What is God like? Immanent

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)

So far we’ve thought about God’s transcendence and His independence. But we have to hold these things together with the complementary truth of God’s immanence – that is, He is near. The trouble with just thinking of God as transcendent and independent is that we end up with an image of a distant deity who sits staring down His nose at us, all the while keeping us firmly at (very long) arm’s length. But that’s not the God of the Bible!


Where do we see the truth of God's immanence in the Bible?
In Acts 17 Paul explains to the Athenian listeners that God doesn’t need anything from us; rather, He gives us life and breath and everything. That is, although God is separate from the world He has made, He is still intimately involved in it. Moreover, Paul says, God “…is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:27). He wants us to reach out to Him and experience His closeness!

David agrees in Psalm 139:7-12. He notices that wherever he goes, God is there. There’s nowhere he could go where God wouldn’t be close to him. Jonah found that out the hard way, if you remember! But it’s not meant to be a “Big Brother” feeling, where you can’t get out from under His watchful eye – although that is true. Rather, David experiences it as a comfort. Less “Big Brother” and more loving Father, who won’t allow us to outrun Him but will pursue us in love to the ends of the earth, who cares deeply for each and every part of His creation, and particularly for His people.

Why does this matter?

Just think about this and drink this in: how incredible it is that God cares about each of us! At Paignton Zoo they have a variety of animals both large and small, including an enclosure containing a huge ant’s nest. Who knows how many ants they have? Hundreds? Thousands? (The keepers probably don’t know either!) Many of the larger animals will be known to the keepers by name and cherished for their quirky personalities, but I doubt that they would say that about the ants! In a world of 7 billion people and far more animals, adrift in a sea of space among innumerable stars and planets, what an incredible thought it is that God not only knows us by name but even knows how many hairs we have on our heads (see Luke 12:6-7). No wonder David’s mind boggles in Psalm 8: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4)

A popular notion these days is that God, if He exists, is more like the “Force” of Star Wars or the “Allspark” of Transformers: an impersonal divine spark or power that is at work in the universe creating life but always remaining just out of reach; always remaining in a very significant sense disconnected from it all. God is not like that! He is intimately involved in the world; He cares deeply about those He has made, and He “…is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:27), if only we would reach out for Him.

Of course, the chief way we see this is through Jesus, who didn’t just come near but, “…became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). And one day we can look forward to that again, as we are welcomed into the new earth where God’s dwelling-place will be among His people (Revelation 21:3). Let’s look forward to that day!