This is a continuation of a series on the attributes of God.
When we speak of God’s attributes, we are talking about those characteristics that help us to understand who He truly is. One of these attributes is “omnipresent.”
Where it is in the Bible
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You.”
(1 Kings 8:27)
“Can you search out deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven – what can you do? Deeper than Sheol – what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.”
(Job 11:7-9)
“‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD.”
(Jeremiah 23:24)
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your Spirit? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the utter most parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”
(Psalm 139:7-10)
“LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”
(Psalm 90:1-2)
What it means
By omnipresence — also referred to as “ubiquity” — we mean that God is everywhere present in the fullness of His being. This allows Him to interact in any places at any times (even in multiple places simultaneously).
Why it matters
Being in all locations present in the whole of His being, there is no place we can go and not be in His presence; this is a comfort for Christians and a torment to non-believers. God is not spatial or dimensional in existence as we are; if He were, we would constantly be bumping our heads on Him. While it is beyond the scope of our understanding to work out how it is that God can be ubiquitous but act locally, we accept it in like manner as many other recalcitrant ideas: the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation, the ex nihilo Creation, etc.
On the one hand, this means that there is nothing that is hidden from the sight of Almighty God. On the other hand, it also means that the Christian has a Comforter who is ever-present and always there.
