Gary: In service of my risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Maranatha!

ALMIGHTINESS

GOD IS OMNIPRESENT AND OMNIPOTENT

“Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD. JEREMIAH 23:24

God is present in all places; we should not think of him, however, as filling spaces, for he has no physical dimensions. It is as pure spirit that he pervades all things, in a relationship of immanence that is more than we body-bound creatures can understand. One thing that is clear, however, is that he is present everywhere in the fullness of all that he is and all the powers that he has, and needy souls praying to him anywhere in the world receive the same fullness of his undivided attention. Because God is omnipresent he is able to give his entire attention to millions of individuals at the same time. Belief in God’s omnipresence, thus understood, is reflected in Psalm 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Acts 17:24-28. When Paul speaks of the ascended Christ as filling all things (Eph. 4:8), Christ’s availability everywhere in the fullness of his power is certainly part of the meaning that is being expressed. It is true to say that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are today omnipresent together, though the personal presence of the glorified Son is spiritual (through the Holy Spirit), not physical (in the body).

“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). Thus Job testifies to the almightiness (omnipotence) of God. Omnipotence means in practice the power to do everything that in his rational and moral perfection (i.e., his wisdom and goodness) God wills to do. This does not mean that God can do literally everything: he cannot sin, lie, change his nature, or deny the demands of his holy character (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 6:18; James 1:13, 17); nor can he make a square circle, for the notion of a square circle is self-contradictory; nor can he cease to be God. But all that he wills and promises he can and will do.

Was it excessive for David to say, “I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps. 18:1-2)? Was it excessive for another psalmist to declare, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1)? Not when they knew God to be omnipresent and omnipotent, though otherwise it might have been. Knowledge of God’s greatness (and his omnipresence and omnipotence are aspects of his greatness) naturally produces great faith and great praise.


Title: Concise Theology: A Guide To Historic Christian Beliefs
Section: God Revealed as Creator
Author: Packer, J.I. (James Innell)
Index: Concise Theology index – CLICK HERE

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