In my previous article, I shared about The Transcendence of God— that He, in every way, is above, beyond, and outside all that He has made. The God who is exalted high and far above the created universe is the same God who is always present and active in it. This time, I will be sharing about this extraordinary attribute of God that appears to contradict the truth about His transcendence; but no, it does not. It’s His Immanence.
Norman Geisler’s definition of the immanence of God is “to be within or near” in relation to God’s creations. It is also closely associated with the omnipresence of God—having an indwelling presence with His creations all the time, He is personally and actively involved as He operates and sustains them.
GOD IS ALWAYS AT HAND. Immanence describes a God who is always at hand—actively and personally working through even the littlest details of the lives of His creations. Though transcendent in His being, He doesn’t just sit back on His throne in heaven and watch the universe that He has set in motion—He is with us all the time, and He has chosen to place Himself in direct connection to us as Creator and Sustainer, Lord and Savior.
TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE. By faith, we must learn to understand how the transcendence and the immanence of God must coexist. Their definitions might appear to be in conflict with one another, but both are necessary truths about God that we must grasp together equally. It’s going to be a mistake to emphasize either side then neglect the other. Wayne Grudem briefly explained the beauty of this antinomy:
God is both infinite and personal. He is infinite (transcendent) and personal (immanent). He is INFINITE in that He is not subject to any of the limitations of humanity, or of creation in general. He is far greater than everything He has made, far greater than anything else that exists. But He is also PERSONAL. He interacts with us as a person, and we can relate to Him as persons. We can pray to Him, worship Him, obey Him, and love Him, and He can speak to us, rejoice in us, and love us.
How incredibly awesome it is that the God who is far greater than anything else that exists is the same God who has caused us to exist? That the God who is seated on the highest throne in heaven loves us and is mindful of us? That the God who is beyond comprehension understands us and can relate to us? Truly, there is no other god who is both infinite and personal than the One True God.
In His transcendence and immanence, we are assured that the God Almighty is always with us and within us. He is exalted high above the heavens, yet He fills them. Having these truths in our hearts and in our minds, we can find rest in knowing that there is no place and no situation that is too far to be under His powerful and protecting hand.
God, the Creator of the worlds, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, cares about every concern of all of His creations. Therefore, we must not worry nor be afraid of anything. If He cares about the birds of the air and the lilies of the fields, He definitely and absolutely cares about us, too. For Him, we are of greater worth than birds and lilies. ❤️
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7, ESV)
This is an updated edition of an article originally published on thegodiknow.home.blog
Featured Image by Chris Child
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