God Is Omnipresent

Leafrivermac · 09-09-2006, 12:30 PM

Because God is a Spirit He can be everywhere at the same time. He is the only Spirit that is truly omnipresent; for all other spirit beings such as demons, angels, and satan himself can be confined to specific locations (Mark 5:10; Jude 6;, Revelation 20:1-3).

Although God is omnipresent, we cannot equate Him with the nature, substance, or forces of the world (which would be pantheism), because He does have individuality, personality, and intelligence.

Soloman recognized God"™s omnipresence when he prayed at the dedication of the Temple, saying "˜Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee" (1Kings 8:27; see 2 Chronicles 2:6; 6:18). God declared His omnipresence by saying, "œThe heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (Isaiah 66:1; see also Acts 7:49). Paul preached that the Lord is "œnot far from everyone of us; for in Him we live, and move and have our being" (Acts 17:27-28). Perhaps the most beautiful description of God"™s omnipresence is found in Psalm 139: 7-13; "œWhither 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. 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. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be a light about me. Yea the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee, For 6thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mothers womb."

If God is omnipresent , why does the Bible describe Him as being in heaven? There are several reasons: (1) This teaches that God is transcendent. In other words He is beyond human understanding and He is not limited to this earth. (2) It refers to the center of God"™s reasoning and activity- His headquarters , so to speak, (3) It refers to God"™s immediate presence, that is the fullness of God"™s glory and power, which no mortal can see and live (Exodus 33:20).( 4) Also, it may refer to the visible manifestation of God to the angels in heaven. It cannot mean that God lacks omnipresence, is limited to one place, or is limited to a body.

Similarly, when the Bible says God came to earth or appeared to someone, it does not negate His omnipresence. It simply means the focus of His activity has shifted to earth at least as far as a certain individual or a certain situation is concerned. When God comes to earth, heaven is not empty. He is still just as much in heaven as ever. He can act simultaneously in heaven and on earth, or at several locations on earth. It is very important that we recognize the magnitude of God"™s omnipresence and not limit it by our human experience.

Alex The Hawk · 09-09-2006, 12:33 PM

So if God is Omnipresent, he can exist inside a human Body such as Jesus,Right ? As well as in Heaven at the same time ?

Leafrivermac · 09-09-2006, 02:41 PM

Since God is an invisible Spirit and is omnipresent, He certainly does not have a body as we know it. He did assume various forms and temporary manifestations throughout the OT so that humans couls see Him. However the Bible does not record any permanent manifestation of God until Jesus Christ was born. Of course in Christ, God had a human body and now has a glorified human body.

Outside of temporary manifestations of God and outside the NT revelation of God in Christ, scriptural references to the eyes, hands, arms, feet, heart, and other bodily parts of God are examples of figurative language or anthropomorphisms (interpretation of the non human in terms of the human so that humans can understand).

In other words, the Bible describes infinite God in finite, human terms in order that we might better comprehend Him. For example, the heart of God denotes His intellect and emotions, not a blood pumping organ (Genesis 6:6; 8:21). When God said heaven was His throne and earth was His footstool, He described His omnipresence, not a pair of literal feet propped up on the whole globe (Isaiah 66:1). When God said His right hand spanned the heavens, He described His great power and not a large hand stretching thru the atmosphere (Isaiah 48:13). "˜The eyes of the Lord are in every place" does not mean that God has physical eyes in every location but indicates His omnipresence (Proverbs 15:3). When Jesus cast down devils by the finger of God, He did not pull down a giant finger from heaven, but He exercised the power of God (Luke 11:20). The blast of God"™s nostrils was not literal particles emitted by giant heavenly nostrils but the strong east wind sent by God to part the Red Sea (Exodus 15:8; 14:21). In fact literal interpretation of all the visions and physical descriptions of God would lead to the belief that God has wings (Psalm 91:4). In short , we believe God as a Spirit does not have a body unless He chooses to manifest Himself in a bodily form, which He did in the person of Jesus Christ.

Some say that in the OT God had a spirit body "œvisible" to other spirit beings such as angels. They raise this hypothosis because human spirits seem to have a recognizable form visible to other spirits. (Luke 16:22) and because some passages indicate the angels and satan could see a visible manifestation of God in the OT (1Kings 22:19-22; Job 1:6). However, God did not need a spirit body to do this because He could have manifested Himself at various times to other spirits just as He did to humans. One key verse of Scripture implies that ordinarily God is not visible even to spirit beings unless He chooses to manifest Himself in some way: "œGod was manifest in the flesh . . .seen of angels" (1Timothy 3:16). At the least, if God did have some type of spirit body He certainly was not confined to it like other spirit beings are confined to their bodies, for then , He would not truly be omnipresent. For example, God"™s omnipresence means He could have appeared at the same time to angels in heaven and people on earth. Also , we must realize that in NT times God had chosen to reveal Himself fully thru Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:9). There is no possibility of separating God and Jesus, and there is no God visible outside Jesus.