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What are some of the implications involved in the omnipresence of God?


A. God is not only omnipresent, but can be present to punish, to sustain, or to bless, as suggested by Wayne Grudem.
1. To punish.“I will watch over them for evil, and not for good” (Jer 44:27). “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them” (Rom 1:18–19). People who prefer to only think of God as benevolent and loving fail to recognize that God is also holy. God mercifully reaches out in his grace, but when he is rejected, his response may be one of fierce indignation.

Charles Ryrie says much the same thing:

Omnipresent does not mean that the immediacy of His presence does not vary. It does. His presence on His throne (Rev 4:2), in Solomon’s temple (2 Chr 7:2), or in the believer (Gal 2:20) certainly differs in its immediacy from His presence in the lake of fire (Rev 14:10). Though in the lake of fire people will be separated from the face-presence of God (2 Thes 1:9, “prosopon”), they will never be separated from Him who is omnipresent (Rev 14:10, “enopion”). There is obviously no presence of fellowship (for His face will be turned away from the wicked in the lake of fire) as exists when He indwells believers. (Basic Theology, p. 41)

2. To sustain (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3).


3. To bless (Ps 16:11; John 14:23; 2 Cor 3:17; Rev 21:3).


B. Paul Enns explains the grace and awe of God’s omnipresence:

The doctrine of omnipresence is a comfort to the believer who recognizes that no calamity can befall him that God is not present with him; it is also a warning to the disobedient person that he cannot escape the presence of God. (Moody Handbook of Theology, p. 194)

There once was a staunch Republican farmer named Fred and his wife, Kitty, who lived in central Illinois. Before leaving his home to hear the results of the 1936 presidential election between Alf Landon and FDR at the local courthouse, Fred, a devoted Landon supporter, said to his wife: “Kitty, start packing, for if Roosevelt carries Pike County, we’re moving!” Around 3:00 a.m., as the results trickled in, he rang his wife in great despair: “Kitty, this is Fred. Unpack girl, for there’s no place to go!” The final vote of course would reveal that FDR had carried every state except Maine and Vermont!

  The Judgment Seat
     

One of my former students at Liberty University once told me he had found a real problem in regards to the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ. The difficulty centered in the vast amount of time it would take to judge and reward the millions of believers that would be there. He concluded that if God spent only one hour per Christian, the time involved would equal hundreds of thousands of years! I answered that his problem was easily solved, for the total duration of time involved would be exactly 60 minutes! In other words, the divine attribute of omnipresence assures that each believer would experience the full and undivided attention of God at the same time!

  C. The omnipresence of God means he will not only personally accompany you into the hospital operation room, but is already there, patiently awaiting your arrival!

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