Omnipresence

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Omnipresence —The distinctive conception of omnipresence which meets us in the Gospels may briefly be expressed thus: God is able to exert His activity anywhere. God’s children cannot be where He is not. He is spiritually present with all earnest, seeking souls everywhere.

1. If this be so, it is evident that Christ’s distinctive teaching on this subject was not metaphysical . He does not speak of God in terms of philosophy. Such terms as ‘the Absolute,’ or ‘the Infinite,’ or ‘the Unconditioned’ are never found on Christ’s lips, and, what is more, the ideas implied by these terms are absent from His horizon. We do not find in Christ’s discourses any disquisition on the nature and attributes of God. With the exception of the solitary phrase ‘God is Spirit’ ( John 4:24), which is certainly rich in implications, but, when originally uttered, was meant merely to check material and local conceptions of the Deity, we have no instance in which Jesus expounded the nature or even the attributes of God as such. His method was rather to reveal the character of God by portraying His activities in relation to the lives of men, and especially of Christian men. Not only so, but Christ’s starting-point was different from that of the metaphysician. To the latter, God is a postulate of the Reason . God is a necessary assumption to explain the origination and continuance of the world. Reason claims satisfaction; and therefore insists that God must essentially be that which will subsume mind and nature under the unity of an intelligible notion. The metaphysician seeks for proofs of the existence of God—for indications of the real behind the phenomenal, the great First Cause behind the congeries of events which seem to be effects. In the teaching of the Lord Jesus, God is the postulate of the religious consciousness . When religious experiences are reduced to terms of thought, and the religious consciousness of the individual and the community is expressed in terms which are intelligible to the intellect, it is at once recognized that the God who is so real to His people, wherever they may be,—who is the source of strength and joy and light to His people everywhere,—must have the attribute of omnipresence predicated concerning Him. Christ’s conception of the presence of God is thoroughly religious. It is always a presence to the religious consciousness, trust, prayer, and fellowship.

2. The Lord Jesus never associated omnipresence with infinitude . Hebrew philosophy, in the person of its supposed founder, might exclaim: ‘Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee’ ( 1 Kings 8:27); but no such thought ever came from the lips of Jesus. To Him the distinctive conception of omnipresence was: The child of God cannot go where his Father is not. He did not associate omnipresence with the infinitely great, but rather with the infinitely little. He was chiefly concerned to show that in the minute events of life God is present and observant; and that there is nothing so trivial as to elude the vigilance of our Father in heaven. The Lord Jesus left it for philosophers to lash their weary imaginations so as to trace the ubiquity of God in the infinite recesses of space, and to prove that everywhere there are indications of the same law and order as in the world around us, and that the indications of the presence of a supreme Mind are as apparent in the sidereal heavens as here. If we may so say, Christ’s conception was microscopic rather than telescopic. To trace the tokens of the presence of God’s workmanship in the colours of the lily, or in the provision God has made for feeding the ravens, yielded great joy to the Saviour’s heart because it suggested so strikingly that God is ‘round about us,’ and enabled Him the better to impress on the hearts of His disciples, when their faith was so feeble, that God was very near to them, to sympathize, to succour, and to bless, as well as to further the interests of His Kingdom.

3. It is probable that Christ’s teaching on this subject was intended to be a corrective to much of the current Jewish theology of that period. An outstanding peculiarity of the religious thought of Christ’s time was the emphasis placed on the doctrine of God’s aloofness. The Jews had imported, probably from Persia, the belief that matter is essentially evil. Hence it was considered to be beneath the dignity of the Divine nature that God should be supposed to have direct contact with inert matter, or immediate intercourse with sinful men; and under the influence of this belief God was gradually pushed further away from His world. This conception was operative in two ways: ( a ) To the Palestinian Jews God was conceived of as enjoying the otiose majesty of an Oriental monarch, who is kept informed of the deeds of men and the events of the world by the ‘angels of the Presence,’ who ‘at His bidding speed o’er land and sea,’ and report what they have seen and heard. ( b ) The Alexandrian Jews, of whose beliefs Philo was the chief exponent, treated the matter more philosophically, and they pushed the doctrine of God’s ‘separateness’ from all that is material, earthly, and human, to such an extent as to deny that God has any qualities at all. Philo maintained, as some moderns have done, that to assign any quality or attribute to God is to limit Him: which is inadmissible, since God is the absolutely unlimited, eternal, unchangeable, simple substance. ‘Of God,’ said Philo, ‘we can only know that He is, not what He is’ (Drummond, Philo Judœus , ii. 23–30). Knowing as we do that this was the trend of Jewish thought in Christ’s day, it is difficult to believe that Christ’s teaching as to the Divine omnipresence and fatherly care, in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere, was not meant to be a corrective of the current theology, which in its endeavour to de-humanize God was in danger of un-deifying Him.

And now we are prepared to consider in detail the intimations of omnipresence which meet us in the Gospels; and we may conveniently arrange them in three groups, according as they refer to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.

4. Passages which teach or imply the omnipresence of God the Father . We know what kind of intimations to expect. We shall not meet with much that will satisfy our intellectual, philosophical nature, but with much that will appeal deeply to our religious nature.

As Dr. Stevens says: ‘He (Jesus) aims to rescue the idea of God from the realm of cold and powerless abstraction, and to make it a practical, living power in the heart. He sought to inspire in men an intense and constant sense of God’s presence and care’ ( Theol. of NT , 66). Similarly, Dr. Orr teaches that ‘Christ’s doctrine of the Father is entirely unmetaphysical.… He takes up into His teaching all the natural truth about God. He also takes up all the truth about God’s being, character, perfections, and relation to the world and man, already given in the OT.’ But ‘the attributes of God … are never made by Christ the subject of formal discourse, are never treated of for their own sake, or in their metaphysical relations. They come into view solely in their religious relations’ ( Christian View , 77 f.)

The distinctive feature as to the omnipresence of God in the Sermon on the Mount is to be found in the words, ‘Thy Father who is in secret’ ( Matthew 6:18). Others may expatiate on the fact that God transcends the heaven of heavens, our Lord was concerned to bring home to the religious consciousness of His disciples, that God is in the secret place of their lowly dwelling, where no other eye can see them. To use the words of Beyschlag—Christ taught that—

‘God is as present and operative in the world as He can be, without denying His absolute goodness, and without interfering with the freedom of the creature, which is the fundamental condition of all development of good in the world. The world is … His work and workshop. If the Judaism of the time separated God and the world from each other almost deistically, … Jesus, on the other hand, conceives the relation of His Father to the world as one instinct with life. God has by no means withdrawn Himself from the world He once created’ ( NT Theol. i. 95 f.).

‘Presence’ and ‘activity’ are equivalent with God, and therefore He ‘who is in secret’ must also ‘ see in secret’ ( Matthew 6:18). He is actively present with those who ‘give alms’ in secret ( Matthew 6:4), who ‘pray’ in secret ( Matthew 6:6), and who ‘fast’ in secret ( Matthew 6:18). The omnipresent activity of God is evidenced also in His unceasing care and fatherly solicitude over His creatures. His children are encouraged to rely on His care from the fact that the Heavenly Father feeds the fowls of heaven ( Matthew 6:26), and clothes the grass of the field and the beautiful lilies ( Matthew 6:30); notices the fall of every sparrow, and numbers the very hairs of our heads ( Matthew 10:29 f.). Wherever God’s children may be, He knows what things they have need of ( Matthew 6:8;  Matthew 6:32), gives good things to them that ask Him ( Matthew 7:11), and reveals the truth to earnest souls ( Matthew 16:17). We learn from these passages that wherever God’s children are, there God is, without any need of moving from place to place. All the activities of God are available everywhere at the same time. ‘Whatever God can do, whether by way of knowing, loving, creating, or controlling, He can do anywhere, and everywhere at once’ (W. N. Clarke, Outline of Chr. Theol. 79).

5. We turn now to the profound and really inexhaustible words which Jesus let fall in His conversation with the woman of Samaria: ‘God is Spirit’ ( John 4:24), not ‘ a spirit,’ which might mean that God belongs to the class of spiritual beings. Jesus wished simply to describe what the essential nature of God is; it is spiritual. This declaration of Christ, which, as Westcott says, is ‘unique in its majestic simplicity,’ has many implications. It certainly implies omnipresence. This is the very fact which the words were employed by our Lord to teach—that God’s presence is not confined to any temple, Judaean or Samaritan; and that therefore in the new dispensation His presence is everywhere operative, and equally real and near to men wheresoever they may be.

Taking in our hand this clue that ‘God is Spirit,’ we shall find it useful to guide us in regions which lie beyond the immediate purview of our Lord in His conversation with the woman of Samaria. For instance, it is a disputed point whether we ought to say that’ God fills all space.’ Martensen expresses, himself thus: ‘All is filled with God. The omnipresent God is the inmost fundamental being of everything that exists,—the life of all that lives—the Spirit of all spirits’ ( Chr. Dogmatics , 93). Dr. Strong says: ‘By omnipresence we mean that God in, the totality of His essence, without diffusion or expansion, penetrates and fills the universe in all its parts. Like birds in the air, like fish in the sea, we are surrounded still with God’ ( Man. Theol. 132). Whereas, on the other hand, W. N. Clarke teaches: ‘By omnipresence we do not mean a presence of God that fills all space in the manner in which we think of matter as Ailing certain parts of space. It is not a universal diffusion of the essence of God, like diffusion of the atmosphere’ ( Outline , 79). Following the analogy of ‘spirit,’ we learn that we must be very careful lest we fall into any statements that are strictly applicable to matter only. Spirit is in every respect the antithesis of matter. Every quality which belongs to matter is, ipso facto , to be excluded from spirit. Matter fills space, and on that very account we may not say that ‘spirit fills space,’ or that ‘God fills all things.’ To introduce the idea of God’s filling space is at once inevitably to suggest materialist analogies, as air fills the atmosphere, or the luminiferous ether fills all space; and all such analogies are misleading. The saving clause introduced by Dr. Strong and others, that God fills the universe ‘without diffusion or expansion,’ does not help us; it merely makes the definition self-contradictory. It is well that we should avoid all metaphors which suggest that which is extended and materialistic, and adhere closely to dynamical analogies. It is not a substantial , but an operative presence of God in creation which is suggested to us by the word ‘spirit.’ It is God’s almighty energy that is present everywhere. If we could penetrate into the realm of ontology, doubtless God is somewhat which infinitely transcends our thought, but what that is we lack the capacity even to imagine.

While thus maintaining the Divine omnipresence, we must try to find room for those numerous passages which speak of God as dwelling in heaven . In the First Gospel we have the frequently recurring phrase ‘Your Father which is in heaven’ ( Matthew 5:16;  Matthew 5:45;  Matthew 6:1;  Matthew 6:9;  Matthew 7:11;  Matthew 7:21;  Matthew 10:32;  Matthew 12:50;  Matthew 18:14;  Matthew 18:19). In the prohibition of oaths in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ speaks of heaven as ‘God’s throne’ and the earth as His ‘footstool’ ( Matthew 5:34). In the Fourth Gospel Jesus says that He ‘came down from heaven’ ( John 3:13;  John 6:33), and also that He ‘came forth from God’ ( John 16:27;  John 16:32). And in looking forward to His death, He says: ‘I came forth from the Father, and am in the world: again I leave the world and go unto the Father’ ( John 16:28). So also in  John 16:10 ‘I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more’; and in  John 20:17 ‘I ascend unto my Father and your Father.’ How in the light of the present article are we to conceive of God’s being thus connected with heaven so much more than with earth? and of other passages which assure us that ‘ in heaven the angels do always behold the face of our Father who is in heaven’? How are we to reconcile the statement that God’s throne, or God’s face, is in heaven, with the doctrine of Divine omnipresence? The following seems to be the line along which we must seek for light:—While it is true that God’s presence is everywhere, it does not follow that His presence is manifested everywhere alike. He is most fully manifested to those who are most like Him; and if we may believe in a home where there are assembled the spirits of just men made perfect, and also the varying gradations of angels—the holiest intelligences whom God has created, vastly superior to man in purity and capacity for knowledge—that will be the home where God is most fully manifested, because those who can best understand Him are there. There are ‘the pure in heart’ who ‘see God.’ But it will be said: ‘Is heaven, then, a place  ?’ Perhaps not; but so long as we are here, and endowed with our present faculties, we are compelled to think of it as a place  ; and it must ever seem to us probable that created spirits are possessed of some enswathement which enables us, more or less accurately, to assign locality to them. This is our justification for believing that heaven is a region in which, in a manner more glorious than we can conceive, God manifests His natural and moral attributes, and reveals tokens of His loving favour to pure and holy intelligences. ‘In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore’ ( Psalms 16:11).

Considerable controversy hag been waged around the passage we have quoted from  Matthew 5:34, which affirms that heaven is ‘God’s throne’ and the earth is ‘his footstool.’ The early Socinians interpreted it to mean that God’s essential or substantial presence is in heaven, and that elsewhere He is present by His efficacy only. To this it has been objected that ‘it includes God in the heavenly space and excludes Him from the earthly space, and thus tends to Deism’ (Macpherson, Chr. Dogmatics , 131); and that ‘such limitation in the Divine essence manifestly abrogates the Divine absoluteness’ (Dorner, System , i. 241). The Socinian interpretation is a fair illustration of the way in which we become entangled when we introduce terms of space into our descriptions of God’s attributes. God’s spiritual nature refuses to be compared with terms of space, and hence it is incongruous to say that God is existent in one part of space and not in another. He does not, being purely spiritual, occupy space at all; but for fuller knowledge of Him we must be content to wait till we have emerged from this state of existence, where all our perceptions are conditioned by space and time, and have entered into that state where we shall see our Lord ‘ as he is ,’ and ‘shall know’ in the same manner as now ‘we are known’ ( 1 Corinthians 13:12).

6. We have now to speak of those passages in which the Lord Jesus speaks of Himself as ubiquitous .—In  John 3:13 our Lord says: ‘No man hath ascended into heaven but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven .’ It must be noted that the words ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ are omitted in A B L Tb 33, Cyril, Origen, and several Fathers. WH [Note: H Westcott and Hort’s text.] consider them ‘a Western gloss, suggested perhaps by  John 1:18’; but our Revisers retain the words in the text, remarking in the margin that ‘many ancient authorities omit them.’ If genuine, as is very probable, they are important, but not unique. They do but cause Jesus to say of Himself what the Evangelist says of Him in  John 1:18 ‘The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.’ They teach us that Jesus was conscious of a state of glory which from eternity He had with the Father—was conscious of it not as a past memory, but as a continued reality. His earthly life had not severed the intimacy of His fellowship with His Father; and ontologically His presence as Son of Man on earth did not remove the presence of the Son of Man from heaven.

Beyschlag interprets the passage differently: ‘Jesus thinks of Himself as pre-existent, not because He knows Himself to be a second God, and remembered a former life in heaven, but because He recognized Himself in Daniel’s image as the bearer of the kingdom of heaven, and because this Son of Man, as well as the kingdom which He brings to earth, must spring from heaven. That the ideal man existed from eternity in God is the truth which He grasped, and to which He gave concrete intellectual form’ ( NT Theol. i. 253).

Another important passage is  Matthew 18:20 ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ The genuineness of this passage has been denied, not because it is lacking in any Greek Manuscripts, but for a priori reasons. Starting from a humanitarian conception of Christ, some hold it to be improbable, if not impossible, that He should, as is here affirmed, foresee the development of His Church, legislate for its management, and promise His spiritual presence, wherever the members of the Church were assembled, however few in number they might be. Our purpose is not critical, but exegetical. If we assume the genuineness of the words above cited, they seem to show that Christ’s Messianic consciousness included the ability to fulfil such OT predictions as  Joel 2:27 ‘Ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel’;  Zephaniah 3:17 ‘The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty.’ As He was conscious of His identity as Son of Man before His advent, so He is confident that such powers as He has heretofore possessed will be continued to Him in the days which He foresees shall intervene, before the Son of Man shall come in His glory. Whatever the community of disciples shall bind or loose, make binding or leave optional, shall receive Divine ratification, because the presence of the Christ will be with them guiding and controlling them.

If we have followed this interpretation—and surely, unless St. John and St. Paul have misunderstood and misinterpreted Jesus Christ, there is nothing improbable in the interpretation—we are quite prepared to expect that the Lord Jesus after His resurrection should say to His disciples, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’ ( Matthew 28:20). This passage is also regarded by Wendt and others as a product of the developing Catholicism and Christology of the Church; but it is surely a blunder to ascribe so much to developing Christology, unless there were some germinal utterances of Jesus which the Church proceeded to develop. The eagerness of the primitive Christians to disseminate the gospel most probably rests on a command of the Master, and the readiness with which they assume the presence of Christ with them wherever they are, implies as its background some such promise and declaration as that before us. Christ’s Messianic consciousness could hardly fail to include the conceptions involved in  Isaiah 42:1; Isa_49:6 as well as  Joel 2:27. If Jesus could appropriate to Himself the statements of  Isaiah 61:1-2 (cf.  Luke 4:18 f.), it follows most naturally—and this is precisely what the Gospels presuppose—that He applied to Himself all the OT predictions of the Messiah, and was conscious that He possessed the properties and attributes which the OT assigns to Him who was to come—King, Servant, Prophet, and Messiah in one. It is perfectly in accordance with this conception that Jesus, in contemplating the spread of His Kingdom in ‘all nations,’ ‘to the ends of the earth,’ should say, ‘Lo, I am with you alway.’

In the Reformation period there was bitter controversy as to the ubiquity of Christ’s body . It arose chiefly from Luther’s interpretation of the words of Jesus at the Supper, ‘This is my body’ ( Matthew 26:26). Luther was persuaded that the word ‘ is ’ denotes real and essential existence. In vain did Zwingli point out to him that Jesus also said, ‘I am the door’; ‘I am the true vine.’ Luther was immovable in his belief that the consecrated bread is in some sense the body of Christ. He had repudiated the Romanist dogma that the particles of the bread are transmuted into substantial particles of the veritable flesh and blood of Christ, and therefore it remained to him to contend that the body and blood of Christ are ‘in, with, and under’ the bread and the wine. In order to show that this is compatible with Christ’s ascension, Luther fell back on the Scholastic distinction as to the three ways in which a body can be in a place, localiter, definitivé , and repletivé . Locally, when the contents exactly fill the vessel. Definitively, when that which fills has the power of occupying a larger or a smaller space. Repletively (or, to use Luther’s word, illocally), when a thing is everywhere, and yet measured or contained by no place. Luther maintained the ubiquity of the body of Christ illocally. Then, in order to explain how we may without self-contradiction ascribe omnipresence to body , he adopted the theory known to theologians as communicatio idiomatum . In other words, he maintained that the Deity of Christ imparted all its essential attributes to Christ’s humanity. And in this way Christ’s body received the attributes of omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience. The body of Christ is present everywhere, especially in the consecrated bread, and thus can be literally manducated by those who partake of the Lord’s Supper. (For further extreme and unreasonable positions of Luther’s followers, one should consult Bruce, Humiliation of Christ , Lecture iii.).

7. We have now merely to adduce the few expressions in the Gospels which imply the ubiquity of the Holy Spirit . We do not find any explicit statement in the Gospels of the absolute omnipresence of the Spirit. His attributes are disclosed in connexion with His activities in the spread of the Kingdom. Wherever believers are found, there ‘the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost,’ is present with His benign power over human hearts. He will ‘teach’ the disciples ‘all things, and call all things to their remembrance’ ( John 14:26); and will guide them into all truth, and show them things to come ( John 16:13). But the activity of the Spirit is not limited to those who have believed and have become disciples: it is exerted also on those who are still in ‘the world.’ Our Lord declares, ‘He shall convict the world in respect of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment’ ( John 16:8). To those who believe and are thus ‘chosen out of the world’ the Spirit ‘testifies of, Christ ( John 15:26); He ‘dwells with, them and is ‘in them’ ( John 14:17); and they know Him, ‘though the world seeth him not, neither knoweth him’ ( John 14:17).

Ritschl maintains that our Lord limited the doctrine of God to its relation to the Kingdom of God. This is not quite true with regard to the Divine omnipresence any more than to the other natural attributes of God; for did not Jesus say that God ‘causeth his sun to rise,’ and ‘sendeth rain’ ( Matthew 5:45), and ‘clothes the grass of the field and the lilies’ (6:30)? Still it is only a slight exaggeration of an important truth. The distinctive teaching of Jesus on the subject before us is that God is with His people everywhere. They cannot go where He is not present, to succour and to bless.

Literature.—In addition to the references given in the course of the article, various points of view are presented in Charnock, Existence and Attributes of God  ; Fairbairn, Philos. of the Chr. Religion , 58 ff.; Martineau, Scat of Authority , 30 f.; D’Arcy, Idealism and Theology , 157 f., 269 ff.; and all treatises on NT Theology and Dogmatics.

J. T. Marshall.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

that attribute of God by which he is present in all places. The statement of this doctrine in the inspired records, like that of all the other attributes of God, is made in their own peculiar tone and emphasis of majesty and sublimity. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up to 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. Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord? Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?" "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." "Behold, heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee." "Though he dig into hell, thence shall my hand take him; though he climb up into heaven, thence will I bring him down; and though he hide himself in the top of Carmel, I will search and take him out from thence." "In him we live, and move, and have our being." "He filleth all things."

Some striking passages on the ubiquity of the divine presence may be found in the writings of some of the Greek philosophers, arising out of this notion, that God was the soul of the world; but their very connection with this speculation, notwithstanding the imposing phrase occasionally adopted, strikingly marks the difference between their most exalted views, and those of the Hebrew prophets on this subject. To a large proportion of those who hold a distinguished rank among the ancient theistical philosophers, the idea of the personality of the Deity was in a great measure unknown. The Deity by them was considered not so much an intelligent Being, as an animating power, diffused throughout the world, and was introduced into their speculative system to account for the motion of that passive mass of matter, which was supposed coeval, and indeed coexistent, with himself. These defective notions are confessed by Gibbon, a writer not disposed to undervalue their attainments: "The philosophers of Greece deduced their morals from the nature of man, rather than from that of God. They meditated, however, on the divine nature, as a very curious and important speculation; and, in the profound inquiry, they displayed the strength and weakness of the human understanding. Of the four most considerable sects, the Stoics and the Platonicians endeavoured to reconcile the jarring interests of reason and piety. They have left us the most sublime proofs of the existence and perfections of the First Cause; but as it was impossible for them to conceive the creation of matter, the workman, in the Stoic philosophy, was not sufficiently distinguished from the work; while, on the contrary, the spiritual god of Plato and his disciples resembled more an idea than a substance."

Similar errors have been revived in the infidel philosophy of modern times, from Spinoza down to the later offspring of the German and French schools. The same remark applies also to the oriental philosophy, which presents at this day a perfect view of the boasted wisdom of ancient Greece, which was "brought to nought" by "the foolishness" of apostolic preaching. But in the Scriptures there is nothing confused in the doctrine of the divine ubiquity. God is every where, but he is not every thing. All things have their being in him, but he is distinct from all things; he fills the universe, but is not mingled with it. He is the intelligence which guides, and the power which sustains; but his personality is preserved, and he is independent of the works of his hands, however vast and noble. So far is his presence from being bounded by the universe itself, that, as we are taught in the passage above quoted from the Psalms, were it possible for us to wing our way into the immeasurable depths and breadths of space, God would there surround us, in as absolute a sense as that in which he is said to be about our bed and our path in that part of the world where his will has placed us.

On this, as on all similar subjects, the Scriptures use terms which are taken in their common-sense acceptation among mankind; and though the vanity of the human mind disposes many to seek a philosophy in the doctrine thus announced deeper than that which its popular terms convey, we are bound to conclude, if we would pay but a common respect to an admitted revelation, that, where no manifest figure of speech occurs, the truth of the doctrine lies in the tenor of the terms by which it is expressed. Otherwise there would be no revelation, we do not say of the modus, [manner,] (for that is confessedly incomprehensible,) but of the fact. In the case before us, the terms presence and place are used according to common notions; and must be so taken, if the Scriptures are intelligible, Metaphysical refinements are not Scriptural doctrines, when they give to the terms chosen by the Holy Spirit an acceptation out of their general and proper use, and make them the signs of a perfectly distinct class of ideas; if, indeed, all distinctness of idea is not lost in the attempt. It is therefore in the popular and just, because Scriptural, manner, that we are to conceive of the omnipresence of God. If we reflect upon ourselves, we may observe that we fill but a small space, and that our knowledge or power reaches but a little way. We can act at one time in one place only, and the sphere of our influence is narrow at largest. Would we be witnesses to what is done at any distance from us, or exert there our active powers, we must remove ourselves thither. For this reason we are necessarily ignorant of a thousand things which pass around us, incapable of attending and managing any great variety of affairs, or performing at the same time any number of actions, for our own good, or for the benefit of others. Although we feel this to be the present condition of our being, and the limited state of our intelligent and active powers, yet we can easily conceive there may exist beings more perfect, and whose presence may extend far and wide: any one of whom, present in what are to us various places, at the same time, may know at once what is done in all these, and act in all of them; and thus be able to regard and direct a variety of affairs at the same instant: and who farther being qualified, by the purity and activity of their nature, to pass from one place to another, with great ease and swiftness, may thus fill a large sphere of action, direct a great variety of affairs, confer a great number of benefits, and observe a multitude of actions at the same time, or in so swift a succession as to us would appear but one instant. Thus perfect we may readily believe the angels of God.

We can farther conceive this extent of presence, and of ability for knowledge and action, to admit of degrees of ascending perfection approaching to infinite. And when we have thus raised our thoughts to the idea of a being, who is not only present throughout a large empire, but throughout our world; and not only in every part of our world, but in every part of all the numberless suns and worlds which roll in the starry heavens,—who is not only able to enliven and actuate the plants, animals, and men who live upon this globe, but countless varieties of creatures every where in an immense universe,—yea, whose presence is not confined to the universe, immeasurable as that is by any finite mind, but who is present every where in infinite space; and who is therefore able to create still new worlds, and fill them with proper inhabitants, attend, supply, and govern them all,—when we have thus gradually raised and enlarged our conceptions, we have the best idea we can form of the universal presence of the great Jehovah, who filleth heaven and earth. There is no part of the universe, no portion of space, uninhabited by God; none wherein this Being of perfect power, wisdom, and benevolence is not essentially present.

Could we with the swiftness of a sun beam dart ourselves beyond the limits of the creation, and for ages continue our progress in infinite space, we should still be surrounded with the divine presence; nor ever be able to reach that space where God is not. His presence also penetrates every part of our world; the most solid parts of the earth cannot exclude it; for it pierces as easily the centre of the globe as the empty air. All creatures live and move and have their being in him. And the inmost recesses of the human heart can no more exclude his presence, or conceal a thought from his knowledge, than the deepest caverns of the earth.

The illustrations and confirmatory proofs of this doctrine which the material world furnishes, are numerous and striking. It is a most evident and acknowledged truth that a being cannot act where it is not: if, therefore, actions and effects, which manifest the highest wisdom, power, and goodness in the author of them, are continually produced every where, the author of these actions, or God, must be continually present with us, and wherever he thus acts. The matter which composes the world is evidently lifeless and thoughtless: it must therefore be incapable of moving itself, or designing or producing any effects which require wisdom or power. The matter of our world, or the small parts which constitute the air, the earth, and the waters, is yet continually moved, so as to produce effects of this kind; such are the innumerable herbs, and trees, and fruits which adorn the earth, and support the countless millions of creatures who inhabit it. There must therefore be constantly present, all over the earth, a most wise, mighty, and good Being, the author and director of these motions.

We cannot, it is true, see him with our bodily eyes, because he is a pure Spirit; yet this is not any proof that he is not present. A judicious discourse, a series of kind actions, convince us of the presence of a friend, a person of prudence and benevolence. We cannot see the present mind, the seat and principle of these qualities; yet the constant regular motion of the tongue, the hand, and the whole body, (which are the instruments of our souls, as the material universe and all the various bodies in it are the instruments of the Deity,) will not suffer us to doubt that there is an intelligent and benevolent principle within the body which produces all these skilful motions and kind actions. The sun, the air, the earth, and the waters, are no more able to move themselves, and produce all that beautiful and useful variety of plants, and fruits, and trees, with which our earth is covered, than the body of a man, when the soul hath left it, is able to move itself, form an instrument, plough a field, or build a house. If the laying out judiciously and well cultivating a small estate, sowing it with proper grain at the best time of the year, watering it in due season and quantities, and gathering in the fruits when ripe, and laying them up in the best manner,— if all these effects prove the estate to have a manager, and the manager possessed of skill and strength,—certainly the enlightening and warming the whole earth by the sun, and so directing its motion and the motion of the earth as to produce in a constant useful succession day and night, summer and winter, seed time and harvest; the watering the earth continually by the clouds, and thus bringing forth immense quantities of herbage, grain, and fruits,—certainly all these effects continually produced, must prove that a Being of the greatest power, wisdom, and benevolence is continually present throughout our world, which he thus supports, moves, actuates, and makes fruitful.

The fire which warms us knows nothing of its serviceableness to this purpose, nor of the wise laws according to which its particles are moved to produce this effect. And that it is placed in such a part of the house, where it may be greatly beneficial and no way hurtful, is ascribed without hesitation to the contrivance and labour of a person who knew its proper place and uses. And if we came daily into a house wherein we saw this was regularly done, though we never saw an inhabitant in it, we could not doubt that the house was occupied by a rational inhabitant. That huge globe of fire in the heavens, which we call the sun, and on the light and influences of which the fertility of our world, and the life and pleasure of all animals, depend, knows nothing of its serviceableness to these purposes, nor of the wise laws according to which its beams are dispensed, nor what place or motions were requisite for these beneficial purposes. Yet its beams are darted constantly in infinite numbers, every one according to those well chosen laws, and its proper place and motion are maintained. Must not, then, its place be appointed, its motion regulated, and beams darted, by almighty wisdom and goodness, which prevent the sun's ever wandering in the boundless space of the heavens, so as to leave us in disconsolate cold and darkness, or coming so near, or emitting his rays in such a manner, as to burn us up? Must not the great Being who enlightens and warms us by the sun, his instrument, who raises and sends down the vapours, brings forth and ripens the grain and fruits, and who is thus ever acting around us for our benefit, be always present in the sun, throughout the air, and all over the earth, which he thus moves and actuates?

This earth is in itself a dead, motionless mass, and void of all counsel; yet proper parts of it are continually raised through the small pipes which compose the bodies of plants and trees, and are made to contribute to their growth, to open and shine in blossoms and leaves, and to swell and harden into fruit. Could blind, thoughtless particles thus continually keep on their way, through numberless windings, without once blundering, if they were not guided by an unerring hand? Can the most perfect human skill from earth and water form one grain, much more a variety of beautiful and relishing fruits? Must not the directing mind, who does all this constantly, be most wise, mighty, and benevolent? Must not the Being who thus continually exerts his skill and energy around us, for our benefit, be confessed to be always present and concerned for our welfare? Can these effects be ascribed to any thing below an all-wise and almighty cause? And must not this cause be present wherever he acts? Were God to speak to us every month from heaven, and with a voice loud as thunder declare that he observes, provides for, and governs us; this would not be a proof, in the judgment of sound reason, by many degrees so valid: since much less wisdom and power are required to form such sounds in the air, than to produce these effects; and to give, not merely verbal declarations, but substantial evidences of his presence and care over us. In every part and place of the universe, with which we are acquainted, we perceive the exertion of a power, which we believe, mediately or immediately, to proceed from the Deity. For instance: in what part or point of space, that has ever been explored, do we not discover attraction? In what regions do we not find light? In what accessible portion of our globe do we not meet with gravity, magnetism, electricity; together with the properties also and powers of organized substances, of vegetable or of animated nature? Nay, farther, what kingdom is there of nature, what corner of space, in which there is any thing that can be examined by us, where we do not fall upon contrivance and design? The only reflection, perhaps, which arises in our minds from this view of the world around us, is, that the laws of nature every where prevail; that they are uniform and universal. But what do we mean by the laws of nature, or by any law? Effects are produced by power, not by laws. A law cannot execute itself. A law refers us to an agent.

The usual argument a priori, on this attribute of the divine nature, has been stated as follows; but, amidst such a mass of demonstration of a much higher kind, it cannot be of any great value:—The First Cause, the supreme all-perfect Mind, as he could not derive his being from any other cause, must be independent of all other, and therefore unlimited. He exists by an absolute necessity of nature; and as all the parts of infinite space are exactly uniform and alike, for the same reason that he exists in any one part he must exist in all. No reason can be assigned for excluding him from one part, which would not exclude him from all. But that he is present in some parts of space, the evident effects of his wisdom, power, and benevolence continually produced, demonstrate beyond all rational doubt. He must therefore be alike present every where, and fill infinite space with his infinite Being.

Among metaphysicians, it has been matter of dispute, whether God is present every where by an infinite extension of his essence. This is the opinion of Newton, Dr. S. Clarke, and their followers; others have objected to this notion, that it might then be said, God is neither in heaven nor in earth, but only a part of God in each. The former opinion, however, appears most in harmony with the Scriptures; though the term extension, through the inadequacy of language, conveys too material an idea. The objection just stated is wholly grounded on notions taken from material objects, and is therefore of little weight, because it is not applicable to an immaterial substance. It is best to confess with one who had thought deeply on the subject, "There is an incomprehensibleness in the manner of every thing about which no controversy can or ought to be concerned." That we cannot comprehend how God is fully, and completely, and undividedly present every where, need not surprise us, when we reflect that the manner in which our own minds are present with our bodies is as incomprehensible as the manner in which the supreme Mind is present with every thing in the universe.

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) Presence in every place at the same time; unbounded or universal presence; ubiquity.

Holman Bible Dictionary

God

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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  Psalm 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;  Deuteronomy 10:14;  Psalm 139:6-16;  Proverbs 15:3;  Jeremiah 23:23 ,  Jeremiah 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  Jeremiah 23:23 is expressed in terms of omniscience, while in the latter half the idea finds ontological expression. Similarly, in Ps 139, compare   Psalm 139:2 with   Psalm 139:7 ff, and   Psalm 139:13 ff. 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;  Psalm 3:4;  Psalm 99:1 ); in the temple (1 Ki 8;  Psalm 20:2;  Psalm 26:8;  Psalm 46:5;  Psalm 48:2;  Isaiah 8:18;  Joel 3:16 ,  Joel 3:21;  Amos 1:2 ); in the Holy Land ( 1 Samuel 26:19;  Hosea 9:3 ); in Christ ( John 1:14;  John 2:19;  Colossians 2:9 ); in the church ( John 14:23;  Romans 8:9 ,  Romans 8:11;  1 Corinthians 3:16;  1 Corinthians 6:19;  Ephesians 2:21 ,  Ephesians 2:22;  Ephesians 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;  Psalm 2:4;  Psalm 11:4;  Psalm 33:13 ff;   Psalm 104:3;  Isaiah 6:1 ff;   Isaiah 63:15;  Isaiah 66:1;  Habakkuk 2:20;  Matthew 5:34;  Matthew 6:9;  Acts 7:48;  Acts 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 Ki 8:26-53;  Psalm 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;  Genesis 19:24;  Genesis 21:17;  Genesis 22:11;  Genesis 28:12 ). Yahweh comes, according to the belief of the earliest period, with the clouds ( Exodus 14:19 ,  Exodus 14:20;  Exodus 19:9 ,  Exodus 19:18;  Exodus 24:15;  Numbers 11:25;  Numbers 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 ( Psalm 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 ff; Riehm, Alttestamentliche Theologie , 262 ff; Dillmann, Handbuch der alttestamentlichen Theologie , 246 ff; Davidson, Old Testament Theology , 180 ff; Konig, Geschichte der alttestamentlichen Religion , 197 ff.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

another attribute of God alone, his ubiquity, or his. presence in every place at the same time. This attribute may be argued from his infinity (Psalms 139); his power, which is everywhere ( Hebrews 1:3); his providence ( Acts 17:27-28), which supplies all. As he is a spirit, he is so omnipresent as not to be mixed with the creature, or divided, part in one place and part in another; nor is he multiplied or extended, but is essentially present everywhere. God is everywhere, but he is not everything. All things have their being in him, but he is distinct from all things; he fills the universe, but is not mingled with it. He is the intelligence which guides, and the power which moves; but his personality is preserved, and he is independent of the works of his hands, however vast and noble. See Krauth, The Conservative Reformation, p. 797; Pearson, On the Creeds; Wardlaw, Syst. Theol. 1:554; Haag, Hist. des Dogmes Chretiens, 2:140 sq., 311; Malcom, Theol. Index, s. (See Pantheism).

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

An attribute of the Divine Being as all-present in every section of space and moment of time throughout the universe.