The Glory of God’s Omnipresence: “Ubiquity” (Psalm 16:11)
The infinite God is entirely, undividedly present, at each point of creation in each moment of time. In other words “All” of God is “every where” “all the time!” In a transcendent manner God’s essence fills all space! Being infinite there can be no limit to His Presence!
God must be Omnipresent in order to be “Omniscient:” to know all & “to see all” (Isa. 40:13-4; Job 34:21-2). God must also be Omnipresent in order to be the “Creator,” “Preserver,” & “Governor” of everything (Gen. 1:1; Heb. 1:3; Act 17:27-8). His Presence is inseparable from His Power & life giving energy (Psalm 139:7, 13-16).
All God’s attributes work together in one eternal Glorious Harmony. Because God is “infinite” He must be “everywhere.” Because “The LORD our God is one LORD” all of God must be everywhere. He is not divisible into parts or pieces. Because God is “Eternal” all of God has always been & will always be everywhere forever.
The Omnipresent God is Independent from His Creation
God is everywhere but He is not everything. Pantheism is the belief that everything is God or Divine. Thus a pantheist will worship almost anything in nature including people.
All things have their being in God but God is distinct from all things (Acts 17:24-28). God fills the Universe but He is distinct from it (I Kings 8:27; Neh. 9:6; Eph. 4:9-10).
God’s Omnipresence exposes the absurdity of Idolatry
The 2nd of the 10 Commandments says: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… of anything in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth” (Ex. 20:4). We must not worship a created thing! Only the life giving Creator of all things!
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God…” (Ex. 20:5).
If you are keeping any idols in your home or office read the following Scriptures and realize the danger you are in! (Ps. 115:3-8; Isaiah 44:6-20; Deut. 27:15; Ps. 97:7; Jer. 10:3-6, 14-15; I Cor. 10:7-14; 2 Cor. 6:16-17; Rev. 9:20; Romans 1:21-23). We must give up worshipping idols before we can experience the Presence of the Creator.
Experiencing the Presence of God Transforms our life!
Hebrews 13:5 tells us: “… be content with such things as ye have: for (God) hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
The closer we are to God the less we worry about other things (Ps. 37:25; Isa. 41:17). Illustration: When Annie got cancer
The LORD “will be with thee, Fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deut. 31:8; 31:6; Isa. 41:10; Gen. 28:15; Josh. 1:5; Rev 22:3-5).
All God’s Divine Attributes function in Glorious Harmony for our good:
The Creator has a glorious purpose “in Christ” for everything (Prov. 16:4; Rev. 4:11; Eph. 1:9-12). (We each have a Purpose!) All Creation manifests the marvelous “design” of its Omnipotent, Omniscient Creator. (We were designed to fulfill our Purpose).
Thus we can only answer life’s most important questions as we gain a true knowledge of God (Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Ps. 11:10). “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). As we get to know God & His Word we learn: “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “What is my Purpose?” So how do we get to know this Omnipresent God?
The Omnipresence of God is a spiritual reality (Psalm 139:7-10)
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? (8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there…” “… if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” (9) If I take the wings of the morning, & dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; (10) Even there shall thy hand lead me, & thy right hand shall hold me” (John 10:27-30).
The great spiritual battle with Materialism, Humanism & Atheism
Materialists would have us believe this World is strictly material and runs by itself. (time & chance with no design or purpose). But God’s Word & experience make it clear this world is primarily spiritual & run by unseen powers (both Good & evil!). (study Hebrews 11:3; Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; 33:4; Ps. 104:30; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 6:10-18).
JESUS IS THE OMNIPRESENT CREATOR
We previously studied the Scriptures that reveal Jesus is God (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:1-3). Jesus revealed His Divine omnipresence on many occasions as recorded in the Gospels.
Jesus told us: “… I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:20). This is His spiritual presence (John 14:15-20)
The King James Bible faithfully preserves the revelation of Jesus’ Omnipresence in John 3:13 (most new translations leave it out).
“No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” Notice Jesus is telling Nicodemus that even while he was there talking with him He was simultaneously in Heaven! Spiritually Jesus could be in more than one place at the same time! So can we “in Christ” (Eph. 2:6; I Cor. 5:3-4).
Many Miraculous events reveal the Omnipresence of Jesus:
Jesus healed the Nobleman’s son from 16 miles away in John 4:46-53. Jesus was in Cana of Galilee. The nobleman’s son was sick at Capernaum. (4:47) The nobleman besought Jesus that he would come down, & heal his son: for he was at the point of death. (50) Jesus said: “Go thy way; thy son liveth. The man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, & he went his way.” (Oh, if we could just trust God’s Word & Believe what He says). (51) As he was going down, his servants met him, & told him: “Thy son liveth.” (52) He asked them the hour when he began to amend. They said “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” (53) So the father knew it was the same hour Jesus said unto him: “Thy son liveth: & himself believed, & his whole house.”
Let’s Look at the Impact of God’s Omnipresence on our Prayers
Because God is omnipresent we know we can pray for people 1000’s of miles away and our God is there to answer them.
Illustration: Jacob de Shazer’s mothers prayers in WWII.
JESUS IS LORD OF SPACE: HE IS OMNIPRESENT!
Jesus instantly knows everything that happens or will happen to us! (John 2:24-25; 16:30; 18:4; 21:17; Matt. 9:4). Jesus does not have to travel to be anywhere. He’s already everywhere (Eph. 4:8-10; Ps. 30:4).
In Matthew 18:20 Jesus told us: “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” In other words Jesus has promised to be present in a special supernatural way when two or more believers pray together.
Illustration: One of my friends had a life changing experience sharing the Gospel with a Muslim in Israel. He pulled out of his wallet a letter he received from Him after the encounter. Whenthey had shared the Gospel he said he was not ready to believe in Jesus. They asked him if they could pray for him before they left. He said yes. They prayed, then left. A short time later he received this letter that he now always kept in his wallet. In the letter the Muslim man explained how he hadn’t fully understood what they tried to share with him about Jesus. But he wrote: “But when you all prayed for me I sensed the presence of Jesus like I never have before. So I got a Bible and began studying it. Now I believe in Jesus & trust Him as my God and Savior.”
How do you read the following sentence? “GODISNOWHERE”
Most people read it as: GOD IS NO WHERE.
But what it really says is: GOD IS NOW HERE!
Notice the same words communicate a different experience to different people. God is both ‘immanent’ in His works & ‘transcendent’ above them. In Jeremiah 23:23-4 the LORD says: “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? (immanent) (24) Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven & earth? saith the LORD.” (transcendent)
It seems Paradoxical that God can be both “Immanent” & “Transcendent” at the same time (John 14:17; I Cor. 2:14). How can God be everywhere yet seem to be nowhere? Because “Where” has to do with matter & space & God is independent of both. God is “Spirit.”
He is totally independent of our Time/Space domain. But In Christ we are enabled to “step into” God’s spiritual Realm and experience His life giving presence. Jesus tells us in John 4:23-24: “the hour cometh, & now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit & in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Right now we are all surrounded by an incredibly amazing World we can’t experience if we don’t have a Television. Marvelous movies are always playing but we can’t see them without the T.V. Amazing music is constantly being broadcast on radio waves but we can’t hear them without a radio. What are we missing without an iPhone or iPad?
THE ATHEIST’S “FOOLISH” MISTAKE (Psalm 14:1; 53:1)
Because you can’t see TV waves with the naked eye (without a TV) does not make them nonexistent! Because you can’t hear the radio waves (without a radio) does not make them nonexistent! Because the atheist doesn’t have the Holy Spirit, & can’t experience God, doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist! The Omnipresent God will seem far away if you are spiritually dead. Isaiah 59:2 warns us: “your iniquities have separated between you & your God, & your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”(see also Jer. 5:25; Ezek. 39:23-24)
HOW CAN I EXPERIENCE THE GLORY OF
GOD’S PRESENCE?
1st we must
be “born again” of God’s Spirit. Jesus
said: “Except a man be born of water & of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6; also John 1:11-13). 2nd Keep God’s Word &
you will Experience God’s Presence. Jesus
said: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: & my Father will
love him, & we will come unto him, & make our abode with him” (John 14:21-23; 16:13-15). 3rd
Genuine Humility is necessary to experience the Presence of God. “Thus saith the LORD: “… to this man will I look, even to him that is poor & of a contrite spirit, & trembleth at my word.” (Isa. 66:2; Isa. 57:15)
Once we enter God’s Spiritual Realm we find God to be our strength in Trouble & peace in the storms of life (read Psalm 46:1-2; Jer. 29:13)