God's Omnipresence

The atheist wrote: "God is nowhere,"

but his little daughter read it: "God is now here,"

and he was converted.

GOD'S OMNIPRESENCE: The term omnipresence is not mentioned in the Bible, yet the theological truth of His presence being in every place at al times is made clear to us:

Key Scriptures:

Jer. 23:24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?" says the Lord; "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the Lord.

Ps. 139:7-10

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, 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.

See also: 1 Ki. 8:27; Is. 66:1; Matt. 28:18; Acts 7:48f.; 17:24f.

Definition

The word omni  means all

"Omnipresent" means "present everywhere at once."  God is present in all His creation, but in no manner limited by it.

"God, in the totality of His essence, without diffusion or expansion, multiplication or division, penetrates and fills the universe in all its parts."  A. H. Strong (Systematic Theology, p. 279).

"God is distinct from all His works while His power and intelligence and goodness embrace and penetrate them all."  Merril F. Unger (Unger's Bible Dictionary,  p. 809).

"The omnipresence of God is not a necessary part of His being, but is a free act of His will. If God should will to destroy the universe, His omnipresence would cease, but He, Himself would not cease to be. Pantheism binds God to the universe, but God is transcendent and not subject to it."  Henry C. Thiessen  (Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 80).

Going back to Jer. 23:24 (see above) we can see that God is the only one in heaven or on earth who is able to be present in all places at all times. He is present in all his creation, but is not limited by it in any way. It is not a necessary part of the Divinity of God—it is a free act of His will. Henry Thiessen says, “If God should will to destroy the universe, his omnipresence would cease, but he himself would not cease to be…The doctrine of the omnipresence of God is both comforting and subduing. It is a source of comfort to the believer, for God, the ever-present one, is always available to help us.” (Deut. 4:7; Ps. 46:1; 145:18; Matt. 28:20).

It is a source of warning and restraint to the believer. No matter how much he may try, the sinner cannot escape from God. Neither distance nor darkness hides from Him (Ps. 139:7–10) Henry Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 80.

• He is not a shapeless blob filling every space – He is not like water that spreads all over, He is able to be omnipresent because He is a Spirit. He is not confined to physical matter. At this very moment:

He is on every distant plant - even where there is no life

He in the depths of the darkest ocean

He is on the highest mountain

He right beside you

• God's omnipresence is not potential or just limited to His knowledge. If I know a lot of facts about London, it does not mean that I am in London. But God actually is in London at the same time as He is everywhere else.

• God is present in all places – at all times – with all creatures.

• God is present without dividing Himself – He is equally in each place. In mathematics, the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. But with God the Spirit,  every part is equal to the whole. Every Church and every Believer has the fullness of God at the same time. Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matt. 13:20).

• "The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul" (1 Samuel 16:14). This simply means that the sense of His presence left Saul – Saul’s ability to know the comfort and guidance of God. We might feel Him to be far from us as regards the experience of His comfort, or near to us as far as his support is concerned. At all times, though, His actual presence continues the same.

Presence   -  (Heb. paniym  -  face; Gk. prosopon  -  face; enopion  -  in the face of)

The place where God is seen is called peniel   lit. the face of God (Gen. 32:30).

After man sinned, contact with God usually involved some form of veiling. Few knew God face-to-face (Moses. Deut. 34:10). Alienation from God is the hiding of (Deut. 31:17) or being hidden from (Gen. 4:14) His face. In these cases, "face" is a metaphorical term for "presence".

God is calling His church to come boldly into His presence, and to know His presence (Heb. 4:16). It is important for worshipers to learn how to tap into God’s omnipresence, and know this presence as a reality. We tend to act as though the only “presence” we are satisfied with is His manifest presence – when He “shows” Himself in some way. If only we could learn how to “find” Him in every place – trust in His word to us that wherever we go, or whatever we go through, He is there – whether we can feel Him or sense Him in any way – he is Jehovah Shammah (The God who is there).

For more on the presence paniym of God look HERE

If God is everywhere:

• You don’t have to be afraid–He is right there with you wherever you go:

He helps us in times of temptation

He guides us when we need to know the way

He comforts us when we are downcast

He protects us when we are afraid

He strengthens us when we are weak

He heals us when we are sick

He provides for us when we are in need

• You can “practice” or know God’s presence at all times and in all places. When you worship or pray you must believe He is there. Speak and sing to Him as One who is directly before you.

• He is in every believer in the Lord Jesus—Jn. 14:16–17; 15:26–27; 16:12–14.

• You cannot escape from the presence of God - there is no place you can run to or hide that God is not present. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good Prov. 15:3.  

• You will walk with greater carefulness – knowing that He is right there with you no matter what choices you make, or what actions you are involved with. He does not watch you in order to spy on you, but to walk in greater intimacy. He longs for you to know Him and be known by Him. D. L Moody said,

Character is what a person is in the dark.

Dark and light are all alike to God.

• You can find Him anywhere and talk to Him in any situation. Because of God’s omnipresence we do not have to rely upon a particular location, building, liturgy or format in order to worship Him. Our hearts are His tabernacle—wherever we go we are able to draw near to Him—Ps. 139:7.

• The devil must live in fear – even he is subject to the omnipresence of God.

Even when I walk through the dark valley of death,

I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Ps. 23:4

Under His Wings

Our Father delights in taking us higher on His wings - or hiding us under His wings. Here are some verses to meditate on: 

God - The Father - lifts us on the mother eagle's wings: Exodus 19:4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself

He lifts us up in the days where we are in the wilderness and cannot find our way. He gives us strength to go on - running and not getting weary, walking and not fainting (Is. 40:31)

God - The Son - gathers us and protects us like a mother hen: Matt. 23:37 How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn't let me (Message)

Hens are not as majestic as eagles, but they love their babies and protect them all - there is always room for one more! He keeps us as the apple of His eye - the ones who are protected at all costs

God - The Holy Spirit broods over the earth like a Dove and brings forth life: Gen. 1:2 Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss
Matt. 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him (ESV)

So...the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are expressed among us as a female bird. This is an expression of His Father and Mother heart to us. He protects, hides, feed, heals and comforts us under His wings. We can run to this place of His favor at any time and can find Him faithful to deliver us from all fear and harm.

This is the place where we can hear his song over us, and where we can find our own song once again: Psalm 63:7 (NLT) I think how much you have helped me; I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings.

Come - run quickly to this place of prayer - the secret place of His presence. Take note - this is a place to dwell - to remain and abide: Ps. 91:1-4  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

(NLT) v4 He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Look at these babies - they don't have a care in the world as they are protected under the wings of their mothers and fathers. They are the objects of total devotion!

God uses every means He can to reveal the depths of His love for us. These birds are simply one picture of His overwhelming grace. He has placed an example of His love in these beautiful creatures who love so completely.

More on God's wings: HERE

Psalm 36: Man's Wickedness - God's Perfection

In Psalm 36, there are 6 verses that describe man’s wickedness (verses 1-4; 11-12) and then 6 verses that describe God’s perfections (vs. 6-10). There are 13 descriptions of man’s wickedness, and 14 accounts of God’s perfections.

The number 13 in the bible represents rebellion and lawlessness. Nimrod, the mighty hunter who was 'before the Lord' (meaning he tried to take the place of God - Genesis 10:9), was the 13th in Ham's line (Ham was one of Noah's three sons who survived the flood). Thirteen represents all the governments created by men, and inspired by Satan, in outright rebellion against the Lord. The dragon, a symbol for Satan, is found 13 times in Revelation. Satan is behind all rebellion against God.

The number 14 in the bible represents deliverance and salvation. It is also a double of the number 7, which represents completion. In the verses of this Psalm that describe God’s perfection, there are 14 pronouns: (Your, You).

Here are the 13 descriptions of man’s wickedness:

The wicked man has no fear of God

The wicked man flatters himself

The wicked man loves to sin

The wicked man hates others

The wicked man speaks deceitfully

The wicked man turns from wisdom

The wicked man turns from goodness

The wicked man plots evil through the night

The wicked man walks in evil

The wicked man loves what God hates

The wicked man crushes others with their pride

The wicked man pushes people around

The wicked man falls down and is unable to rise again

Here are the 14 descriptions of God perfections:

God’s mercy is as vast as the heavens

God’s faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds

God’s righteousness is as powerful as the mountains

God’s justice is as deep as the oceans

God’s care extends to every man and creature

God’s love is precious and unfailing

God’s shelter under His wings is secure

God’s provision is abundant
God's drink springs from His hand

God’s pleasures flow like a river

God’s life pours out like a fountain

God’s light gives us light for our eyes

God’s kindness extends to all who know Him 
God’s virtue covers the upright in heart

The number 14 also represents David - the numerics of his name add up to 14: D_V_D represent the numbers 4+6+4=14. David was the 14th generation from Abraham. Then there were another 14 generations to babylon and another 14 generations to Jesus (Matt. 1:1-17). Jesus is the Divine King who is descended from David.

The Reason Why God Has Secrets

A few days ago I posted HERE some of the hiding places of God. Here are the reasons why God has secrets - not to exclude us from knowledge, but to draw us closer to Him, so we would know Him and be more like Him.

The reasons why God has secrets:

1.   So that through the revelation of God’s secrets and plans we would know His ways and learn how to be obedient.

Deut. 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

This is the definition of obedience

2.   His secrets are our protection against the enemy.

Ps. 27:5-6   5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Ps. 91:1

There is no safer place than being under His wings

3.  So that we would have confirmation of His Lordship, and that He is Lord over Israel.

Isa. 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.

He is the Lord of All

4.   So that we might be filled with the Glory of God, and so we will be like Him.

1Cor. 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory (for our glorification, that is, to lift us into the glory of His presence.  Amp.)

 

We try so hard to be like our Father... 

   

5.   So that the devil, his angels or ungodly leaders would not know the great plans of God and stop them.

      1Cor. 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

It is important to see and understand

God's great plans

God's 5 secret hiding places: HERE