The God Who is Everywhere
INTRODUCTION
There have been many times when I would have liked to be able to be in two different places at the same time. This past May, my daughter Elizabeth graduated from college in North Carolina. On that same day our good friend Amin graduated from Minnesota State and my 40th college reunion was being held at Wheaton. It was one of those days when I would have loved to be able to be in more than one place at a time.
We live in a world constrained by time and space. We can exist only in the moment and only at one place at a time. Our physical body does not allow us to do otherwise. Ironically, we cannot even do this mentally. Have you ever had the experience where you began to think about something and lost track of where you were?
Because we are bound by time and space, we cannot fully comprehend the idea that God is not. The technical word for this is omnipresence. God is everywhere at all times. Wayne Grudem defines this attribute of God in the following way. God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.
This week we will explore the truth that God is everywhere present.
Study 1: Psalm 139:1-12
In this Psalm, David strives to put into words the amazing reality of God’s omnipresence. He is overwhelmed by the reality that, no matter where he was, God was also there.
1. The opening verses of this Psalm demonstrate the intimate relationship that David had with God.
a. How does David express God’s intimate knowledge of him?
b. How does David see God being involved in his life?
2. In verses 5-6, David expressed his wonder at God’s involvement in his life.
a. What does David mean when he speaks of God hemming him in?
b. What do you think is David’s attitude toward God’s involvement?
3.In verses 11, David tries to express, in tangible terms, the omnipresence of God.
a. What is the burning question for David?
b. How does David express the extent of God’s presence?
c. What is the overriding message of this passage?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1.How do you respond to the reality that God knows you intimately?
2. What does it mean to you that God is aware of your every movement? How should that truth affect your actions?
3. What keeps us from living in the reality of God’s presence?
4. In what ways do people try to hide from or run away from God?
5. What does it mean to you that, no matter where you go, God is there with you?
6. David was in awe of God’s ever-presence.
a. In what ways is this a comfort to you?
b. In what ways is this a challenge to you?
Study 2: I Kings 8:22-30
This passage centers on Solomon’s dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. In Solomon’s prayer, he refers to two aspects of God’s omnipresence: God is not confined by space and time, yet God interacts within space and time.
1. How does Solomon honor God in verses 22-24?
2. What request does Solomon make of God in verses 25-26?
3. In verses 27-30, Solomon refers to the two aspects of God’s omnipresence mentioned above.
a. What important point does Solomon make in verse 27?
b. Why was acknowledging this very important? Think of how people viewed gods in Solomon’s day.
c. What request does Solomon make of God regarding the Temple?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1. What are some misconceptions that people have about God?
2. Why is it important that we affirm the biblical truth about who God is?
3. How is the Christian understanding of God different from most other world religions (other than Islam & Judaism)?
4. Why is it important that we do not see God has confined to one place?
5. How can God use “sacred space” as an aid to our worship of Him?
Study 3: Acts 17:16-31
In this passage, Paul confronts the spiritual climate of Athens. In it, Paul makes a stark contrast between the gods of the world and Jehovah.
1. Verses 16-21 sets the stage for Paul’s talk.
a. How did Paul react to what he saw in Athens?
b. What action did Paul take?
c. What was the outcome of this action?
2. Verses 22-30 give us the heart of Paul’s argument.
a. How did Paul try to connect with those he was talking to?
b. How does Paul describe God?
c. Why was this an important point, given where Paul was?
d. How did Paul place God at the very center of human history?
e. How does Paul seek to redefine their image of God?
f. How does Paul point them to Jesus?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1. Athens had an array of gods. In essence, they were trying to cover their bases.What are some of the gods in our world today?
2. If a person is seeking God, where do you look today?
3. Why do you think Paul contrasted God, the Creator, with temples made by human hands?
4. Why does seeing God as confined to a particular place diminish God and place man on the throne?
5. The second commandment instructs us not to make any tangible images of God as objects of worship. How does this relate to God’s omnipresence?
Study 4: John 4:19-24
In this passage, Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. When Jesus gets a little too personal for the woman, she tries to steer the conversation away from her and to theology.
1. What question does the woman pose to Jesus? How does this highlight her understanding of God?
2. How does Jesus counter her theological smokescreen?
3. How does Jesus define true worship? What does that mean?
4. What truth about God does Jesus reveal?
5. How does this truth redefine our understanding of God?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1.What kinds of questions do people raise when they don’t want to deal with Jesus on a personal level?
2.In what ways is confining God to a particular “box” a more comfortable way to view God?
3.What are the implications for a person, if they see God as present only at certain places?
4.What does it mean to you that God is Spirit?
5. What does it mean for you to worship God in spirit and in truth?
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