by
Keith Hunt
GOD IS OMNI-PRESENT
God is NOT a universe nothingness floating around in a no
where state of being. He is not a NONE-PERSONAL, intangible -
NOTHING. He is NOT some universal mind, that has no body. He is
NOT a principle of abstract power that is in every kind of
matter.
God is a personal BEING with a body, with form and shape,
but made of "spirit" which we in the flesh can hardly conceive
of, because we cannot see "spirit" unless God decides that we
should see it. God is a very real personage, with a very real
"spirit" or "spiritual" body (1 Cor. 15....the second Adam -
Christ - was made a quickening Spirit. See my study called "Jesus
- The Spirit!").
Angels, animals, beings, things, in God's dimensional world
are as literal as people and things are in our world. As humans
and things in our world take up space and can only be in one
place at one time, so it is no different in God's dimensional
world of spirit, trying to put it so you can get the idea. People
in this material world can only be in one place at one time. It
is the same for God, Christ, and all the angels, cherubim,
seraphim, horses, chariots and whatever else God has created in
and for His world.
We have seen that God often flies around the universe on a
special created throne, with creatures and other strange (to us
they sound strange) things as part of this, shall be say
universe space ship or chariot transporter (see again the first
chapter of Ezekiel as well as chapter 10 of that book).
God could do it, move around the universe as the speed of
thought, and sometimes I think He indeed does, but God is like us
(for we were made in His image), He likes space machines or space
cars shall be call them. It's fun to ride in such contraptions,
for us, so why should it not be for God also. God is the maker of
variety. One simple reason for variety is so life does not become
monotone and doing things like travelling the universe the same
old way all the time.
All spirit beings, including God, can ONLY be in ONE place
at ONE time, as far as they themselves, bodily. They are like us
in that regard. God then cannot be omni-present in BODY. His body
cannot be everywhere in the universe at the same time.
God made angels and other creatures to help run the
universe, be in different parts, relate back to Him what was
happening here or there. God did not choose to make Himself some
kind of huge TV screen that would show Him all that was going on
anywhere in the universe. Sure He could have done it that way,
but He chose NOT to. He decided angels and other creatures would
be a part of His world with responsibilities, and some of those
responsibilities was to report back to the Eternal God, with
things of importance.
I cover this in more detail in the study called "God's
Omnipresence" in this section of studies on God.
God is personally dwelling in a place called heaven. He does
not dwell anywhere and everywhere, for He is a very real personal
being, just as you are a personally being.
Jesus addressed His Father and referred to Him as being in
heaven. Eighteen times He said, "Father which is in heaven
(Mat.5: 16, 45, 48; etc.).
Not one single verse ever refers to God as being bodily
everywhere. I will say it again, God is omni-present but NOT
omni-body. His presence can be felt by mortal mankind or immortal
created beings who many be anywhere in the universe, but His body
cannot be seen by them in every place at the same time. God does
have a body and goes from place to place just like any other
being with a body goes from place to place, one place at one
time.
PRESENCE can have more than just one meaning. When it comes
to using this word with the context of God, the word has THREE
meanings.
ONE. Presence is governed by RELATIONSHIP, and not bodily
presence only. All loved ones know that the presence of those
loved can be felt though thousands of miles may separate them.
The closer two persons are to each other the closer the presence
of each can be felt among them. So it is with God and His
children. God is in heaven and those who are His children in
spirit and truth, can feel His presence each day of their lives
as they live in union with Him.
In that sense, with this meaning of the word "presence" we
can understand the verse of Scripture that speak of God filling
the whole earth and heavens. In Ps. 139: 7 the psalmist said,
"...whither shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee
from your presence?" God said to Jeremiah, "Do not I fill heaven
and earth?" (Jer. 23: 3-4). The apostle Paul said, "In Him we
live and move, and have our being" (Acts 17: 27-28).
Yes the above verses can also apply to the next meaning of
presence when we use it with God. But, it is also a fact that
presence is governed by relationship, and not just bodily
presence or contact. God of course can make His presence felt on
a more infinitely larger scale than mankind can. But it is the
same basic principle at work for both God and mankind, under this
first meaning of the word presence.
Those who do not know God, those who ignore Him, deny Him,
want to have nothing to do with Him, do not realize or feel His
presence.
TWO. God can have His presence felt and be in the whole
universe through His miracle of the Holy Spirit. Mankind does not
have anything to use or compare to what God can use through His
Holy Spirit. It is His nature, His power, to do whatever He wills
anywhere in the universe all at the same time if He so wishes.
The Holy Spirit of God is NOT a "third person" of the Godhead.
Please see my study on the Holy Spirit in this section under "All
About God."
We could ask the question as to whether God's Spirit is
moving around on Venus, or Pluto, or at the bottom of the deepest
part of our oceans. Of course God can put His Spirit anywhere,
but unless He has a reason to do so, there may be many parts of
the universe where His Spirit is not specifically there, for the
reason He is not wanting it there or doing anything in that
location, but letting the normal forces of His creation work
their work as He created and set them to work.
Then, remember God has angels, maybe millions of them, who
are out there in the vast universe maybe, checking on things,
working, taking note, and reporting back to the Almighty, things
that need to be reported to Him. As we know there are also fallen
angels or demons as we now call them, doing mischief where they
can, and how they can, we also know (from many passages in the
Bible) the universe is a very busy place. We probably would be
shocked to see how busy it is if we were allowed to see this
mainly unseen world around us.
God no doubt sends His Spirit, or jumps in His universe
travelling chariot, to do whatever work needs to be done, when it
needs either His Spirit or He Himself to personally do that work.
There really is no need to think that God's Spirit is ALWAYS
EVERYWHERE at the same time in the universe. It sure could be,
but God does not need it to be everywhere all at the same time,
every second of existence.
God through His Spirit, does exist and is present with each
individual child of His on this earth, at any time in history,
and any where, and at the same time. But His bodily Self is still
in heaven (if He is not personally in another part of the
universe for some reason). He bodily cannot be everywhere at the
same time, that is one of the major reasons He created angels and
other beings. When God created the physical material universe, He
needed other responsible beings to help Him rule it all, govern
it all. Sure He could have created a material universe that "ran
itself" - with no help from anyone ever to be needed, except the
two members of the Godhead and His Spirit, but then that would
have been little fun, and really no challenge....quite boring
actually.
All of this that I'm saying may take many by surprise and to
some it may sound like blaspheme to talk about God in this
manner. But the fact is there is so much in the Bible that God
wants us to KNOW about Himself, and when we will just let those
verses speak for themselves, our picture of the true God and what
He is like, and what He has done, and what He is doing, and the
WAY He is doing it, will give us a picture that is vastly
different than what most have in their mind about God. Most have
this image of a nothingness universal power of nothingness, and
so have never come to know God in a very personal way, because
they will not let Him be a real personal BEING, that has
willed Himself not to be a something that cannot be understood,
but to be much more like mankind in CERTAIN ways than mankind has
ever understood Him to be. And that my friends should make you
LOVE Him more and more, and have a much deeper personal
relationship with Him, and Jesus who literally sits at His right
hand in the heavenly throne room, in a heavenly city called
Jerusalem.
THIRD. The word presence as used with God, can mean of
course, His literal bodily presence, either in His glorified
power form (which to look upon His face by humans would instantly
kill them), or in His flesh and bone body, if wanting to come and
walk and talk and eat a meal with any of His children on earth.
Now, with some of the thoughts I've covered above, please be
sure to see my study under this section called "The Omni-presence
of God."
And some of what is covered under omni-presence leads us
smoothly into the subject of God being Omniscient - having ALL
knowledge.
GOD IS OMNISCIENT
Once more people jump off in their minds over this matter,
do not or are not willing to let God speak to them in His word
about how we are to understand this word "omniscient" in the
context of God. Those with the view of mind that God is a huge
nothingness, have just as much vagueness of mind about God's
omniscience as they do about His omni-presence. They more often
than not just shrug their shoulders and walk away muttering
things like, "You cannot understand God, so why attempt to."
The fact is again that God has spoken in His word many times
about Himself and this subject of omniscience as He has directed
and willed it for Himself.
The Bible makes many simple statements that show us God has
WILLED Himself to be LIMITED in KNOWLEDGE! That statement of
mine will probably shock many. But it is a fact of a number of
Bible verses. If we do not take them for what they say, as
showing us some truths about God that He Himself wants to TELL us
about what He has willed for Himself, then we can do with other
verses whatever we will, and make the Bible say anything we want
it to say, according to our "interpreting" whatever we want out
of any verses in the Bible. If we take these verses I shall give
you, as just figurative, then what else is "just" figurative,
maybe God Himself is just figurative....and so some agnostics and
unbelievers so scoff at the idea of a personal God and an
inspired Word of His that Christians call the Bible.
Now look at these verses and simply believe them for what
they say. Gen. 6: 5, 6. God willed Himself to NOT know how His
physical creation of man and woman would end up, and when He then
saw how Satan and the human mind could get so low and so evil, He
was sorry, GRIEVED at heart (yes God has many emotions that we
humans have because God made mankind in His own image after His
own likeness), and "it repented" (as the KJV reads) the Lord,
that He had made mankind.
Ge. 11: 5-8. The Lord CAME DOWN to see, for Himself, what
was going on with man and this tower they were building. WHEN He
saw it and knew the plans and minds of mankind, as for why they
were building it, He THEN took a course of action accordingly.
Ge. 18: 21. God had heard, the cry of it had got back to Him
(He had created angels to see things, report things to Him), and
He said He would GO DOWN and see IF it really was as bad as had
been reported to Him. If it WAS, THEN He would know for Himself
in a very real personal way, that His angels reported it very
well.
All of this shows God has WILLED Himself NOT to know
everything that goes on in the earth and the universe. It shocks
some, they do not want to believe these clear verses and what God
is teaching us about Himself. But the verses are there, and they
say what they mean and they mean what they say.
Stop and think for a moment. How would you like to KNOW
EVERYTHING, all at the same time, in all places of the universe,
what is happening and what will happen every single day for all
eternity. You just know it all way in advance. What kind of a
sameness and even yes, I will say it, BORING, kind of a life
would that be, and for all eternity. You may not agree, but I
think to have it that way, would be a boring kind of life.
And here comes all this knowledge just hitting you from all
corners of the universe, all at the same time, and even things
thousands of years yet to take place, and you are supposed to
absorb it and make millions of plans and thought for all this.
Just is not very real to me or logical to my mind, and Paul did
say we can look at the creation and come to understand God.
Mankind was made in the image of God. God has put in us kind of
automatically, a LIMITED knowledge, as used on a daily basis.
Well, as shocking as it may sound, God also LIMITED Himself.
He WILLED Himself if you will, to NOT KNOW EVERYTHING that would
take place at any one time on any location on earth.
Now, yes God can know some things in ADVANCE, IF He so wills
Himself to know. He can plan a specific many thousands of years
in advance, and bring it all to pass, just as He willed it. The
Bible is full of such things like that. Jesus was to come to
the earth to die for the sins of mankind, EVEN BEFORE the world's
foundations were built. That is taught in the New Testament. Yes,
all of this kind of thing God can do, IF He so wills it. And yet
at the same time can not God WILL Himself to NOT know certain
things, if He wills it? Why of course He can! If we believe the
one, because the Bible tells us it is so, then why cannot we
believe the other, for the Bible also tells us it is so.
God is ALL KNOWLEDGABLE, in as far as He as WILLED Himself
to know, and no further.
Look up and read in context these other verses: Gen. 22: 12;
2 Chron. 16: 9; Zech. 4: 10; Job 12: 22; 24: 23; Ps. 7: 9; 44:
21; Ps. 139: 1-6; Prov. 24: 12; Jer. 17: 10; Ezek. 11: 5; Rom. 8:
27; 1 Thes. 2: 4).
As you read the Bible from cover to cover, keep in mind what
I have said, and you will see that God does teach us that He is
all knowing to the point of what He has WILLED Himself to know,
at any given time in the history of the earth and the universe.
BACK TO THE ANGELS FOR A MOMENT
God does not do everything Himself as a person. Angels, and
certain ones have different ranks, or responsibilities, to do or
look after certain things in the universe. They report to Him on
various happening going on here or there, and certainly going on
in different places on the earth (see Dan. 10: 13-21; 11: 1; 12:
1; Zech. 1: 7-11; 6: 1-8; Mat. 18: 10-11; Heb. 2: 4).
God sends out His messengers throughout the whole of His
vast creation to govern, do battle with evil forces of Satan, to
take note of happenings, to serve His physical children on earth,
to relate messages to them at times, to give them understanding
of visions and dreams, to bring them words of prophecies to write
down or for them to go out and tell cities or nations what God
has to say.
God is chairman, president, owner, director, of a
un-imaginable (to our human minds), busy and literal, universal
company. He has created maybe billions (maybe billions, we don't
know how many) of personal employees, to help Him run, and
maintain, and guide His holdings, which are everything, even the
demonic world belongs to Him, in the sense that He could
obliterate them with the word of His mouth, if He so decided
to do. This earth and all the happenings from Adam and Eve, to
the vast world of the unseen (for the most part) angels and all
that is going on between them as evil ones fighting righteous
ones (see the book of Daniel for that truth), need many helping
hands to keep it all going. Well put it this way, God has WILLED
or CHOSEN that it be this way, run with many helping hands.
Many Scriptures show all this. Here are some. But you keep
all this in mind as you read through the Bible, and you will find
more: Ge. 18: 21; 22; Dan.10: 13-21; 11: 1; 12: 1; Zech. 1: 7-11;
6: 1-8; Mat. 18: 10-11; Heb. 1: 14; 2: 2; Rev. 1: 1-7; 7: 1-3; 8:
2-13; 9: 1; 14: 6-20: 15: 1-8; 16: 1-21; 18: 21; 22: 6, 8-9, 16).
There is more on this subject of God's omniscience, as we
read through the whole Bible. If we will but just read it and let
it teach us, correct us, tells us about the reality of God, then
we can come to know what God has told us about Himself in His
word.
There are about 6,500 commands in the Bible regulating man
as to his part in the eternal plan of God, and setting forth
man's responsibility to God and to fellow mankind. There are
about 1,260 promises of curses and blessings, rewards or loss of
rewards. There are hundreds of warnings, curses, blessings and
dealings of God on the basis of conformity to His will. There are
about 1,500 "if's" and hundreds of conditional requirements of
God throughout the Bible. Sufficient proof is all this, to show
that God DOES NOT CAUSE ALL acts and events by His own decrees -
and sufficient proof that He CHANGES His own dealings with men,
as they conform or refuse to conform to His will.
All this goes to prove and to show to us, that God does NOT
KNOW what any one man will do, in his lifetime (God may know some
things, may decree some things that a certain man will do at a
certain point, if it is to specifically bring to pass a part of
God's plan), as a general rule. Then multiply this with all the
different kinds of types and dispositions of men and women and
all the different situations they may face or find themselves in
over a life time, and you can see why God has willed Himself not
to know all these things all the time. God has shown to us that
in the MAIN, man is a free moral agent (unless God has a specific
thing in mind for a specific man at a specific time, even then it
is not anything to do with final salvation, but only for that
present specific time - Romans 9 is an example of this), who has
freedom to decide. And God has in the most part willed Himself
not to know in advance what any man may decide under the
situation of his life at a given point, to do.
It is contrary to the OVERALL of the Bible to think that God
knows or even would like to know, ALL acts and all particular
events of all vast creations of free moral agents from all
eternity past; or that He has fixed and determined decrees
choosing and predestinating all thought, acts, and deeds, of free
wills of all people, and creations, from eternity past to all
eternity future.
If you are wondering about the subject of "predestination"
then you will find a study on this topic on this Website.
Do not misunderstand all that I have said above. God's
eternal plan for man from the beginning to the end and what He
plans to bring to pass on earth, the plan for mankind, He has the
power to so bring to pass and do. But, as concerning the free
actions of free moral agents such as mankind, in the main, He
does not know from all eternity past what they will do BEFORE
they are in existence and are here to have a part in His plan. He
does NOT know in advance which ones will be saved and which ones
will be lost in the lake of fire.
He has a plan for ALL to be given a full and fair chance for
salvation and to conform to His will, but He does not know in
advance who will accept and conform, who will remain faithful to
the end and be saved into the Kingdom, or who will reject His
gift of salvation through Christ, or who will fall away somewhere
along the straight and narrow pathway that leads to eternal life.
It is God's PLAN that He has formulated that was known to
Him from the beginning, even before the world was made, not the
individual conformity to it by free moral agents. God wills,
wishes that all mankind be saved, that none be lost to hell fire,
but if man chooses to NOT be saved and conform to God's will,
then God can do nothing to prevent what man freely chooses.
I have written much on the vital subject of being called and
chosen, on salvation, and on a Christian's destiny. All on this
Website, as well as the late Dr. Atkinson's studies on death,
resurrection, and reward of the wicked.
GOD IS OMNIPOTENT - ALL POWERFUL
Once more, WITHIN God's realm and His operations, His sphere
in which He does not and cannot operate, God is indeed ALL
powerful. These words, will I think, become quite clear to us as
we proceed.
Yes, there are certain THINGS God CANNOT DO! We must be
sensible when we consider God and the word we attach to Him as
being omnipotent. As we read the Bible we will, or we should put
this word "omnipotent" automatically into a context that God can
only work within.
When it comes to creation, God is all powerful and all
authoritative. He brought the universe into being with the
command and work of His will, and the NT shows us that He brought
it and all of creation into being from nothing. At one time there
was no physical matter nor was there any created angelic beings.
Then at some point God brought the spirit angelic beings into
existence and so also the material universe, all from nothing but
His will of wanting it to be. He has total power over all that He
has created. If it was His will, to reverse the pattern and have
it all back as it was before - nothing, He could just speak and
it would be so.
God is all powerful when it comes to His overall plan for
His creation. There is nothing and there is no one (Satan the
Devil included), that can thwart or stop God's will for bringing
to pass His plan for mankind and the whole created universe. He
only ALLOWS certain things to happen that Satan and the fallen
angels do in order to mess up God's overall purposes. He could
obliterate them all if He so wished, with the command of His
voice.
But, God has, because He has willed His plan to be so,
limited Himself in His dealing with free moral agents like those
of the human race. He must respect their free will, and gives
them the right to act of their own free choice to conform to His
will and consecrate themselves to His righteousness or to reject
His will and reject His righteousness. He has given laws and
commandments whereby they should live and conduct their lives,
and has given rewards in this life and that which is to come for
those who will live and work His will. Also He has given rewards
to those you will not serve and obey and conform to His will, as
the apostle Paul put it, "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:
23). But He forces no one to come to Him and obey His will. He
calls them, and gives to them knowledge of the truths of His
life, through the power of the Holy Spirit, but He forces no one
to act on that knowledge. He has willed Himself to not have
authoritative power to force any of His created free will
creations to serve and conform to His righteousness. They must
decide and choose His way of life for themselves.
God has all power in things He can have all power in and
over. But God cannot lie (Heb. 6: 17-19). He cannot deny Himself,
or act contrary to His own eternal truths (2 Tim. 2: 13). He
cannot have respect of persons (Rom. 2: 11; Col. 3: 25; 2 Peter
1: 17). He cannot save a soul apart from faith and grace in
Christ (Rom. 3: 25; John 3: 16; Eph. 2: 8-9; Acts 4: 12). He
cannot save rebels who refuse Him and persist in living contrary
to His will and meet His terms for salvation (Prov. 1: 22-23; 29:
1). God cannot be tempted with evil or tempt any man with evil
(James 1: 13-15). He cannot save anyone who turns back to a life
of sin and lives in rebellion to His known commandments (Ezek.
3: 17-21; 18: 4-24; 33: 7-16; Mark 7: 19-21; Rom. 1: 21-23; 6:
16-23; 8: 12-13; Gal. 5: 19-21; 6: 7-8; Col.3: 5-10).
Now, do we see how God limits His power to conform to His
own predetermined plan for mankind. Yes, God is all powerful, but
He must limit His power to stay within His own righteousness and
His own will on how He has willed for some things to operate.
We often think of God's infinite LOVE, MERCY,
LONG-SUFFERING, KINDNESS, FATHERHOOD, GRACE, CARE, BLESSINGS, but
all of these and other attributes are limited, because of the
framework that He has decreed for their use. He is indeed
infinite in say, MERCY and GRACE, or FORGIVENESS, but only to
those who conform to the conditions to receive those infinite
attributes of Himself and His character. He cannot be infinitely
showing mercy and forgiveness to those who wilfully rebel and sin
against Him (Heb. 10: 26-31).
GOD IS
As we read through the whole Bible, as we take note of what
God teaches us throughout all His Holy Word, as we believe what
we read about what God tells us about Himself, we will come to
see and understand Him for what He is, a God that is very
PERSONAL, a literal BEING, with a form and shape that is like
unto mankind, for mankind was made in His likeness. We shall come
to see and understand that He has all the emotions that we humans
have, but kept in perfect sinless control, even when He gets
angry, or when He must punish or correct. We shall come to see,
as we read His word, that His omnipresence, omniscient quality,
omnipotent power, is governed by what He has Himself WILLED for
Himself, and also in accordance to His set conditions that free
willed mankind must conform to. We shall come to see that God
governs Himself according to what He pre-determined would be His
plan for creating all that He decided to create.
What a wonderful God and Father we have. Both He and His Son
Jesus Christ, are very personal beings. They want you to have a
very real personal experience with THEM. The more you study God's
Word, the more you pray and meditate (with occasional fasting),
the more you will get to KNOW them. There is a great deal that
God reveals to us about Himself in His word. Yes, some things we
will look through a glass darkly, as Paul once said, but the day
is coming when we shall even KNOW those things as we are known.
But there is a lot in the Bible that God wants us to KNOW
NOW, so get busy and READ IT! You will be glad you did.
...............................
Written 2003
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