We are continuing on with our sermon series on the
“Attributes of God” focussing on His immanence; last year before holidays we
looked at His grace, holy nature, aseity and other avenues of His nature. Immanence by definition is the opposite of
transcendence. It is the concept that
God is very much involved in the material world and is ever present in His creation;
this is the exact opposite view point of most Jews and Muslims which emphasises
God’s transcendence and the inability of man to approach the Lord. This is an accurate belief for Christians
because of course our own faith has its seeds in Judaism but the difference is
that we can achieve immanence because of Christ and this is evidence of God extending
the olive branch.
God’s superiority above man is often mistaken as a
detachment bordering on emotional coldness.
Some sects in the Abrahamic religions believe that it would be a sin for
God to so be involved in this world and since the spiritual world came before
the material that is His natural realm.
Many believe that transcendence and immanence cannot co-exist that they
are in fact contradictory but there are many instances in the Holy Bible that
they in fact can co-exist and we will be examining both in two separate
sermons. In Jeremiah 23:23-24 The Lord
declares “Am I only a God nearby,'
declares the LORD, 'and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so
that I cannot see him?' declares the LORD. 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?' declares
the LORD." It is this verse
which will be our home base. Paul writes
of Christ that “who, although He existed
in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the
likeness of men. Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross.”
A common belief in
orthodoxy is that the finite cannot understand the infinite. His immanence is demonstrated in every rock,
molecule, leaf, human breath, lion’s roar, and hymn. God’s control can extend to all places and
does extend to all places, and like His other attributes His immanence is
inter-twined with the rest of them, able to analyse separately but never
separate, distinct personality traits.
Often times we have a twisted view of God’s immanence, we believe that
everything in nature is a part of God or is God Himself and thus He is His own
creation. Other theological perspectives
include the ones that God created all this and then withdrew because of His
disgust over it. These views often muddy
the waters of clarity and truth when it comes to the identity of God. Some people say the fact that we say God is
transcendent means he cannot be imminent.
But I disagree if God is everywhere He must be both near and far. In the Bible it says we are all in Him, and
we are all of the body of Christ; that is an example of his immanence. I believe that God’s love for us is an
example of His immanence. While the Lord
is distant, far, and transcendent He is also close. In the Old Testament He came in forms of
fire, cloud, and objects which reflected His glory and power and yet did those
who witness it not feel the heat of the pillar of fire on their face? Or feel
the gust of wind when God’s Spirit came to the tent of the tabernacle? As I write this I am in the 3rd
day of Lent. And something that has been
on my mind is how at times the concept of and being of God and Christ seems so
far above me and yet there is always something that reminds me of how close He
is. The entire Bible is proof of His immanence while it celebrates His
transcendence. Our entire being of our
faith is to show the lost that there is a God who is here and who loves them
and who is so involved with us that we are beloved among all creation. The Bible is many things and it is a record
of His close walk with us from the beginning of our planet to just under 2000
years ago.
Many other
religions may ask where the proof that God is this close is. Unlike other mysteries of the Bible where we
may never know in this life the question of God’s immanence is answered,
directly from God Himself. In the New
Testament when the Son of God is being announced one of His many names is
Immanuel (meaning God is with us).
What are some of the examples from the Bible of God’s immanence? One that stands out to me is Isaiah
57:15-when people argue that the Lord cannot be both transcendent and immanent
I like to reference this; “For thus says
the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in
the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the
contrite." I find the book of
Isaiah a go to reference for the complexity and completeness of the Bible since
it was found in several locations complete.
God’s immanence is
not always in your face pillar of fire, as God tells the prophet Elijah "Go forth, and stand upon the mount
before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong
wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the
Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was
not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in
the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12 the
discussions on God’s touch upon our lives are also meant to be deep in our
souls, “God’s law penetrates our hearts with the light of His Word.”
This brings me to
the next biggest example of God’s immanent presence; His Son, our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ as said before His name meant God with us. Jesus reaches out as the flesh and blood
immanent example of God’s love to the sick, sinners, and outcasts that the
religious aristocracy prevented from reaching out to touch God’s
fingertips. In the Old Testament you
could fall dead looking upon God’s face but the fact that Christ stripped
Himself and came as man bridges a gap that was once transcendent. But what are the benefits of this immanence
through Christ? First of all, we cut out
the need for priests and temples even though Christ still honoured them. Secondly we get a clearer picture of
God. Over hundreds of years, messages
from prophets and priests are second hand information but when the Source comes
down, it allows clearing up a lot of mix ups and mistaken theories. And third Christ is able to physically show
the love, tenderness, and all the personality traits that God exhibits in a way
that man can understand.
The third example
of third portion of God’s immanence I would like to analyse is His Holy
Spirit. See the evidence of God’s
immanent nature is that of an inverted pyramid to us. It begins with a God whom we cannot look upon
by our own doing. It was our sin that
ripped us away from him and created this rift between us. God’s transcendence still existed but because
we were different beings we were still able to look upon Him. Because of that His immanent nature was not fully
revealed when we were in the Garden of Eden.
However after the fall we were very much separated from Him and we could
not conceive His immanence. Occasionally
throughout the centuries and millennia He would gently tap on prophets and
priests to speak to the people but to have a true encounter with God His
immanence needed to be more self evident to poor humans. Through the third portion of this inverted
pyramid which is the Holy Spirit we have an indwelling of God in us and it is
through the Spirit being inside of us, us being its temple that we have full
completion of the Lord’s immanence and transcendence but I believe that we cannot
fully understand nor appreciate it until we come before God.
Often people who
only have a superficial understanding of God feel that His nature is often contradictory
but when you strive to study and know God’s true nature is when you see that he
is always in complete harmony, balance, and peace. I thank God that even though I may not
understand His nature His nature and His attributes are endless and unchanging.
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