God Is Everywhere
Pantheism expresses the believe that God is the universe and
that everything in the universe is God.
This implies that God is not transcendent of or from the universe, but
is part of the matter and energy in temporal space and time. Even modern scientists have referred to the
Cosmos as having the attributes of God and substitute the universe for
Deity. This view is opposed to God's
attribute of Omnipresence, which states that while God permeates all of reality
(literally the force holding the universe together), He is distinct, superior
to, and the Creator of all things we call the universe. Scripture teaches:
Colossians 1:16-17 For in him all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. HCSB
Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in
it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by
hands. Neither is He served by human
hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and
breath and all things. HCSB
While God permeates reality and is everywhere all at once, He
is not necessarily local to a specific place either. Two errors can be committed about God's
omnipresence – that he is localized somewhere here in space and time, or that
He is “out there” somewhere in heaven and not present here. The Scriptures are not clear whether God
transcends space or permeates – being everywhere throughout space. This is the same mystery we face with God and
time.
God cannot be “part” of space, as space is finite, but clearly the Scriptures indicate He can interact with us in time and space. It would be doctrinally incorrect to say God is “spread out” among space because at no point would God be entirely 'there'; God clearly can manifest Himself in a single location, and yet remain everywhere and yet remain distinctly different from anywhere.
God cannot be “part” of space, as space is finite, but clearly the Scriptures indicate He can interact with us in time and space. It would be doctrinally incorrect to say God is “spread out” among space because at no point would God be entirely 'there'; God clearly can manifest Himself in a single location, and yet remain everywhere and yet remain distinctly different from anywhere.
Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are
there;if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the
dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide
me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness
will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be
dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you HCSB
Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Am I a God who is only near”—this is the
Lord’s declaration—“and not a God who is far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in
secret places where I cannot see him?”—the Lord’s declaration. “Do I not fill
the heavens and the earth?”—the Lord’s declaration. HCSB
Dr. Craig:[i] “Sometimes theologians talk about the
attribute of God’s immensity. The immensity of God can be interpreted to be
this sort of presence of God throughout space, whereby he is fully present at
every point in space. So God is immense in the sense that he fills all of space
and is immediately present at every point in space. That is one way to think
about God’s omnipresence – in terms of his immensity and his immediate and full
presence at every point in space.
God is Present
What this means to Christians is that God is available –
present – at all times and in all places.
We should live out our lives in the consciousness God is in the
room. Take God with you. Invite Him to participate in your daily
lives. It should also be a source of
comfort to know you are never alone, even as you walk through the valley of the
shadow of death.
See further posts on the Doctrine of God
[i]Defenders
Podcast “Doctrine of God”
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Scripture citations are from: Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) © 2009 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville TN or New King James Version®. (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson
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