Omnipresence,
a study in God’s Incommunicable Attributesby Jack Kettler
The
incommunicable attributes of God are those
that belong to God alone. For
example, such attributes as omnipotence,
omniscience and omnipresence are
incommunicable.
These attributes are distinct from God’s
communicable attributes such as
knowledge, creativity, love, forgiveness.
Man can share in the communicable
attributes whereas the incommunicable
attributes, he cannot.
In
this study we will focus on God’s
Omnipresence. How can omnipotence be
defined?
That
perfection of God whereby he is infinite
with
respect to space, with his whole being
present everywhere all the time, yet he
cannot be contained by space.*
An
attribute of God alone. It is the quality of
being
present in all places at all times (Jeremiah
23:23.4). He is not bound by time
and space. This does not mean that nature is
a part of God and is, therefore,
to be worshiped. Creation is separate from
God, but not independent of Him. **
Omnipresence
is the presence of God everywhere at the
same time.
From
Scripture, God's Omnipresence is seen in
the following verses:
“But will
God in very deed dwell with men on the
earth? Behold heaven and the heaven of
heavens cannot contain thee: how much
less this house which I have built!” (2
Chronicles 6:18)
“Wither
shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall
I
flee from thy presence?” (Psalms 139:7)
“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?” (Isaiah 66:1)
“Can any
hide himself in secret places that I shall
not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill
heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24)
“Though
they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand
take them; though they climb up to heaven,
thence will I bring them down.”
(Amos 9:2)
“He that
cometh from above is above all: he that is
of
the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the
earth: he that cometh from heaven is
above all.” (John 3:31)
“God that
made the world and all things therein,
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with
hands; Neither is worshipped with men's
hands, as though he needed anything,
seeing he giveth to all life, and breath,
and all things; And hath made of one
blood all nations of men for to dwell on all
the face of the earth, and hath
determined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation; 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 as certain also
of your own poets have said, For we
are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:24-28)
The Triune God
and
Omnipresence:
All
three members of the triune God have the
attribute of omnipresence. For
example, all three are everywhere-present.
The Father in Matthew 19:26. The Son
in Matthew 28:18 and the Holy Spirit in
Psalm 139:7.
Commentary
Evidence
from the Old Testament passage ofJeremiah 23:24:
Jeremiah 23:24;
from Gill's
Exposition of the Entire Bible:
Can
any hide himself in secret places that I
shall not see him? saith the Lord,....
If a man should hide himself in the most
secret and hidden places of the earth,
and do his works in the most private manner,
so that no human eye can see him,
he cannot hide himself or his actions from
the Lord, who can see from heaven to
earth, and through the darkest and thickest
clouds, and into the very bowels of
the earth, and the most hidden and secret
recesses and caverns of it. The
darkness and the light are both alike to
him; and also near and distant, open
and secret places:
do
not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord;
not only with inhabitants, and
with other effects of his power and
providence; but with his essence, which is
everywhere, and is infinite and immense, and
cannot be contained in either, or
be limited and circumscribed by space and
place; see 1 Kings 8:27. The Targum
is,
“does
not my glory fill heaven and earth? saith
the Lord;”'
both
of them are full of his glory; and every
person and thing in either must be
seen and known by him; and so the false
prophets and their lies; in order to
convince of the truth of which, all this is
said, as appears by the following
words. (1)
Commentary
Evidence from the New Testament passage of
John 3:31:
John
3:31; from Gill's
Exposition of the
Entire Bible:
He that
cometh from above, Meaning Christ; not that
he
brought his human nature with him from
heaven, or that that is of a celestial
nature; but he came from heaven in his
divine person, not by change of place,
he being God immense and infinite, but by
assumption of human nature; which he
took upon him, in order to do in it his
Father's will, and the work of our
salvation.
Is above
all; above John, before whom he was
preferred, for he was before him; above the
prophets of the Old Testament, and
even above Moses, the chief of them; yea,
above all the angels in heaven, being
God over all, blessed forever: wherefore all
glory is to be given him; no
honour is to be envied him, or detracted
from him.
He that
is of the earth; as John was, and all
mankind
are, being descended from Adam, who was,
made of the dust of the earth; and who
dwell in houses of clay, and in earthly
tabernacles, which are at last resolved
into their original dust:
is
earthly; of an earthly nature, frame,
temper, and
disposition; see John 3:6. Men naturally
mind earthly things; and it is owing
to the Spirit and grace of God, if they mind
and savour spiritual things, or
have their affections set on things above,
or their conversation in heaven; and
even such, at times, find that their souls
cleave unto the dust, and are
hankering after the things of the earth:
and
speaketh of the earth; of earthly things, as
in John
3:12; and indeed of heavenly things, in an
earthly manner, in a low way, and by
similes and comparisons taken from the
things of the earth; not being able to
speak of celestial things, as in their own
nature, and in that sublime way the
subject requires: but
he that
cometh from heaven is above all; men and
angels, in the dignity of his person; and
all prophets and teachers, in the
excellency of his doctrine, and manner of
delivering it: and therefore it is
not to be wondered at, that he should be
followed as he is; but rather it
should seem marvellous, that he has no more
followers than he has; in the
Apocrypha:
“For like
as the ground is given unto the wood, and
the sea to his floods: even so they that
dwell upon the earth may understand
nothing but that which is upon the earth:
and he that dwelleth above the
heavens may only understand the things that
are above the height of the
heavens.”' (2 Esdras 4:21) (2)
OMNIPRESENCE
from the International
Standard Bible
Encyclopedia:
OMNIPRESENCE
om-ni-prez'-ens:
1.
Non-Occurrence of the Term in Scripture:
Neither
the noun “omnipresence” nor adjective
“omnipresent”
occurs in Scripture, but the idea that God
is everywhere present is throughout
presupposed and sometimes explicitly
formulated. God's omnipresence is closely
related to His omnipotence and omniscience:
That He
is everywhere enables Him to act everywhere
and to know all things, and, conversely,
through omnipotent action and
omniscient knowledge He has access to all
places and all secrets (compare
Psalms 139). Thus conceived, the attribute
is but the correlate of the
monotheistic conception of God as the
Infinite Creator, Preserver and Governor
of the universe, immanent in His works as
well as transcendent above them.
2.
Philosophical and Popular Ideas of
Omnipresence:
The
philosophical idea of omnipresence is that
of
exemption from the limitations of space,
subjectively as well as objectively;
subjectively, in so far as space, which is a
necessary form of all created
consciousness in the sphere of
sense-perception, is not thus
constitutionally
inherent in the mind of God; objectively, in
so far as the actuality of
space-relations in the created world imposes
no limit upon the presence and
operation of God. This metaphysical
conception of transcendence above all space
is, of course, foreign to the Bible, which
in regard to this, as in regard to
the other transcendent attributes, clothes
the truth of revelation in popular
language, and speaks of exemption from the
limitations of space in terms and
figures derived from space itself. Thus, the
very term “omnipresence” in its
two component parts “everywhere” and
“present” contains a double inadequacy of
expression, both the notion of “everywhere”
and that of “presence” being
spacial concepts. Another point, in regard
to which the popular nature of the
Scriptural teaching on this subject must be
kept in mind, concerns the mode of
the divine omnipresence. In treating the
concept philosophically, it is of
importance to distinguish between its
application to the essence, to the
activity, and to the knowledge of God. The
Bible does not draw these
distinctions in the abstract. Although
sometimes it speaks of God's
omnipresence with reference to the pervasive
immanence of His being, it
frequently contents itself with affirming
the universal extent of God's power
and knowledge (Deuteronomy 4:39; 10:14;
Psalms 139:6-16; Proverbs 15:3;
Jeremiah 23:23,24; Amos 9:2).
3.
Theories Denying Omnipresence of Being:
This
observation has given rise to theories of a
mere
omnipresence of power or omnipresence by an
act of will, as distinct from an
omnipresence of being. But it is plain that
in this antithetical form such a
distinction is foreign to the intent of the
Biblical statements in question.
The writers in these passages content
themselves with describing the practical
effects of the attribute without reflecting
upon the difference between this
and its ontological aspect; the latter is
neither affirmed nor denied. That no
denial of the omnipresence of being is
intended may be seen from Jeremiah
23:24, where in the former half of the verse
the omnipresence of 23:23 is
expressed in terms of omniscience, while in
the latter half the idea finds
ontological expression. Similarly, in Psalms
139, compare verse 2 with verses
7, and verses 13. As here, so in other
passages the presence of God with His
being in all space is explicitly affirmed (1
Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 2:6;
Isaiah 66:1; Acts 17:28).
4. Denial
of the Presence of the Idea in the Earlier
Parts of the Old Testament:
Omnipresence
being the correlate of monotheism, the
presence of the idea in the earlier parts of
the Old Testament is denied by all
those who assign the development of
monotheism in the Old Testament religion to
the prophetic period from the 8th century
onward. It is undoubtedly true that
the earliest narratives speak very
anthropomorphically of God's relation to
space; they describe Him as coming and going
in language such as might be used
of a human person. But it does not follow
from this that the writers who do so
conceive of God's being as circumscribed by
space. Where such forms of
statement occur, not the presence of God in
general, but His visible presence
in theophany is referred to. If from the
local element entering into the
description God's subjection to the
limitations of space were inferred, then
one might with equal warrant, on the basis
of the physical, sensual elements
entering into the representation, impute to
the writers the view that the
divine nature is corporeal.
5. The
Special Redemptive and Revelatory Presence
of
God:
The
theophanic form of appearance does not
disclose
what God is ontologically in Himself, but
merely how He condescends to appear
and work for the redemption of His people.
It establishes a redemptive and
revelatory presence in definite localities,
which does not, in the mind of the
writer, detract from the divine
omnipresence. Hence, it is not confined to
one
place; the altars built in recognition of it
are in patriarchal history erected
in several places and coexist as each and
all offering access to the special
divine presence. It is significant that
already during the patriarchal period
these theophanies and the altars connected
with them are confined to the Holy
Land. This shows that the idea embodied in
them has nothing to do with a crude
conception of the Deity as locally
circumscribed, but marks the beginning of
that gradual restoration of the gracious
presence of God to fallen humanity,
the completion of which forms the goal of
redemption. Thus, God is said to
dwell in the ark, in the tabernacle, on Mt.
Zion (Numbers 10:35; 2 Samuel 6:2;
2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 3:4; 99:1); in the
temple (1 Kings 8; Psalms 20:2; 26:8;
46:5; 48:2; Isaiah 8:18; Joel 3:16,21; Amos
1:2); in the Holy Land (1 Samuel
26:19; Hosea 9:3); in Christ (John 1:14;
2:19; Colossians 2:9); in the church
(John 14:23; Romans 8:9,11; 1 Corinthians
3:16; 6:19; Ephesians 2:21,22; 3:11;
2 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 10:21; 1 Peter 2:5);
in the eschatological assembly of
His people (Revelation 21:3). In the light
of the same principle must be
interpreted the presence of God in heaven.
This also is not to be understood as
an ontological presence, but as a presence
of specific theocratic manifestation
(1 Kings 8:27; Psalms 2:4; 11:4; 33:13;
104:3; Isaiah 6:1; 63:15; 66:1;
Habakkuk 2:20; Matthew 5:34; 6:9; Acts 7:48;
17:28; Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews
1:3). How little this is meant to exclude
the presence of God elsewhere may be
seen from the fact that the two
representations, that of God's
self-manifestation in heaven and in the
earthly sanctuary, occur side by side
(1 Kings 8:26-53; Psalms 20:2-6; Amos 9:6).
It has been alleged that the idea
of God's dwelling in heaven marks a
comparatively late attainment in the
religion of Israel, of which in the
pre-prophetic period no trace can as yet be
discovered (so Stade, Bibl.
Theol. des
Altes Testament, I, 103, 104). There
are, however, a number of passages in
the Pentateuch bearing witness to the early
existence of this belief (Genesis
11:1-9; 19:24; 21:17; 22:11; 28:12). Yahweh
comes, according to the belief of the
earliest period, with the clouds (Exodus
14:19, 20; 19:9, 18; 24:15; Numbers 11:25;
12:5). That even in the opinion of
the people Yahweh's local presence in an
earthly sanctuary need not have
excluded Him from heaven follows also from
the unhesitating belief in His
simultaneous presence in a plurality of
sanctuaries. If it was not a question
of locally circumscribed presence as between
sanctuary and sanctuary, it need
not have been as between earth and heaven
(compare Gunkel, Gen, 157).
6.
Religious Significance:
Both from
a generally religious and from a
specifically soteriological point of view
the omnipresence of God is of great
practical importance for the religious life.
In the former respect it contains
the guaranty that the actual nearness of God
and a real communion with Him may
be enjoyed everywhere, even apart from the
places hallowed for such purpose by
a specific gracious self-manifestation
(Psalms 139:5-10). In the other respect
the divine omnipresence assures the believer
that God is at hand to save in
every place where from any danger or foe His
people need salvation (Isaiah
43:2).
LITERATURE.
Oehler, Theologie
des
A T (3), 174; Riehm, Alttestamentliche
Theologie, 262; Dillmann, Handbuch der
alttestamentlichen Theologie, 246;
Davidson, Old Testament Theology, 180;
Konig, Geschichte der alttestamentlichen
Religion, 197.
Geerhardus
Vos (3)
In
closing we will look at a Gem from Louis
Berkof:
The
Infinity of God by Louis Berkhof:
The
infinity of God is that perfection of God by
which
He is free from all limitations. In
ascribing it to God we deny that there are
or can be any limitations to the divine
Being or attributes. It implies that He
is in no way limited by the universe, by
this time-space world, or confined to
the universe. It does not involve His
identity with the sum-total of existing
things, nor does it exclude the co-existence
of derived and finite things, to
which He bears relation. The infinity of God
must be conceived as intensive
rather than extensive, and should not be
confused with boundless extension, as
if God were spread out through the entire
universe, one part being here and
another there, for God has no body and
therefore no extension. Neither should
it be regarded as a merely negative concept,
though it is perfectly true that
we cannot form a positive idea of it. It is
a reality in God fully comprehended
only by Him. We distinguish various aspects
of God’s infinity.
1. HIS
ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. This is the infinity of
the Divine Being considered in itself. It
should not be understood in a
quantitative, but in a qualitative sense; it
qualifies all the communicable
attributes of God. Infinite power is not an
absolute quantum, but an
exhaustless potency of power; and infinite
holiness is not a boundless quantum of
holiness, but a holiness which is,
qualitatively free from all limitation or
defect. The same may be said of infinite
knowledge and wisdom, and of infinite
love and righteousness. Says Dr. Orr:
“Perhaps we can say that infinity in God
is ultimately: (a) internally and
qualitatively, absence of all limitation and
defect; (b) boundless
potentiality.”[Side-Lights on Christian
Doctrine, p. 26.]
In this sense of the word the infinity of
God is simply identical with the
perfection of His Divine Being. Scripture
proof for it is found in Job 11:7-10;
Ps. 145:3; Matt. 5:48.
2. HIS
ETERNITY. The infinity of God in relation to
time is called His eternity. The form in
which the Bible represents God’s
eternity is simply that of duration through
endless ages, Ps. 90:2; 102:12;
Eph. 3:21. We should remember, however, that
in speaking as it does the Bible
uses popular language, and not the language
of philosophy. We generally think
of God’s eternity in the same way, namely,
as duration infinitely prolonged
both backwards and forwards. But this is
only a popular and symbolical way of
representing that which in reality
transcends time and differs from it
essentially. Eternity in the strict sense of
the word is ascribed to that which
transcends all temporal limitations. That it
applies to God in that sense is at
least intimated in II Pet. 3:8. “Time,” says
Dr. Orr, “strictly has relation to
the world of objects existing in succession.
God fills time; is in every part
of it; but His eternity still is not really
this being in time. It is rather
that to which time forms a contrast.”[Ibid.
p. 26.] Our existence is marked off
by days and weeks and months and years; not
so the existence of God. Our life
is divided into a past, present and future,
but there is no such division in
the life of God. He is the eternal “I am.”
His eternity may be defined as that
perfection of God whereby He is elevated
above all temporal limits and all
succession of moments, and possesses the
whole of His existence in one
indivisible present. The relation of
eternity to time constitutes one of the
most difficult problems in philosophy and
theology, perhaps incapable of
solution in our present condition.
3. HIS
IMMENSITY. The infinity of God may also be
viewed with reference to space, and is then
called His immensity. It may be
defined as that perfection of the Divine
Being by which He transcends all
spatial limitations, and yet is present in
every point of space with His whole
Being. It has a negative and a positive
side, denying all limitations of space
to the Divine Being, and asserting that God
is above space and fills every part
of it with His whole Being. The last words
are added, in order to ward off the
idea that God is diffused through space, so
that one part of His Being is
present in one place, and another part in
some other place. We distinguish
three modes of presence in space. Bodies are
in space circumscriptively,
because they are bounded by it; finite
spirits are in space definitively, since
they are not everywhere, but only in a
certain definite place; and in
distinction from both of these God is in
space repletively, because He fills
all space. He is not absent from any part of
it, nor more present in one part
than in another.
In a
certain sense the terms “immensity” and
“omnipresence,” as applied to God, denote
the same thing, and can therefore be
regarded as synonymous. Yet there is a point
of difference that should be
carefully noted. “Immensity” points to the
fact that God transcends all space
and is not subject to its limitations, while
“omnipresence” denotes that He
nevertheless fills every part of space with
His entire Being. The former
emphasizes the transcendence, and the
latter, the immanence of God. God is
immanent in all His creatures, in His entire
creation, but is in no way bounded
by it. In connection with God’s relation to
the world we must avoid, on the one
hand, the error of Pantheism, so
characteristic of a great deal of present
day
thinking, with its denial of the
transcendence of God and its assumption that
the Being of God is really the substance of
all things; and, on the other hand,
the Deistic conception that God is indeed
present in creation per
potentiam (with His power), but not per
essentiam et naturam (with His very
Being and nature), and acts upon the world
from a distance. Though God is
distinct from the world and may not be
identified with it, He is yet present in
every part of His creation, not only per
potentiam, but also per
essentiam.
This does not mean, however, that He is
equally present and present in the same
sense in all His creatures. The nature of
His indwelling is in harmony with
that of His creatures. He does not dwell on
earth as He does in heaven, in
animals as He does in man, in the inorganic
as He does in the organic creation,
in the wicked as He does in the pious, nor
in the Church as He does in Christ.
There is an endless variety in the manner in
which He is immanent in His
creatures, and in the measure in which they
reveal God to those who have eyes
to see. The omnipresence of God is clearly
revealed in Scripture. Heaven and
earth cannot contain Him, I Kings 8:27; Isa.
66:1; Acts 7:48,49; and at the
same time He fills both and is a God at
hand, Ps. 139:7-10; Jer. 23:23,24; Acts
17:27,28. (4)
Final
thoughts:
God is
also immanent. This means that God is within
or
near His creation. Immanence is intimately
related to God's omnipresence, in
that God is always present within the
universe, though separate from it. God is
within the universe and is its sustaining
cause.
Surely,
man cannot claim to share this attribute!
“They
shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea all
of
them shall wax old like a garment; as a
vesture shalt thou change them, and
they shall be changed: But thou art the
same, and thy years shall have no end.”
(Psalms 102:26-27)
The goal
of this study is to help us magnify the Lord
God for his marvelous grace that made us
children of God through no merit of
our own. It is my prayer that this goal has
been attained.
“But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)
Nothing
in us caused or merited this supreme act of
love on God’s part!
“Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy
2:15)
Notes:
1.John Gill, Exposition of the Old and New
Testaments, Jeremiah, 9 Volumes,
(Grace Works, Multi-Media Labs), 2011, p.
376.
2.John
Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New
Testaments, John, 9 Volumes, (Grace
Works, Multi-Media Labs), 2011, pp. 111-112.
3.Orr,
James, M.A., D.D. General Editor, “Entry for
'OMNISCIENCE,'” “International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia,” (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Eerdmans, reprinted
1986), pp. 2090-2092.
“Not
by works
of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of
the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5)
“To God
only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ
forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:27) and “heirs
according to the promise.” (Galatians
3:28, 29)
Mr.
Kettler has previously published articles in
the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea
attend the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church.
Mr. Kettler is the author of the book
defending the Reformed Faith against
attacks, titled: The
Religion That Started in a
Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com
For
more study:
* For a
great source of theological definitions go
to
Rebecca writes at Rebecca Writes:
http://www.rebecca-writes.com/theological-terms-in-ao/