God’s Presence
God’s presence is everywhere at all times. David wrote, “The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth” (Psalm 33:13,14).
But there are some paradoxes due to the limitations of the human mind. One of these paradoxes is: We know that God is separated from His children because of sin (Isaiah 52:9), and He is far from the wicked (Proverbs 15:29). Then, can a Holy pure God be present where evil abounds like in Hell for example? Many say that hell is a place of utter separation from God (Matthew 25:41), then can God exist there?
This paradox can be cleared by the fact that God can be present—because He fills all things with His presence (Colossians 1:17) and upholds everything by His word (Hebrews 1:3), but He is not everywhere to always bless and sustain. Sometimes God’s presence is to judge and destroy.
John wrote, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
And then, if God is everywhere could His presence destroy all people because they are sinful by nature? The answer is no, because God shields His glory to protect us and give us a chance to get to know Him. God in His mercy covers His glory to keep us alive (Exodus 33:18-23).
Jesus had to cover His divinity with a garb of humanity so that people can see Him and not die. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Though Christ was originally “in the form of God” He “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself,” and, “being born in the likeness of men,” was “found in human form” (Philippians 2:6–8).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
