Everywhere?

For those believers who have been raised in the church, there is often a tendency to not think about the doctrines we hold to and their implications as much as we should. We know the right answers and we’re satisfied with that without ever really thinking about what they mean. The result is the unfortunate answer “I’ve never thought about that” when we are asked questions about our faith. That’s not the kind of answer that reflects well on someone who claims that their faith is their identity.

This issue could be dealt with in and of itself, but it really just serves as an introduction here to a specific example – God’s omnipresence. God is everywhere. Right? We say that he is, and if anyone asks us to describe God it’s usually one of the most popular ways we do so. But do we really mean everywhere? What if someone was to ask the question: “Is God in hell?” How would you answer?

I’ve heard answers from both sides. Some say that God is in hell but they can’t explain how this could happen if God is love and hope and hell is torture and despair. Many say that hell is the absence of God, and that to be with God in it’s ultimate form is the essence of heaven, but to be completely separated from him is the worst punishment of hell. But what does this say of his omnipresence? This second view is vaguely true in that there is something about God’s character that is absent in hell, but completely fails to account for the fact that the Bible teaches that God is present everywhere.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139: 7-10)

In order to wrap our minds around what it means for God to be omnipresent, we must first understand that his presence is manifested in more than one way. God is everywhere, but he is not manifested in the same way in all places. There are three ways in which God’s presence may be manifested.

God’s Presence to Sustain
God’s sustaining presence is manifested throughout creation, and there is no part of it that is able to exist apart from his presence. Deists believe that God exists but that he is not active in the world. The analogy is that the world is like a pocket watch that God wound up and is now setting back and watching it run. This stands in contradiction to passages that teach that God is both active in the world and upholding its very existence. This manifestation of God’s presence is found in everything that exists, including heaven and hell.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:3a)

God’s Presence to Bless
God’s presence to bless is the manifestation of his presence which brings good. This happens generally on earth in that human beings are allowed to live without being completely consumed in judgment for our sins, and even to enjoy the creation of which we are the crown. This presence is also manifested specifically in the lives of believers who are blessed with the ability to know God and enjoy him. This type of blessing is fundamentally different than the general blessings that all humans receive, but is still not the ultimate blessing that awaits the consummation of the kingdom of God. In heaven believers will experience God’s ultimate blessing through their enjoyment of him in the greatest sense possible. Thus, this manifestation of God’s presence is absent in hell. Hell is not the absence of God, but rather the absence of his blessing and the hope that is found in those blessings.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)

God’s Presence to Judge
God’s presence to judge is the opposite of his presence to bless. It is manifested in the earth generally though the effects of sin, and specifically through sovereign acts of punishment both on the wicked and on Jesus on the cross. But this presence is manifested much more harshly in hell. God’s judging presence is the defining characteristic of hell, and the dominant way in which God is present in hell. Alternatively, judgment will be absent from heaven because there will be no sin.

God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. (Psalm 7:11)

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

Note: It is important to remember that God’s omnipresence is not the same as pantheism. Pantheism does not say that God is everywhere, but rather that he is everything. The question is one of nature. God is present in your computer (sustaining), but his nature is fundamentally different from it. Christians say that God is everywhere; Pantheists say that God is everything. I can spend more time on this later if it doesn’t make sense.