Omnipresence?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• Where is God?

• Is God in heaven?

• Can one enter or leave God’s presence?

• What does it mean that we dwell in God or God in us?

• What does it mean that saints are in Paul’s heart?

• Does God literally hold our hand?

• Is God’s “omnipresence” literal or metaphorical?

VIEWS TO CONSIDER:

• EVANGELICAL VIEW: God, a being without form or body, is everywhere at once (He is literally omnipresent). Additionally, the Godhead members literally indwell each other and they literally dwell in the hearts of believers.

• LATTER DAY SAINT VIEW: God the Father, a physical being, dwells in a physical place called “heaven”, a place that is located away from and above the earth. One can enter or leave God’s presence. God is omnipresent in the sense that He sees all, He is involved in all, and His love, influence and guidance can be felt in all places. The language in the Bible that describes the Godhead members “dwelling” in each other or in mankind is metaphorical language that is used to express love, relationship, faithfulness etc. between the mentioned persons.

CONTENTS:

• God dwells in heaven (away from / above the earth)

• God has a presence (that one can enter or leave)

• God’s all-reaching view, judgment, spirit, influence

• Earth cannot contain

• Other related passages

• Father, Son and Spirit have distinct locations

INDWELLING PASSAGES:

• Christians dwell in God

• Christians live and move in Jesus

• The church of Thessalonica was in God and Jesus

• God dwells & walks in Christians

• Jesus is in Christians

• Jesus & the Father abide in Christians

• The Holy Spirit dwells in Christians

• Jesus is in the Father (and visa versa)

• Philippians are in Paul’s heart

• Paul uses indwelling language metaphorically

GOD DWELLS IN HEAVEN (AWAY FROM/ABOVE THE EARTH):

• Deut. 26:15 LORD…. look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people

• Gen. 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language

• Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

• Isaiah 66:1-2 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord

• Ps. 2:4 [God] sitteth in the heavens

• also before my Father which is in heaven

• Ps. 11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men

• Ps. 33:13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth

• Ps. 53:2 God looked down from heaven

• Eccl. 5:2 God is in heaven and thou upon the earth

• John 20:17 I ascend unto my Father

• John 11:41 And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me

• John 20:17 Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father

• Matt. 5:16 Glorify your Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 6:1 Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven…

• Matt. 7: 1 How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give…

• Matt. 7:21 Not every one… shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 10:33 Him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 16:17 Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 18:10 In heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 18:14 It is s not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that…

• Matt. 18:19 It shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven

• Matt. 23:9 Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven

• Heb. 9:24 Christ… entered… into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us

• Eph. 1:19-20 According to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places

• Rev. 3:12 The… new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God

GOD HAS A PRESENCE (that one can enter or leave):

• Gen. 1:2 The Spirit of God moved up on the face of the waters (Note: Suggests a moving of the presence of the Holy Spirit)

• Gen. 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language

• Job 1:6-12 The sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?… So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord

• Gen. 4:16 Cain went out from the presence of the Lord

• 1 Chron. 16:27 Glory and honor are in his presence

• Ps. 16:11 In thy presence is a fullness of joy

• Ps. 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence

• Luke 1:19 I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God

• Exo. 19: 20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai

GOD’S ALL-REACHING VIEW/JUDGMENT/SPIRIT/INFLUENCE etc:

• Acts 17:27-28 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us, For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Note: The contextual statement “seek the Lord… feel after him and find him” is clearly meant to be taken metaphorically (not that we are physically to look for God). This suggest that the indwelling and nearness language (“not far from every one of us“) is metaphorical language used to describe the closeness of relationship, not literal omnipresence of being.

• Prov. 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Note: God’s eye balls are not literally in every place, this passage is poetic language to teach that God sees all).

• Ps. 139:5-10 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me… Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your 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… night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee, For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. (Note: A literal interpretation of this passage would bring a conclusion that God is always literally holding David’s hand. Instead, we are to read this passage metaphorically and conclude that God will always guide His people wherever they are and at all times.)

• Jer. 23:23-24 Am I a God near at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in a secret place, so I shall not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?

• Prov. 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good

• Heb. 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do

• 1 Kings 8:13, 27 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in forever… Will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built?

EARTH CANNOT CONTAIN:

• 1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built? (Note: “Contain” suggests that God would be limited or trapped, which of course is not the case. This passage says that heaven cannot contain God, yet the Bible teaches repeatedly that God does indeed dwell in heaven. Similarly, His presence can be found in a building, though He is not limited to that structure)

OTHER PASSAGES:

• John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven

• Matt. 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them

FATHER, SON & SPIRIT HAVE SEPARATE LOCATIONS:

• Matt. 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

• John 7:33 Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.

• John 8:17 I go to the Father?

• John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

• John 16:7 It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

• John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

INDWELLING PASSAGES

CHRISTIANS DWELL IN GOD:

• 1 John 4:16 God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God

• 1 Cor. 8:5 God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him

CHRISTIANS LIVE AND MOVE IN JESUS:

• Acts 17:27-28 Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us, For in him we live, and move, and have our being

• John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you

THE CHURCH OF THESSALONICA WAS IN GOD AND JESUS:

• 1 Thess. 1:1-2 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ

GOD DWELLS & WALKS IN CHRISTIANS:

• 1 John 4:!5 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. (Applying context, "God" here is the Father, saying that the Father dwells in Christians)

• 2 Cor. 6:16 God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people

JESUS IS IN CHRISTIANS:

• 2 Cor. 13:5 Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

• Col. 1:27 Christ in you, the hope of glory

• Eph. 3:17 That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith

• Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me

• Gal. 4:19 My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you

• John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you

• Rom. 8:10 If Christ be in you…

JESUS & FATHER ABIDE IN CHRISTIANS:

• John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

THE SPIRIT DWELLS IN CHRISTIANS:

• 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

• 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

• 1 Corinthians 3:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people

• Ezek. 36:27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances

• 2 Tim. 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you

• Acts 6:5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit

• Eph. 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit

• Rom. 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you

• Rom. 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him

• Gal. 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts

• 1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you

JESUS IS IN THE FATHER (AND VISA VERSA):

• John 10:38 the Father is in me, and I in him

• John 14:10 Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works

• John 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me

• John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you

PHILIPPIANS ARE IN PAUL’S HEART:

• Philippians 1:7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart

PAUL USES INDWELLING LANGUAGE METAPHORICALLY:

• Eph. 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love

• Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

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