God’s omnipresence means that He is all-present. He is fully present everywhere, at all times, and in all places. There is no limit to His presence, and God is not bound to any place (Jer. 23:24, Ps. 139:7-10, Matt. 28:19-20). This means no place experiences the absence of God.
In the Bible, we are told that God is an infinite spirit. This truth means He can be present simultaneously in all places, in the fullness of His being, at all times. In the discourse between Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4:20-23), Jesus tells the lady that “God is spirit” and that God is therefore not bound to specific areas. For this reason, He can be worshiped anywhere.
Jesus emphasized this truth because the woman mentioned to Him specific places of worship, such as Jerusalem and Mount Gerizim. If God had been bound by Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim, then He could not be worshiped elsewhere. This is the point that Jesus was making: the spiritual nature of God means He can be worshiped in all places. He is not bound by body parts as we are.
Certain portions of the Scriptures talk about the arm of God (Ps. 118:16) and the eyes of the Lord (Ps. 34:15). When these terms are used in the Scriptures, the authors are not saying that the arm of God is in Britain while the eyes of God are in Pakistan. These anthropomorphic terms explain different attributes of God in a way that finite humans can understand. The arm of God shows the power of God, while the eyes of the Lord elucidate the omniscience of God. The transcendence of God means that mere creatures like us cannot easily understand His nature. God uses human terms to reveal the qualities of His being.
Here we need to make a distinction. God is present everywhere, but He is not everything. Pantheists believe that God is in everything, in a way that His being is mixed with the created order, which means that everything is God. Yet the Scriptures make clear to us that even as God is present everywhere, there is a definite distinction between the being of God and His creation. His person is never mixed with His creation, but still His presence abides in all of His creation.
Some people have argued that God is not present in Hell based on verses that say unbelievers will “pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might” (2 Thess. 1:9). Yet this cannot happen because God is present everywhere, which means He is never absent from any place. This verse does not contradict the omnipresence of God, including in Hell, but means that God does not manifest His presence in grace, but rather in wrath. He drives people away from His manifest gracious presence to a place where His wrathful presence is revealed.
Let us see how the doctrine of omnipresence applies to us. Knowing the omnipresence of God should fill us with fear and conviction of sin. If God is present everywhere, then He is present in the places where we sin as well. Even in that dark room in which we believe that no one is watching us, we cannot hide from His presence, even if we run to the most distant ends of the world.
This truth should prompt us to be more diligent in our Christian walk because our human tendency is to sin in secret. We desire not to be caught in sinful acts by people, and that is why we hide our iniquity. Therefore when we keep the omnipresence of God in mind, we have more integrity, and we live in the acute sense of Holy presence amid all of our actions. This truth will keep us in fear of God and ensure that we do not sin lightly.
This doctrine should also fill us with peace, as we know that our God is intimately acquainted with all of our troubles and that even in the midst of calamity He accompanies us. As Paul says: “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the preaching might be fulfilled, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth” (2 Tim. 4:16-17). We can observe in these verses that Paul was deserted by his accomplices, but the presence of Jesus comforted him. We can also find peace in our deepest pain while knowing that our God is by our side. He is there to protect and strengthen us. No matter where we might be, the presence of God surrounds us.
I pray that we all may know this truth deeply unto the fear and love of God, for His glory alone.
Amen.
About The Author
JOEL RIAZ
1689 Federalism | Amillennialism | General Equity Theonomist
Joel Riaz lives in Abbottabad, Pakistan, with his wife, Irum. Having grown up in a Christian community, Riaz is well-acquainted with the Christian Faith and is the first person in his community to embrace Reformed Baptist Doctrine. He serves as an elder at Jesus The Holy Lamb, a Reformed Baptist Church.
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.
Copyright © 2023 by Grace and Truth Press L.L.C. and Joel Riaz / All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
