Entering Into God’s Presence Knowing God Through His Nature & Character

All Present (An Infinite Attribute of God’s Nature)

To Study and Ponder:

• Omnipresent: prefix omni –from the Latin meaning “all or every.” suffix present –noun: the period of time now occurring (happening) adjective: being, existing, or occurring at this time or now; current. So, to say that God is omnipresent is to say that God is present everywhere.

• See Wiley, “Beholding the Beauty of God”: God is Omnipresent – He is everywhere and everything and everyone is in His presence and under His watchful eye. (p.121)

• When we say that God is omnipresent it means that the totality of God (not just part of him) is fully present in all places at all times at the same time. No place of the created order is absent from the presence of God and yet he is distinct from the creation which he has made and which he fully occupies. The “how” of this is beyond our finite capacity as humans to comprehend. We in contrast are mono-present, in only one place at a time, we cannot become omnipresent.

• The psalmist asks, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” (Psa 139:7-10). Similarly, God asks “Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.” (Jer 23:23-24). Because God is everywhere present,“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable” (Heb 4:13). Nothing we do is ever hidden from the presence of God.

• This inescapable presence can be horrifying to the sinner when he realizes that what he has chosen to do in secret was in fact done in front of God. But to the redeemed, God’s “Immanuelness” is a source of constant comfort and strength. As Jesus said, “be sure of this: I am with you always” (Mat 28:20), “... where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” (Mat 18:20) and he promises us “another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” (Joh 14:16-17). There is no room for fear of being left alone or unseen by God. He is Immanuel, which means “God is with us” (Mat 1:24) not only in the geographical sense, but also in the intimate, relational, personal-commitment sense. He will not abandon us, he will not forsake us. With great depth of feeling, God says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Isa 49:15-16)

• God's presence is continuous throughout all of creation, though it may not be revealed in the same way at the same time to people everywhere. He may be manifestly present in one situation, while He may not reveal that He is present in another circumstance in some other area.

• God is present in every aspect of the natural order of things, in every manner, time and place.

  • -  Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his

    fingers. Who else knows the weight of the earth .... Isaiah 40:12

  • -  He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust

    beneath his feet. Nahum 1:3b

  • -  The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. Prov 15:3

  • -  The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains

    everything by the mighty power of his command. Hey 1:3a

• God is actively present in different ways in every event in history as guide of human affairs:

• -  You destroyed them (Kings of the earth) like the mighty ships of Tarshish shattered by a

  powerful east wind. Psalm 48:7

• -  King David says in Psalm 16:8 “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he

  is right beside me.”

• -  Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace,

  near the lampstand. Daniel 5:5

• -  His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and

  find him—though he is not far from any one of us. Acts 17:27 (NLT)

• -  Also Deut.4:37-39, Jonah 1:1-3, Acts 17:24-28,

  Meditation/Memory:
  Lower Grades: Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. Jeremiah 23:24 (NLT)

  And be sure of this: I am with you always .... Matthew 28:20b (NLT)

  Middle Grades: Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. Jeremiah 23:23-24 (NLT)

  I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. John 14:16-17a (NLT)

  Upper Grades: I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. Psalm139:7-10(NLT)

  For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two- edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. Hebrews 4:12-13