The Mystery of Presence

The bible teaches that God is omnipresent, that is, that his presence is everywhere. There are many bible passages which plainly state this truth about God, but here is one:

"7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You." (Psalm 139: 7-12 nkjv)

Notice that God is everywhere, yea, even in hell (Sheol). In the several verses preceding these words, are words that affirm God's omniscience so that the Psalm teaches both the omniscience and the omnipresence of God. Notice them:

 "1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether." (1-4)

Then, after writing these meditations and beliefs about Creator God, Israel's covenant God Jehovah or Yahweh, the inspired poet wrote:

"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it." (vs. 6)

Theology is the queen of the sciences, the highest and deepest knowledge. God may be apprehended but he cannot be comprehended. God is greater than we can imagine. 

The Mystery of "Presence"

Wrote famous author and theologian, J.A. Seiss in his book "The Apocalypse" (See here):

"When he left the world, he said to his disciples, "Lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." And lest the promise should be mistaken as belonging to ministers alone, he gave the still further assurance, that where two or three are gathered together in his name, there he is, in the midst of them. I cannot explain to you the method of this presence. Even in things with which we are familiar, there is mystery attaching to what we call presence. We speak of a man as present in a room, and of what transpires in that room as taking place in his presence. But how is he present beyond the immediate space occupied by his body? That his presence extends beyond the few feet marked by the outlines of his physical frame, is a fact which we all feel and realize; but how it is so, we cannot so easily explain. I am present in this audience-chamber. I am as much present to those in the remotest pews, as to those who are in the nearest. And yet, my body is present only in these few feet within the pulpit. Suppose, then, you were to conceive of me as suddenly exalted into a majesty and glory like that of Jesus. Imagine these walls widened out in corresponding proportion. Fancy everything now on the scale of the earthly and human expanded to the scale of the heavenly and glorified. And it may aid you somewhat in conceiving how Christ can be present with all his Churches, and yet occupy a definite space in heaven. The whole world is not as great to him as an ordinary room to us. And if my presence can fill this Church, whilst I keep my place in this pulpit, his presence can certainly fill all his Churches, even from his mysterious celestial location at the right hand of the Father. This, however, is certain, that he is, in some sort, in all his Churches. There is not a member which he does not see and know. There is not a Christian service held, of which we are not authorized to say. The Lord is there. He is in his Churches, not only by his word, by his sacraments, by his ministers, by his authority, power and Spirit; but he is there himself, as the Son of man. He is present as Priest, as Lord, as Judge; and hence in his own proper person, as the Godman. There is another, nearer, and more manifest presence, to be realized when he shall come again; but not more true or real than that by which he is even now in the midst of us. Were these dull, dim senses of ours but unlocked and energized, after the style of that transformation for which the saints are taught to look, we would see our Saviour, present to-night, as really as John saw him "walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks." It is a solemn and startling thought; but it is true." (pgs. 75-77; emphasis mine)

"Presence" is another word that is hard to define. It is like trying to define life, death, north, south, etc. There are some things that we judge as being beyond describing in word, even for poets. Paul said he went up into the "third heaven" and heard things "inexpressible" (II Cor. 12: 4), things beyond human vocabulary to fully define or describe. That is also what is included in something being "wonderful," being "beyond imagination" as well as beyond expression. Words are often insufficient. 

So, if someone asks - "how can God be present and absent at the same time and in the same place?"; And, "does not the bible say God is present everywhere and yet also say that God is not present in some places?"; My answer would be "God is everywhere in some sense, but is not present everywhere in another sense."

That answer, of course, cries for a more detailed answer. Paradoxes, and seeming contradictions, often require more than a simple answer or explanation. Some questions cannot be answered easily, quickly, nor simply. 

The Paradox

We see from the opening text that God is everywhere, and that his presence is everywhere. But, we also stated that many verses speak of people not being in the presence of God. Wrote the apostle Paul:

"7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” (II Thess. 1-7-9)

These verses say that those who go to Hell, go to a place that is away from the presence of the Lord. Further, the psalmist also said that God was even in Hell (sheol). 

There are, therefore, various definitions of "presence." There are also various kinds of presence recognized by philosophers. This is one of the reasons for having adjectives used with the noun "presence." This is also seen as true from the scriptures. Notice these words of Paul:

"For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you (present) in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ." (Col. 2: 5 ESV)

There is thus a physical presence and a non physical presence. There is a spiritual presence, or mental presence. Notice these words of the same apostle:

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence (Grk. parousia) only, but now much more in my absence (apousia), work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2: 12 nkjv)

Here Paul clearly is referring to his physical presence. The Greek word "parousia" is often translated as "coming," being the word used to refer to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There is a debate about whether they be any kind of the "presence" of Christ in the Supper or Eucharist. 

Want something to deeply meditate upon? Meditate upon presence, and especially the presence and/or absence of God. There is so much to be studied on this subject, but seeing I have other writing projects, a deeper study of it will have to wait. But, this is a good introduction. 

There are lots of texts that give food for thought and study. Consider that God said to Moses "my presences (plural) will go with you." (Exo. 33: 14) Wrote John Gill in his commentary: "or "my faces shall go" {y}; all the three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit." It is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word prosopon (meaning face or countenance). In Hebrew, the literal meaning behind the English translation “Presence of God” is “Face or Faces of God.” The Hebrew word for face (paniym) is usually always in the plural form. 

Though a plural, does it have the meaning of a singular? Such as when one says "up in the sky" versus "up in the skies"? 

“In your presence there is fullness of joy; 

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 

(Psalm 16: 11)