God is Omnipresent
I heard a story about a kid’s Sunday School teacher who was meeting with his class one day, and he started by asking them a question. “Hey kids, I wonder if any of you can tell me where God is?”
And 3 kids’ hands went up. The teacher called on the first kid, and he said, “I know where God is. God is in heaven.” The teacher said, “That’s right, good job!”
Then he called on the second kid, and she said, “God is in my heart.” He said, “That’s right too!”
And then the teacher called on the third kid, and he said, “God is in my bathroom.” The teacher paused, and asked, “God is in your bathroom?” The kid said, “Yeah, He’s in the bathroom at my house.” And the teacher said, “How do you know that He’s in your bathroom?”
And the kid said, “Well, every morning, while my mom is in the bathroom, my dad bangs on the door, and says, ‘My God, are you still in the bathroom?’”
Now, this kid may have had a little bit of a misunderstanding of the situation, however, his answer was not technically incorrect, and that is because of God’s attribute of omnipresence.
We are in week 5 of a series of blog posts on the attributes of God, and this week we are talking about how God is omnipresent.
GOD IS OMNIPRESNET
“Omni,” which comes from the Latin word, “Omnis” meaning “ALL.”
So, when we say that God is Omnipresent, we are saying that He is “all-present,” or “everywhere present.”
The question is, “How do we know that to be true?” And the answer of course is that God has revealed that to us about Himself through Scripture.
God Himself declares His omnipresence in Jeremiah 23:24.
Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. (Jer. 23:24)
So, God Himself reveals to us that He fills the heavens and the earth. There is no secret place to go where God is not already there. You can’t hide from Him. He is present everywhere.
King David also recognized this about God. God revealed it to Him and inspired Him to write these words in proclaims this in Psalm 139:
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Ps. 139:7-12)
David recognizes that God’s presence is everywhere. He’s in the heavens. He’s on earth. He’s on the far side of the sea. He’s even in the dark. The darkness cannot hide you from God.
Wherever you go, God is always there. And David shares why in verse 7 when he says, “Where can I go from your Spirit?”
God is spirit.
Jesus even says this in John 4:24, “God is spirit.” So, God doesn’t have a physical body like we do. Therefore, he does not have the limitations involved with a physical body.
He is not limited to a particular geographical/spatial location. He is everywhere present at all times.
MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT GOD’S OMNIPRESENCE
GOD IS NOT SPREAD OUT (PART HERE AND PART THERE)
One of the misunderstandings people have about God’s omnipresence is that He is spread out in a way where part of His Being is in this place and another part of Him is in another place.
But that is not true. All of God is present everywhere, all of the time.
Here’s the way the 19th and early 20th century theologian, A.H. Strong, writes about 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)
God is not spread out across the universe where part of Him is present in one place and part of Him is present in another place.
No, God is entirely present in all His being.
What that means for us is that we are not limited to part of God’s presence in one place, and more of Him in another. It’s easy to think that we have more access to God in nature or in a church building, but God is fully present and with us, no matter where we are.
We have access to all of God, all of the time! You are never alone.
GOD’S OMNIPRESENCE IS NOT PANTHEISM
The next misperception about God’s omnipresence is a big part of our culture.
Pantheism is the belief that God is in or a part of everything.
Here’s the way Alisa Childers explains it:
One of the core principles of the new spirituality is that everything in the universe (including you and me) is made up of the same substance and reality. In other words, there is no separation between you, your dog, and the tree outside. This worldview is called pantheism and believes that “God” is a type of divine consciousness or energy that is one and the same with the universe, something we can tap into as we become more “enlightened.” (Alisa Childers)
That is not the God of the Bible.
Creation reflects God, but creation is not the Creator. Rather, the Creator made the heavens and earth from nothing (Genesis 1:1; Acts 17:24-25).
God’s omnipresence does not mean he is identical to creation. Therefore, we worship the Creator, not creation.
GOD’S PRESENCE IS NOT OPPRESSIVE
When some people think that God is always present wherever they go, it makes them scared. They live in fear. And honestly, it is frightful when you recognize that you are a sinner in the presence of a holy and all-powerful God.
But God’s heart is for you, and His desire is that your heart would be for Him.
But we don’t give our hearts to all-powerful people. We might be obedient to them. We might do what they demand from us, but we don’t give our hearts to people we fear.
We give our hearts to people we believe are good and whose hearts are for us.
And this is why we talked about God’s attribute of goodness last week. If we didn’t know that God was good, then it would be terrifying to be in the presence of God all of the time.
But since we know one of God’s attributes is goodness, we know it’s in His nature to be good. That means that we can trust Him. That means He loves us and is for us, and we see that demonstrated through his sacrifice on the cross.
God’s goodness and love drove Him to send Jesus to the cross so that He could be present in our lives and in a loving relationship with us, and He offers us forgiveness and eternal life as a gift!
So, for the believer in Christ, His constant presence is not oppressive or something to fear but rather a comfort, a blessing, and something to be thankful for and celebrated.
Now that we’ve covered some misperceptions of God’s omnipresence, let’s look at the truth.
FOR THE BELIEVER, ALL OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU
If you are in Christ, all of God dwells in all of you.
In Colossians 1, the apostle Paul says this…
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:21)
When you put your faith in Jesus for salvation, Jesus comes to dwell in you. And remember, God is not spread out where part of Him is in you but most of Him is somewhere else.
No, the totality of God’s essence is present with you.
You have access to all of God. His refuge. His safety. His joy. His peace. His rest. His healing. His wisdom. His power. His abundant life.
Talk about the goodness of God to share His presence with you in this way.
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE
If all of God lives in all of you all of the time, then you are never alone.
Here’s why this is so important:
“The knowledge that we are never alone calms the troubled sea of our lives and speaks peace to our soul.” (A.W. Tozer)
When you feel lonely and like no one cares about you, God is there.
When you are walking through a difficult marriage, God is there.
When you face tough parenting challenges with your kids, God is there.
When you look at your bills and your bank account and see there are more bills than there is money in the account, God is there.
When you face big life decisions about careers, buying a home, moving to another city, or marrying someone, God is there.
When you are feeling anxious, worried, or depressed and like not getting out of bed that day, God is there.
When you are in the doctor’s office and he says, “You have cancer,” God is there.
When you bury someone that you love and are sitting at home all alone, God is there.
You are never alone. You have access to all of God wherever you go and in whatever situation you are going through.
PRACTICE THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN YOU
While it is true that you have all of God dwelling in you all of the time, it is possible to not actually experience His presence within you.
Therefore, if Jesus dwells in you at the core of your being, you must turn your attention inward.
I love the way Jean Guyon, the French Mystic talks about this…
"Your spirit instructs your soul that since God is more present deep within you, he must be sought within and he must be enjoyed there. Therefore, from the very beginning, you find great joy in knowing that your Lord is within you and that you can find him and enjoy him in your inmost being....When you are thus turned toward God, you find it easy to return there again and again. The longer you continue to turn inward to God, the nearer you are drawn to him and the more firmly you adhere to Him. By moving into that inmost sanctuary again and again, it becomes natural, even habitual, to live in the presence of God. And where is God’s presence? God’s presence is where he lodges deep within." (Jean Guyon)
She uses the language, “turning towards God” and “turning inward,” and says that the more we learn to do that, the more we experience the presence of God within us. Then it becomes more natural and even habitual over time.
PRACTICE THE PRESENCE OF GOD EVERYWHERE
If God is omnipresent, He’s present everywhere you go. So, as you go throughout your day, be in the habit of being aware of His presence at work, in the car, at school, in the gym, and look and listen for how He is at work in your live in those places.
Pray and ask God to awaken your spiritual eyes to see His activity where you are present. Ask Him to awaken your spiritual ears to hear what He is saying where you are present.
Think of it kind of like Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is sending information through radio signals out into your space, where you are present. But if your phone’s Wi-Fi is turned off then you won’t receive those signals. When it’s turned on, you are connected, receiving the data, and experiencing it as you play that game or scroll through social media.
Well, God is always active where you are present. But you must have your “Wi-Fi” turned on to see Him. Your spirit is His contact point. And He’s there, but the more open you are to looking for and receiving His activity, the more you’ll see it and experience His presence in your life and in that place where you are.
So, slow down and spend time practicing His presence in you, but also look for His presence in all places and areas of your life. Then, you’ll experience the joy, refuge, wisdom, power, rest, and abundant life you have in Christ all the time.
