“A spirit” is a living, intelligent, invisible being.  It really exists, though we cannot see it with the eyes of our body.  It has intelligence and can therefore think, understand, etc.  It is not because we cannot see it that we call it a spirit.  To be invisible is only one of the qualities of a spirit.  It is also indivisible, that is, it cannot be divided into parts.  God is such a being.  He is “infinitely perfect,” that is, He has every perfection in the highest degree.  “Infinite” means to have without limit.  If there were any perfection God did not have, He would not be infinite.  He is unlimited in wisdom, in power, in goodness, in beauty, etc.  But you will tell me persons on earth and the angels and saints in Heaven have some wisdom and power and beauty, and therefore God cannot have all, since He has not the portion with which they are endowed.  I still say He is infinite, because what the angels and others have belongs to God, and He only lends it to them.  “Perfect” means to be without any defect or fault.

14 Q. Had God a beginning?  A. God had no beginning; He always was and always will be.

Was there ever a time when we could say there was no God?  There was a time when we could say there was no Heaven or earth, no angels, men, or animals; but there was never a time when there was no God.  We may go back in thought millions and millions of years before the Creation, and God was then existing.  He had no beginning and will never cease to exist.  This is a mystery; and what a mystery is will be explained in the next lesson.

15 Q. Where is God?  A. God is everywhere.

“Everywhere”—­not spread out like a great cloud, but whole and entire in every particular place:  and yet there is only one God, and not as many gods as there are places.  How this can be we cannot fully understand, because this also is a mystery.  A simile, though it will not be perfect, may help you to understand.  When we speak of God, we can never give a true and perfect example; for we cannot find anything exactly like Him to compare to Him.  If I discharge a great cannon in a city, every one of the inhabitants will hear the report; not in such a way that each hearer gets his share of the sound, but each hears the whole report, just as if he were the only one to hear it.  Now, how is that?  There are not as many reports as there are persons listening; and yet each person hears the whole report.

16 Q. If God is everywhere, why do we not see Him?  A. We do not see God because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with bodily eyes.

“Pure spirit,” that is, not clothed with any material body—­spirit alone.

17 Q. Does God see us?  A. God sees us and watches over us.