The Omnipresent God

To say God is omnipresent is to say that God is present everywhere He wants to be. To say that God is everywhere is to make a claim that humanity is not all too familiar with because we are bound by space. We cannot be in two, three or more places at once. Right now, I’m in my office at my computer. I can be at my office physically, and mentally wish I was elsewhere. Mentally I can daydream and pretend I’m fishing, golfing or driving a race car. But all in all, I’m limited by time and space, and I’m still in the office. However, God is not limited by time or space. To say that God is omnipresent is to say God is everywhere at all times. He can be in Bedford/Hurst, London, Sydney, and Tokyo all at once. He can be in my office, your office, your home, and your school simultaneously. God is simply everywhere, and anywhere He wants to be at one time.

The Lord himself claims to be omnipresent. In Isaiah 66:1 the Lord spoke of His omnipresence and said, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” In Matt. 5:34, Jesus taught that we should not swear by the heavens for they are God’s throne. And Stephen while preaching to the “Stiffnecked and uncircumcised,” Acts 7:51, quoted the Lord from Isaiah 66:1 in Acts 7:49 to prove that God is omnipresent, and not locked up in a single temple in the midst of Jerusalem.

Even Old Testament writers wrote concerning the attribute of the omnipresence of God. In Psalms 139:7-8, David wrote, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” In Jeremiah 23:9ff, Jeremiah was blasting the false prophets, who believed that they could hide their sins against God. And He wanted them to know that God had seen their spiritual fornication, adulteries and lies. Even the sins committed in the temple, Jeremiah wanted them to know that God has witnessed everything. Therefore, God spoke in verses 23-24 and said, “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord.” Point being, there is no hiding from God. “Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering,” Job 26:6. “But all things are naked and opened before him with whom we have to do,” Hebrews 4:13. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good,” Proverbs 15:3.

Brethren, God sees everything He desires to see. And this attribute of the Almighty should comfort His children, and scare sinners to repentance. I find comfort in knowing my Father is nigh unto me. I find comfort in knowing He knows the number of my thinning hairs. I find comfort in knowing when I speak, He listens. I find comfort in knowing He is never far off. The Psalmist wrote of this comfort in Psalms 139:17-18, “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I wake, I am still with thee.” How comforting it is to know that the Almighty’s eyes are everywhere, and over me, Prov. 15:3.

This attribute of omnipresence should also scare people to repentance. This attribute should serve as a warning. God sees what is in you. God sees what is in your home, refrigerators, bedroom, and office. God knows exactly what we are doing and at all times. You can’t hide, you can’t run, ask Jonah about that. You can’t place God in a single temple, and claim He has no clue. Ask the country of Judah how that worked out for them. Brethren, God sees you! When Hagar attempted to flee from the presence of Sara, she learned really quickly; she could hide from Sara, but not God. And she called the place where the Angel of the Lord appeared to her “El-Roi,” meaning, “Thou God seeth me,” Genesis 16:13. God sees you, and God is watching you. He sees all, Prov. 15:3.