John 4:24 says that God is a Spirit. He only has a physical body as God the Son took flesh in the incarnation. But we also say that God is everywhere, omnipresent. His presence is everywhere and at all times. How can these concepts go together?
God has no borders. If there were places where God was not, that would mark God’s limits, but God is not limited. He is infinite. In Jeremiah 23:24, God declares that He fills heaven and earth. He fills heaven and earth in the same way that the ocean fills a bucket that is submerged in it. It fills it and surrounds it in every direction. In Psalm 139, David declares that no matter where he went and no matter what he tried to get away from God, God’s presence was everywhere.
So why is it that it often feels like God is far away? It is because sin separate us from God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God.” We can be “close” to someone who lives thousands of miles away. At the same time, we can be distant from someone who lives under our same roof. Adam and Eve enjoyed fellowship with God, but when they sinned, God called out to Adam, “Where are you?” God was not lost; Adam was.
Jesus Christ came so that sinners, alienated from God, could be brought near to God. That is why the Bible calls Him Emmanuel- God with us. Hebrews 7:19 says that the gospel proclaims the way to draw near to God. It is only by the work of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:35 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ.” The chapter goes on to say that no one and nothing can. Hebrews 13:5 says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 10:31 says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Jesus Christ came so that “God with us” would be a sweet reality instead of a fearful prospect.
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