Manufacturing and Marketing God’s Presence

A few weeks ago a friend and I were glancing through a Christian magazine and noticed how often people referred to “God’s presence.” It’s a hot topic these days.

In his kindness and mercy, God often reveals his active presence to us. By “active” presence I mean God’s presence as distinct from his omnipresence and his promised presence, both of which we accept by faith. Whether we “feel” it or not, God is present when his Word is faithfully preached, when his people meet in Jesus’ name, when we celebrate the Lord’s supper, when we sing, and we were serve in his power (1 Tim. 6:13; 1 Cor. 5:4; Mt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 11:27-32; Acts 10:33; Eph. 5:18-19; 1 Pet. 4:10-11). At those times and others we can know that God is with us, empowering what we do.

But there are times when God makes his presence known more clearly, more tangibly. Like in 1 Cor. 14:25, when the secrets of a man’s heart are revealed by prophetic words and he declares, “God is really among you” (1 Cor. 14:25). We experience it when our hearts are flooded with peace, or we are suddenly aware of God’s greatness and majesty, or when someone is healed. It might come as well when God’s preached Word pierces to our heart and we find ourselves weeping at the Holy Spirit’s conviction or God’s mercy in Christ. We think, “God is really here.”

While God’s active, or manifest, presence is to be treasured and even sought after (Ps. 27:4; Ps. 105:4), there are some unhelpful perspectives about God’s presence we want to avoid. Read more