This article is part of the 10 Things You Should Know series.
1. God is immanent because he is transcendent.
The Lord is “God in the heavens above (transcendent) and on the earth beneath (immanent)” (
Josh 2:11). But to understand God in full we must recognize that his drawing near
to creation stems from his being distinct
from
creation. In other words, there is no deficiency in God that creation
satisfies. The Lord doesn’t relate to this world because he lacks
something within himself. No, God draws near out of the abundance of who
he is.
God’s transcendence distinguishes him from the created order and puts
things in their right perspective. God does not come to us needy and
wanting, but rather he comes to “revive the spirit of the lowly and the
heart of the contrite” (
Isa 57:15). It is the holy and righteous One above who restores the broken and needy below.
2. The Bible emphasizes God’s manifest presence, not only his omnipresence.
There is a difference between saying “God is everywhere,” and saying
“God is here.” The former is the default category for most Christians.
We talk about God’s presence being inescapable and that he is
“everywhere present” (
Ps 139:5-12;
1 Kings 8:27).
But it seems Scripture is more concerned with his presence manifest
in relationship and redemption. And though these divine realities are
certainly not at odds, the biblical story does turn on God’s being
manifest with his people in Eden, the tabernacle/temple, the incarnation
of Christ, and the new heaven and new earth.
3. The story of Scripture begins and ends with the presence of God.
In the book of Genesis, Eden is the first couple’s home but, more
importantly, it is God’s sanctuary—the garden temple where the Creator
and his image-bearers relate (
Gen 3:8).
Fast forward to the end of our Bibles and we see a very similar
picture but on a much larger scale. All of heaven has collided with the
whole earth to make a perfect sanctuary for God to dwell with man (
Rev 21:1-4).
In the book of Revelation, Eden has returned and expanded into new
heaven and new earth where all of God’s people enjoy his presence
eternally.
4. Humanity’s mission and the presence of God are inseparable.
God gave man and woman purpose. They are to “be fruitful and
multiply” in order to “fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion” (
Gen 1:28).
Adam and Eve are to do this in Eden, the epicenter of God’s relational
presence in creation. As the first couple’s family expands, so too will
the garden’s borders and, with it, God’s presence. Likewise, God’s
presence was to spread to the rest of the earth through Adam and Eve’s
exercising dominion (
Num 14:21; cf.
Ps 72:19;
Isa 11:9).
5. Sin undermines humanity’s mission and the experience of God’s presence.
But there is a problem, isn’t there? Adam and Eve replace blessings
for curses when they eat the forbidden fruit. These curses cut right to
the heart of who they are and what they were made to do. For Eve, pain
overwhelms the promise of a people. For Adam, perspiration and thorns
will impede the promise of place.
Sin hinders everything now, especially man’s experience of God’s
presence. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve are now exiles;
their mission is in shambles as they stand outside of Eden. The presence
of God they once knew freely is no longer free.
6. God covenants to bring his presence back to his people.
But in grace, God steps in to pay the price. To overcome man’s sin
and ensure his purposes, the Creator becomes covenant Redeemer. Through
his covenant promises, the Lord restores what Adam failed to do. God
makes a people and a place through the covenant all the while keeping
his promises to humanity.
God does all of this so that he can be our God and we can be his people (
Gen 17:7;
Ex 6:7; 29:45,
Rev 21:3,
etc.). At the heart of the covenant, then, is a relationship—one that
is decidedly on his terms. God enters into his creation to create a
people and a place
for his presence. And so the covenant is as
the Lord declares at Sinai: “I will dwell among the people of Israel and
be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who
brought them out of the land of Egypt
that I might dwell among them” (
Ex 29:45-46).
7. The presence of God is the means and end of redemption.
As evangelicals, we talk a lot about the presence of God but seldom
look to the Bible to see what it is. When we do, we find that it is
first and foremost a theme on which the story of Scripture hinges. If we
read our Bibles though we begin to see a two-fold pattern.
First, the Bible makes clear that the presence of God is a central
goal
in God’s redemptive mission. All of God’s work ends with the Lord
dwelling with man. And second, the presence of God is, not only an
objective, it is also the
means by which the redemptive mission
is fulfilled. God writes himself into his own story to bring salvation.
To understand our Bibles and how it changes us, we need to know God’s
presence.
8. The presence of God finds its greatest expression in Immanuel, God with us.
God himself comes to save. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entered human history to give his life as a ransom for many (
Matt 20:28;
Mark 10:45).
In his grace, God buys us back in the most unimaginable way possible:
God in Christ became a man, walked among humanity, and died for his
people.
In this merciful act, Christ reconciles us to himself and re-opens
access to the Father so that those who were once exiled from his
presence might again draw near to God (
Heb 4:16; 7:19).
9. The purposes of the church are tied to the presence of God.
The presence of God has massive implications for the way we understand the church (
1 Cor 3:16-17;
2 Cor 6:14-7:1;
Eph 2:13-22).
The New Testament calls the church a temple for a reason. Through this
image, we see that the community of Christ is—in this time of waiting on
Christ’s return—the instrument the Lord uses to disseminate his
presence to a lost and sinful world.
Accordingly, the church has two clear purposes: 1) the church works
within itself for the sanctification of its members to prepare God’s
people for God’s present and future presence; and 2) the church works
externally to share the gospel so that the lost may enjoy God’s presence
now and forever as well.
10. To be a joyful Christian is to know God’s presence.
If we are honest, many of us can think of God as our “magic genie”
from time to time. We keep him on the shelf until troubles arise or
there is something our neighbor has that we really want. The problem is,
real relationships don’t work this way—especially with the triune God.
The Lord over all will not be left on the shelf of anyone’s life.
Instead, Scripture is clear that all of life—and, principally, the
gospel life—is about being in God’s relational presence. This is why
David proclaims, “in your presence there is fullness of joy, at your
right hand are pleasures forevermore” (
Ps 16:11). When we push all our peripheral issues to the periphery, this is all that is left and all that really matters.
Ryan Lister (PhD, The Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary) is professor of theology at Western Seminary in
Portland, Oregon. He is the author of The Presence of God and
serves as director of doctrine and discipleship for Humble Beast, where
he also helped start the Canvas Conference. He lives in Portland,
Oregon, with his wife, Chase, and their four children.
This book explores the importance of God’s
presence in the Bible and how it relates to his plan for the world,
helping readers understand what we really mean when we say God is with
us.
