Word Studies in the Bible

By E. M. Zerr

OMNIPRESENCE

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     The word is not in the text in this form, but the thought is there, and I shall deal with it because of its importance. Webster defines it as follows: "Present everywhere at once." It is a combination of the terms omni and presence. Webster defines the first, "A combining form meaning all." The second is actually used in Psalms 139:7 which reads as follows: "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither

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shall I go from thy presence?" It is from paneh which Strong defines, "The face (as the part that turns)." But David gives us a thorough description of the word in verses 8-12 which I will copy for the convenient information of the reader. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell [SHEOL], behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yes, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." The grand conclusion from all of this information is that no spot in the universe exists that is not in the presence of God at all times. This does not mean that God is not a personal being with a definite dwelling place. Psalms 11: 4 says, "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." In Acts 7:49 Stephen is talking about God when he says, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." But while God is a personal Being with a definite location, He is a spiritual person who is not restricted as a fleshly or literal one would be.

     In further consideration of the omnipresence of God, it will be well to study the following passages. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth" (2 Chronicles 16:9). "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3). "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 12:13). These quotations coincide with the definition of Strong for the word "presence" as follows: "The face (as the part that turns)" If a person had a face that could turn in all directions at once, it would be equivalent to having "eyes before and behind," as the creatures in Revelation 4:6. We are told that man is made in the image of God. We therefore must conclude that His person is not beset with eyes literally over his entire face; that would be a monstrosity. Hence the idea is that God's eyes are virtually able to see everything in all places, and all at the same time. Such an accomplishment could be done only by some spiritual means. This brings us to the appropriate place for another quotation. "And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God" (Revelation 4:5). In Ephesians 4:4 Paul declares there is "one Spirit." This cannot be figurative, for the same verse says "there is one body." Since we know there is but one body (or church), there can be actually but one Spirit to animate that body. Hence the "seven Spirits" is a figurative term, and gets its meaning from the word "seven." That word is from the Greek HEPTA which Robinson defines as follows: "Seven, ...The number seven was often put by the Jews for an indefinite round ["Complete" -- Webster] number." From the foregoing data we derive the conclusion that while God is a personal being with a definite throne in Heaven, yet his Spirit is complete and penetrates every inch of space in the universe. This accounts for the word used as a heading for this article. When a child I tried to visualize God as being seated upon the throne in Heaven, and yet having some kind of power that enabled him to be present (bodily) everywhere else at the same time. The idea was almost staggering to me, yet I accepted it because I thought the Bible taught it. But later studies of the Great Book revealed to me the situation as that being set forth in this article. I love to think of God as being "not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27). In every moment of my life and at every place I may be, He is right there and seeing and hearing all of my conduct. This is true of all mankind, whether the conduct is righteous or unrighteous. How determined we should be, then, to conduct ourselves in a manner pleasing to Him. Then some day we will be permitted to be in the divine presence personally.