some people believe that God might be more approachable and understandable if they could see or imagine him. Regardless of the motivation, believers often wonder about God’s physical attributes, including his size, conduct, and demeanor. The question “how tall is God?” has even been raised by some.
Since God is without a physical form, we can’t use human measurement standards to determine his height. Since God is spirit, the Bible does not say whether God is five feet, twenty-five feet, or three thousand feet tall. God is omnipresent, which means he is everywhere at once. Therefore, there is no way to determine how tall God is.
Is God revealed to be invisible in the Bible? To what extent can we make sense of the claim that God is everywhere at once? Did Jesus of Nazareth inhabit a physical body? When the Bible speaks of God’s eyes, ears, face, and hands, what exactly do these images mean? If you’re curious about these things and more, read on!
God Transcends Flesh; God Is Spirit
The Bible rejects the premise of the question “How tall is God?” by stating that God does not have a physical body. Both the Old and New Testaments describe God as a spiritual being. And since he is everywhere at once, his presence defies quantification.
God Is Spirit
Jesus said, as emphasized in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
This is among the most clear-cut declarations regarding God’s nature in the Bible. According to John, God is not only spiritual; he is spirit. A spirit can’t be defined by any physical characteristic, including height, just as it can’t be defined by age, race, or weight. The question of a spirit’s height is unanswerable.
God Cannot Be Contained
“But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?” (2 Chronicles 2:6)
This passage shows in a simple and basic sense that even the highest heaven in the cosmos cannot hold God. God’s omnipresence makes it impossible to quantify his size or greatness.
God Is Invisible
The Father God is invisible, as is stated repeatedly in the Bible. As it is written in Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
This is because God is spirit, and He doesn’t possess a physical, tangible body, as evident in 1 Timothy 1:17: “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
God is Unlike Humanity
It is said in Isaiah 31:3 that the Egyptians’ nature is flesh and that they are human; God’s nature is spirit, and not human: “The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together.”
God Is Everywhere
According to the teachings of the Bible, God the Father is present at all times and in all places; He is omnipresent.
The Psalmist contemplates in Psalms 139:17-10: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Does The Bible Say Anything About God’s Body?
The Bible makes use of anthropomorphism when it compares God to human anatomy. Anthropomorphism refers to attributing human traits to things that are not human.
An anthropomorphism would be the phrase “the ocean is angry” to describe a violent storm at sea. To express ideas about God in a profound and memorable way, the Bible often relies on figures of speech.
- God’s Eyes: “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” (Leviticus 20:6)
- God’s Arm: “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.” (Exodus 6:6)
- God’s Finger: “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20)
- God’s Feet: “Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?” (Isaiah 66:1)
What is the Height of God?
The Gospel’s authors would have included Jesus’ arrival if it had been noteworthy. For instance, Zacchaeus, a tax collector, is described as short in the book of Luke. The Old Testament portrays the future king Saul as tall and handsome.
Bible writers didn’t include a measurement of Jesus’ height in either cubits or millimeters, but that hasn’t deterred academics and researchers from trying to figure it out.
What Did Jesus Look Like? was written by Joan Taylor, a Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism professor at Kings College London. “Rather than towering over others in Judea, Jesus was about 5 foot 5 inches (1.7 meters) tall,” she said. “This is the average height seen in skeletal remains from males at the time.”
Forensic anthropology in both the United Kingdom and Israel has also investigated this subject. Skull research from the 1st century AD in Israel allowed forensic anthropologists to visualize Jesus’ appearance using modern scientific methods. Jesus’ mortal form was said to have been 5 feet and 1 inch tall, weighing around 110 pounds.
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