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Christian Doctrines

Christian Doctrines. What We Believe and Why. Omnipresence. Just as God is infinite regarding time , he is infinite regarding space This is called omnipresence

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Christian Doctrines

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  1. Christian Doctrines What We Believe and Why

  2. Omnipresence • Just as God is infinite regarding time, he is infinite regarding space • This is called omnipresence • Definition: God is without spatial dimension and thus he cannot be contained, his total being is present at every point in space, and acts differently in different places

  3. No Spatial Dimensions • God is spirit, possessing no physical body or matter • He is not a larger being or bigger space • He is without size or dimension • Because he is without physicality (body), he cannot be contained

  4. No Spatial Dimensions 1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!

  5. No Spatial Dimensions Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

  6. Everywhere Fully Present • God is fully present in his entire being at every point in space

  7. Everywhere Fully Present Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

  8. Everywhere Fully Present Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “And not a God far off? “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

  9. Everywhere Fully Present • Wherever a part or single aspect of God exists, all of God exists • God cannot be divided • Wherever God is he is always fully himself • To divide him is to think in spatial, limited terms and to contain God • This will be discussed in more detail under attribute of “unity” (cf. next lesson)

  10. Acts Different in Places • God expresses himself different in different places: • To bless • To sustain • To judge

  11. Acts Different in Places • Sometimes God reveals his presence in order to bless • This is the most common reason stated in Scripture • His presence is often in relation to blessing • His presence expressed is to honor, protect, uplift, etc. • When he is there, he is there to bless

  12. Acts Different in Places Exodus 25:22 “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.

  13. Acts Different in Places John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.

  14. Acts Different in Places • When not there, he is there not to bless (not absence) Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

  15. Acts Different in Places Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

  16. Acts Different in Places • Sometimes God reveals his presence in order to sustain • He keeps things operating • Often called provincial grace Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

  17. Acts Different in Places Hebrews 1:3a And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

  18. Acts Different in Places • Sometimes God reveals his presence in order to judge • Many state God is not present in hell, for hell is the absence of God • This is not biblical • Hell is a place of God’s wrath, judgment expressed

  19. Acts Different in Places • Where God’s wrath is, God in his whole being is • Where one aspect of God exists, God fully exists

  20. Acts Different in Places Amos 9:1-4 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, “Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape. “Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them;

  21. Acts Different in Places Amos 9:1-4 And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down. “Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them. “And though they go into captivity before their enemies,

  22. Acts Different in Places Amos 9:1-4 From there I will command the sword that it slay them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”

  23. Acts Different in Places • We cannot hide our sin from God’s presence • As we live, God goes with us • Even when we think God isn’t there, he is; it’s just a question of what he’s doing

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