The Omnipresence and
Infinitude of God
Scripture
Psalm 139
GODISNOWHERE
What does the
above word say? To the atheist and unbeliever it says God is
nowhere. To the Christian, it says God is now here.
From
scripture, it is easy to see where this attribute is discussed.
Psalm 139 is probably the best known passage. Look at Psalm
139:7-12. Here we see that there is no place that we can go to
escape God’s presence.
I have placed
omnipresence and infinitude together. Some theologians make a
distinction but personally I am unable to separate the two. Because
God is everywhere, His presence stretches on into the infinite
reaches of the universe – the universe that He created.
Pantheism
We need to
make an important distinction between God being everywhere and God
being in everything. Other religions, Hinduism being the
largest, hold that god is in everything, hence everything is a god.
We cannot create an idol and focus our worship on it, stating that
it is our representation of God. We cannot say that because God is
everywhere, he is in an idol that we create. The Israelites did
this very thing with the golden calf and God punished them
severely.
Today most
consider idol worship as backward and foolish. There is no
temptation to create something and call it our god. However, we
still hold on to things that we place as much importance to as God.
Catholics must take of communion every week. Numerous Protestants
contend that baptism is necessary for salvation. Pentecostals and
charismatics believe that speaking in tongues is necessary.
Still, we
place too much importance in symbols that are meant to remind us of
God rather than simply focusing us on God. How many churches would
have a riot if it were suggested to remove the altar rails at the
front? Is there anything sacred about this or simply another
symbol? How many people have fought over the color of carpet in the
church? What about a new building or the relocation of a
congregation?
What is the most
important symbol in your church? Could it become an idol?
Conclusion
Omnipresence
is one attribute of God that we can sort of fathom, even if we still
can’t grasp His infinitude. However, we need to be careful to not
place objects on par with God, regardless how well intentioned they
are, regardless of how they make us feel of how long they have been
important to us. God is to be our focus and not things that remind
us of Him or point us to Him. We must not lose site of this and
worship the created rather than the Creator.
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