The psalmist declares, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18 ESV). This simple statement is meant to bring encouragement to the suffering as they consider the amazing fact that the transcendent God of the universe chooses to draw near to them in their time of need. The One who created time and space and yet exists outside of both is fully capable of entering into the pain and suffering of His children.
Yet some deny God’s perceivability and accessibility. They view God as a distant and difficult-to-know deity who is disengaged from and disinterested in the affairs of men. This deistic view of God paints Him as an aloof and impersonal absentee owner who manages His creation from the confines of heaven and rarely interacts with mankind. In this rather pessimistic understanding of God, He offers little in the way of guidance, comfort, protection, or personal input.
The God of the deist is too big and far too great to expect Him to interface with His lowly creation. Even King Solomon seemed to believe that God was too immense to be truly immanent. When Solomon completed the construction of the grand Temple he had built to serve as God’s earthly dwelling place, he stated, “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27 NLT). Solomon recognized that his immaculate Temple was insufficient to house the God of the universe. Yet, God was more than willing to bless the Temple with His presence.
When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord. – 1 Kings 8:10-11 NLT
Then the transcendent God delivered a very personal message to His servant Solomon.
“I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.” – 1 Kings 9:3 NLT
The doctrine of God’s immanence teaches that God’s presence is all-pervasive. It is closely related to His attribute of omnipresence, which teaches that God is not limited by time and space. He is not restricted to a human body or confined to a particular place or time. David was blown away by the amazing reality of God’s grandeur and immeasurable vastness and attempted to put his thoughts in writing.
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me. – Psalm 139:7-10 NLT
For David, God was both near and far away. He was at the same time distant and close at hand. God could not be avoided or escaped from. There was no place on earth where His presence was missing or His power could not penetrate. To put it simply, there is no place where God is not; He is everywhere at all times.
But God’s immanence is not to be confused with Pantheism, a pagan doctrine that “teaches the belief that God is equal to the universe, its physical matter, and the forces that govern it” (“Pantheism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pantheism. Accessed 16 Aug. 2024).
“Canon W. G. Holmes of India told of seeing Hindu worshipers tapping on trees and stones and whispering ‘Are your there? Are you there?’ to the god they hoped might reside within. In complete humility the instructed Christian brings the answer to that question. God is indeed there. He is there as He is here and everywhere, not confined to tree and stone, but free in the universe, near to everything, next to everyone, and through Jesus Christ immediately accessible to every loving heart.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy
God’s presence permeates His creation but is not equal to it. God’s omnipresence should not be construed to mean that everything is God. That is the false and unbiblical premise of Pantheism. What makes the doctrine of God’s immanence so incredibly unique is that it maintains the integrity of His otherness while assuring us of His closeness. Moses reminded the people of Israel, “What great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him?” (Deuteronomy 4:7 NLT).
The incomparable and incomprehensible God of the universe has chosen to make Himself known and knowable.
The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.” – Isaiah 57:15 NLT
He is high and lofty yet intimately involved in the affairs of men.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18 ESV
Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down
on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!
He gives the childless woman a family,
making her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord! – Psalm 113:5-9 NLT
Why would the all-powerful, fully righteous God of the universe stoop so low as to have a relationship with sinful men? What would possess the holy transcendent God to condescend and care for those who have chosen to reject Him? The simple answer is “Love.”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 ESV
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:6-8 NLT
The transcendent God took it upon Himself to transcend time and space by entering into the sin-darkened world as the light of life. God’s presence had always pervaded His creation but with the coming of Christ, His presence took on a personal and perfectly relatable form.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it. – John 1:1-1-5 NLT
God became flesh. Jesus, in His incarnation, became Immanuel, God with us (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). He was fully God and fully man. He was the God-man. In His humanity, Jesus made God visible, relatable, and easily knowable. He was the flesh-and-blood God, but no less divine and fully holy in every way. As John points out in his gospel, Jesus was the light shining in the darkness.
The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:9-12 NLT
The immense significance of Jesus’ immanence should not escape us. As John points out, “The Word became human and made his home among us” (John 1:14 NLT). God took up residence among us. He literally “tabernacled” among us. Not only that, He poured out His unfailing love and faithfulness to undeserving humanity through the life of His Son. And John adds the mind-blowing note that, as a result, “we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (John 1:14 NLT).
The transcendent became immanent. The invisible became visible. The incomprehensible became fully relatable and knowable. According to Paul, “in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9 NLT). Through Jesus, God has made Himself fully known and easily knowable. Jesus assured Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9 NLT). Jesus boldly claimed, “If you knew me, you would also know my Father” (John 8:10 NLT). Just hours before His death, Jesus told the crowd gathered in Jerusalem, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark” (John 12:44-46 NLT).
Yet, the light wasn’t well received. The presence of God in human form wasn’t fully appreciated by those who saw Him. Jesus’ entrance into the world was met with mixed revues, as He Himself confessed.
“God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” – John 3:19-21 NLT
The light of the world was eventually extinguished, but that was not the end. Jesus was put to death but the grave could not hold Him. His life was taken from Him but His divinity could not be extinguished. Jesus burst from the tomb in a blaze of glory so bright that it paralyzed the Roman soldiers.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. – Matthew 27:2-4 NLT
The light of the world was alive and well. The light of life overcame the darkness and defeated death and the grave – once for all. Jesus was and is alive and lives forever to intercede with God on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25).
Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. – Ephesians 2:18 NLT
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.