Is God Omnipresent

QUESTION: Is God Omnipresent? How can God be present both infinitely and personally?

ANSWER:

As we consider the infinite presence of God, we can easily feel small and insignificant. We are awed by the immensity and splendid order of God’s handiwork in the celestial universe. God is the master over distance, the master over time, and the provider of all life.

“What is man that [God is] mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (Hebrews 2:6).

While God is omnipresent from a heavenly perspective, His utmost desire has always been for man to personally experience His presence. “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth...God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being...” (Acts 17:26–28).

Though sovereign, God is never so far from us that He cannot be found or that His presence cannot be experienced. The apostle, Paul, speaks of each follower as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Jesus Christ, through His Spirit lives in all true believers.

Is God omnipresent even in hell?
How is God omnipresent in a place of terrible suffering? After all, isn’t hell the opposite of God’s presence or the absence of God in a person’s life? Amos 9:1-4 presents a terrifying passage of the presence of God in judgment. These verses emphasize that it is impossible to escape from Him. God’s omnipresence signifies that His domain includes every place, even “down to the depths of the grave” (Amos 9:2). Even if the wicked could escape to the outer reaches of the universe, God could find them and slay them. Neither the heights of heaven nor the depths of the grave can conceal those that practice evil. Jesus reminded the people that God alone “has the power to throw you into hell” (Luke 12:5).

How then, is God omnipresent to rescue us from eternal suffering? Just as man cannot escape from God’s wrath, nothing can isolate believers from His watchful eye. “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

We can rest in the assurance that His presence is continually with us, even in the darkest moments. The Son of God, the glorified Christ, has authority over the place of the dead, “so that by his death [Jesus] might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14–15). Only the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has absolute control over every physical and spiritual domain, including the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1:18).

Is God Omnipresent? Letting His Omnipresence Impact you.
Psalm 139:7-10 says, "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."

Knowing that God is omnipresent can be humbling. If God exists everywhere, have we allowed Him to exist in our lives—living actively in our hearts as followers of Jesus Christ? As amazing as it is, an omnipotent, omniscient God could easily demand our complete devotion. Yet, He gives us a free will, allowing us to invite His presence into our hearts. How beautiful it is that of all the vast places that God occupies, His greatest delight is to find rest in our hearts.

Revelation 4:11 says, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

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