That would be idolatry!Īnother twisted view of God’s presence is in deism. For example, we might say God lives inside a person, but that indwelling does not make that person God. In passages like Psalm 139:7-8, we understand God is everywhere, but God is not everything. But this is not what the Bible refers to in scriptures describing Jehovah God’s omnipresence. Hinduism, Buddhism, some cults like “mother nature” worshipers and others-at least to some extent-include elements of pantheism. Theologians continue to discuss the “pantheism controversy” today. Such “pantheistic thought” influenced early Gnostic groups and was popularized in the 17 thcentury by philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Pantheism is sometimes described this way: “God is everything and everyone and everyone and everything is God.” Others simply claim “divinity” and “reality” in the universe are identical. In the Greek, “pantheism” is the word “all” plus the word for “god” or “divine.” For some, pantheism means everything is part of an all-encompassing “God,” identified so closely with the universe as to be totally immersed in the fabric of it. God’s omnipresence isn’t always understood or represented. ![]() God's Omnipresence is Biblical - but Often Misunderstood That doesn’t mean omnipresence is a simple concept. “Omnipresent” is easy to define: all-present or present everywhere. ![]() “Omnipotent” means all-powerful, and “omniscient” means all-knowing. Years later, when I became a Christ-follower and examined biblical concepts for myself, God opened my “eyes of understanding.” Though the word, “omnipresence,” doesn’t appear in the Bible, the concept is clear in Matthew 18:20 and many other scriptures.Īt college I discovered the prefix in the word “omnipresent” comes from Latin-“omni” means “all.” A couple of other words in biblical studies refer to God with that same prefix. I had my first doubts about God based on my belief system of what I could see, feel and understand, rather than on what God tells us about Himself in scripture. To those who are born again, it causes a great deal of comfort because of righteousness, by virtue of what Jesus Christ has done in His saving and redemptive work.What Does Omnipresent Mean? - Latin OriginĪs a young girl, visiting a little street-corner church in Chicago, I heard a preacher quote Matthew 18:20: “ Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” It was a great promise, but it stirred up confusion and wonder in my heart: Is God with “two or three” in Chicago and “two or three” over in China-at the same time? The omnipresence of God should strike terror within an evil man. The immensity and omnipresence of God have some very definite applications to believers as well as unbelievers. If He possesses an infinite essence, then he has an infinite presence-He is anywhere and everywhere fully. The God of the Bible is no localised deity, but a universal God. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me even the night shall be light about me. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. ![]() Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. ![]() However, He is there in the total fullness of His being, although the sense in which may vary. Now, He is not equally present in the same sense with all His creatures because He is not in the earth as He is in heaven He does not live in animals as He does in born-again men He is not in the Church as He is in Christ. All of God is here, and there is not any part of this universe in which God is not in the fullness of His being. Omnipresence stresses His imminence He is abiding in the fullness of His being at every particular point. There is a distinction between immensity and omnipresence, for immensity stresses the transcendence of God since He is beyond everything that is. His omnipresence is also an aspect of His infinity, because it touches space. He is an omnipresent being at every single point. He is a transcendent being and transcends all of material reality, but at any one point He is there as a whole (not in part) being. Immensity is the characteristic of God whereby He transcends all spatial limitation, yet He is present everywhere with His whole being. Home › Theology › The Immensity and Omnipresence of God
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