Page 27 - Christology - Student Textbook

following words, “That attribute of deity that means God is everywhere present in His totality at the
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same time.”

Omnipresence in the Scriptures
Why should we believe that God is omnipresent? In theTorah, Moses gave some commands to the
children of Israel concerning their progressive obedience to God. Moses said, “But from there you
will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him” so long you do so with undivided heart and soul
(Deut. 4:29). Notice that the LORD their God was not only found in Horeb, but also in Canaan.

In the prophetic book of Jeremiah, God vented His negative concerns
toward the uncaring and unconcerned shepherds who; 1) scattered
God’s sheep of His pasture, 2) drove them (the sheep) away
(probably from God’s commands), and 3) did not attend to them (the
sheep [Jer. 23:1-2]). Secondly, God described the ungodly priests as
lying prophets from Samaria and Jerusalem. By following the false
god Baal, the prophets led God’s people astray by committing
adultery against God. The false prophets were telling rebellious
people that it was going to be well with them and that disaster would
never come on them as they followed their own heart (Jer. 23:10-
14). But God informed them that He was not far off and that no one
can hid from Him (Jer. 23:23-24). Embedded in His address is His omnipresence.

In his cry for God’s scrutiny of his heart and if grievous things were found in Him, David described
God’s omnipresence (Ps 139:7-12) and omniscience (Ps. 139:1-6) in the Psalms. Not only did he claim
these attributes, but he praised God and entrusted his whole personality to Him. So, David mentions
all the places that human beings might hid from God. He mentions heavens (v8a) and states that
God is there (cf. 1 Kings 8:27). Not only is God present in heaven, but He is present in Sheol (v8b)
and in the uttermost parts of the sea (v9b). And he notes that God’s hand shall lead him and hold
him (v10).

Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7 describes the omnipresence of God (Acts 7:48).
Contextually, Stephen’s argument concerns the house in which God was not only able to dwell but
meet His people for interaction. In his defense, He said Israel lived evil lives while at the same time
offering sacrifices to Yahweh in order to please Him. But both prophet Isaiah—from whose prophetic
book Stephen quoted Acts 7:48—and Micah cautioned them that unless their hearts or spirits are
righteous before God, their sacrifices for God’s pleasure were meaningless (Isa 66:1-2; Mic. 6:6-8). In
that quotation, Stephen mentioned that heaven was God’s throne and the earth His footstool.
Notice that unless God is omnipresent, heaven and earth cannot be under his control to that extent.
From that passage, there is only one interpretation that can be derived: God is omnipresent. In
other scriptures, omnipresence is also ascribed to Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:20; John 3:13; 14:18, 20,
23).

The fact that God is omnipresent can have a positive or negative effect on us. The negative is that we
cannot do anything apart from God’s observation. When we choose to sin, we must understand that
God observes our behavior. Conversely, we can pray at any time and everywhere with a complete
understanding that God will hear us. There is nothing that God allows to happen beyond the
knowledge of a good and merciful God.

75 Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 642.

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