God is described in the Bible as being omnipresent – in all places at the same time. It is one of three “omni” attributes of God, actually – namely, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. These can be defined as all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere. God’s omnipresence is one of the attributes of God that is the hardest to wrap our minds around.
Photo by Elijah Hiett on Unsplash
This post discovers how the divine presence of God fills the entire universe and the whole earth. The omnipresence of God means that He is in all places at all times. The practical implication of this is that He is fully able to hear your prayer even when He is doing a miracle somewhere else right now. The omnipresent God of the Bible has the ability to fill the universe and even step wholly outside of time. Even though His presence cannot always be observed, there is no place that He cannot reach. His Holy Spirit is perhaps the most tangible example of His presence for modern believers today.
It's usually one of four things — and each one needs a completely different strategy to break through. This 2-minute assessment tells you exactly which pattern is blocking you.
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labor is to remember, to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake.”
― C.S. Lewis
What does it mean when we say God is omnipresent?
““Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.”
– Jeremiah 23:23-24
The idea of God as ‘omnipresent’ in the Bible describes Him as being in all places at all times. People of all ages have set aside a specific holy place for their gods to dwell in. Across cultures and nations from ancient times, we find ancient temples and holy spaces designated to host the presence of a god. But the God of the Bible, Yahweh, transcends such limitations. Let’s discover each part of the Trinity below and where its presence can be found: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Free Resource
Get Your FREE Prayer Guide Now
and join the Daily Way Devotional: Join 25,000+ Subscribers
His divine nature cannot be contained by a holy temple, since He was there at the beginning and He created all things. God’s fingerprints are all over creation and the Bible tells us that His presence is everywhere. All of creation worships Him and brings Him glory. We will explore this more later in this post, but for now it is important to see that God the Father is completely omnipresent. His presence is often unexpected, like this passage of 1 Kings 19 shows:
“The Lord said to Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God spoke to Elijah from the place where he least expected it. When we seek the presence of God, we often have an idea of how He should show up. The passage above and the rest of this post will explore how God’s presence is not limited to what we think is possible. Because of His unfathomable power, we should be open to Him showing up however He wants to in our lives.
2: Jesus as God – present with people
Furthermore, the love of God was so great that He sent the son of God, Christ Jesus, to walk the Earth when He saw that people could not figure out right living on their own. God became physically present with people in the shape of a man when Jesus lived on Earth. At the ascension, Jesus made a promise to His followers that He will be with them until the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Therefore, the presence of God is an important promise that believers should claim.
3: The presence of God by the Spirit according to the Bible
The Holy Spirit is God-with-us and the Comforter that Christ promised to those who follow Him. God’s omnipresence reaches into the spiritual realm where He has the ultimate authority too. The Spirit of God abides with people and is perhaps the most tangible aspect of God’s presence for believers today. Even though the Spirit is invisible, it bears fruit (Galatians 5), brings gifts into effect (1 Corinthians 12), and empowers us to witness (Acts 1:8).
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
– 1 Corinthians 3:16
Where does God dwell, according to the Bible?
God’s presence fills the universe
King Solomon built a holy temple for God (1 Kings 6:1) and His presence dwelled there with the Israelites. But He was never contained to the temple (Acts 7:48). Think of how God led the people through the wilderness with a cloud of smoke and a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21). God’s presence is not confined to our churches and sanctuaries. All of creation worships His name (Psalm 98) because He is present everywhere.
“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.”
God is even outside of time: Where the Bible begins
The first sentences in the Bible – the very first things that you read when you open the book – are about the omnipresence of God. In the book of Genesis, we read about how God brought the created world into being by the words from His mouth. He is not tied to the limitations of space or a physical body. Yet, He is the same, yesterday, today, and forevermore (Hebrews 13:8).
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
– Colossians 1:17
There is no place that God can’t reach
God’s presence with people is one of His most loving divine attributes. The Word of God is full of promises that assure us of the special way that He is always near to us. The word omnipresence, in this sense, is the reassurance that we are never alone. There is no way that you can walk too far for God’s hand to reach out and pull you back.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.”
– Isaiah 43:2
God’s presence cannot always be observed
The human mind craves understanding, yet God’s omnipresence is too big for us to grasp. It is like the wind in the trees. We cannot see the wind, but we can see its effects on everything it touches. No one can understand the omnipresence of God better than the person of Jesus did. Look what He said about God in the following Bible verses.
“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
What is the impact of God’s omnipresence on believers today?
Because of human nature, a common response to God’s omnipresence is often awe. God’s amazing power leaves us in awe when we consider that he knows the number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7) and can see us even if we are on a little boat on the remotest part of the sea. Such knowledge is too much for a person to understand (Psalm 139:6).
“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”
– Proverbs 15:3
The omnipresent God of the Bible is described as an eye in the sky looking over everyone, but it is actually very good news. There is no hole too deep for the omnipresent God of the Bible to reach into it and come to our rescue. There is no valley He can’t cross and mountain He can’t climb to get the one He loves.
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there, if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
– Psalm 139:7-10
Whether we rise on the wings of the morning or settle on the uttermost parts of the sea, there is no place where man can hide from God’s loving gaze. The true meaning of God’s omnipresence is that He is always with us, and we never have to feel alone. He is with us through His Holy Spirit, but He is also looking over us from heaven and sending His angels to watch over us (Psalm 91).
Photo by Brandon Green on Unsplash
Consider the following beautiful excerpt on the omnipresent God in the Bible (by A.W. Tozer)
“Canon W. G. Holmes of India told of seeing Hindu worshipers tapping on trees and stones and whispering “Are you there? Are you there?” to the god they hoped might reside within. In complete humility the instructed Christian brings the answer to that question. God is indeed there. He is there as He is here and everywhere, not confined to tree or stone, but free in the universe, near to everything, next to everyone, and through Jesus Christ immediately accessible to every loving heart. The doctrine of the divine omnipresence decides this forever.”
– Chapter 14 of The Knowledge of The Holy, by A.W. Tozer
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
