Several popular Christian songs have
been written the last few years about the presence of the Lord; songs such as
"In the Presence of Jehovah," by Becky and Geron Davis, and "In
His Presence," by Dick and Melodie Tunney. The lyrics of both songs speak
of entering into the presence of the Lord when we bow before Him in prayer and
worship. I like both of these songs, but they led me to question what we mean
when we talk about "the presence of the Lord" and what the Scriptures
teach about this subject.
The Omnipresence of God
The Word of God declares that God is
omnipresent; He is everywhere. Solomon, in his dedication of the temple in
Jerusalem, declared:
"But will God indeed dwell on the
earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much
less this temple which I have built!" (1 Kings
8:27)
The psalmist Dato God:vid cried out
"Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the
morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand
shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me." (Psalms
139:7-10)
The prophet Jonah sought to flee from
God's presence (Jonah 1:3,10) but
found that he could not escape the Lord.
In addition to His omnipresence, the
Scriptures speak of "the presence of the Lord" in another sense. Adam
and Eve experienced the presence of the Lord as they walked and talked with Him
in the garden of Eden. After they sinned by disobeying God, they "hid
themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the
garden" (Gen.
3:8). After killing his brother, Abel, Cain "went out from the
presence of the Lord" (Gen. 4:16). Adam and Eve could not hide themselves, nor
could Cain go out from God's omnipresence. The "presence of the Lord"
in these passages speaks of God's Presence Among His
People.
When Joseph was sold by his brothers
and taken down into Egypt, the Scriptures tells us "the Lord was with
Joseph" (Gen.
39:2, 21,
23).
When the children of Israel made their
exodus from Egypt, the Lord brought them "out of Egypt with His
presence" (Deut. 4:37) and then "went before them by day in a
pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them
light" (Exo.
13:21).
When God gave the Law to Israel at the
foot of Mount Sinai, they were instructed to build the tabernacle as a dwelling
place for the Lord. There, "from above the mercy seat, from between the two
cherubim which were on the ark of the Testimony," the Lord was to meet and
speak with the children of Israel (Exo. 25:22).
When Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle for the first time, "the
glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle" (Exo. 40:34).
As they anticipated the journey from Mount Sinai to the promised land of
Canaan, the Lord told Moses, "My presence will go with you, and I will
give you rest" (Exo. 33:14). Later, when Solomon built the temple in
Jerusalem, it, too, was a dwelling place for the presence of the Lord, for His
name was in that temple (2 Chron.
20:9).
Through the years, the nation of Israel
fell into the terrible sin of idolatry. They eventually became so given over to
idols that God sent them into captivity. The anger of the Lord burned against
them until He "finally cast them out from His presence" (2 Kings
24:20). The prophet Ezekiel describes how the glory of the Lord departed
from Israel's temple in those days (Ezek. 10). God had warned Israel, through
the prophets, that this would happen if they continued in their transgression,
but they would not listen.
The Presence of God's Son
Four hundred years separated the close
of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament. This was a time of
darkness for the nation of Israel because the presence of the Lord had departed
from their midst. This darkness was dispelled when a wonderful event occurred.
The Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, left the presence of His Father in heaven (John 1:1-2)
and came to earth to dwell among men. John's gospel says,
"And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
The word "dwelt" literally
means "tabernacled." Under the law the tabernacle (and later the
temple) was God's dwelling place among His people, Israel. Now the eternal Son
of God had taken a body of flesh ("yet without sin") and become a Man
that He might dwell among them. After so many years of spiritual darkness, the
presence of the Lord was again felt in Israel's midst; a presence which would
provide the children of Israel with "the Light of Life" (John 1:4).
But, once again, they rejected Him, crucifying Him on the cruel cross (John 1:11).
Unknown to the Jewish rulers or the people, this is exactly what Christ had
come for: to die for the sins of the world (1 Pet. 2:24;
1 John
2:2).
Having finished the work of eternal
redemption on the cross, Jesus Christ was raised again after three days.
Following a period of another forty days, the Son of God ascended back into
heaven, "now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24).
There He serves as our Advocate (1 John 2:1),
our Intercessor (Heb. 7:25), and our Head (Eph. 1:22).
The Presence of God's Spirit
The night before Jesus' crucifixion, He
promised His disciples that when He went away, He would send them another
"Helper" (KJV "Comforter"), the Holy Spirit of God,
"to dwell with you" and to "abide with you forever" (John
14:16-17). This was a wonderful promise. Up to this time, the Spirit of God
did not abide with men forever. After Samson gave away the secret of his great
strength, "the Lord departed from him" (Judges 16:20).
The Spirit of the Lord departed from King Saul after he disobeyed God's
commands (1 Sam. 16:14). Even David, whom God called "a man
after My own heart," in his prayer of confession after his sin with
Bathsheba said, "Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take
Your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).
Today, we enjoy the indwelling presence
of God's Holy Spirit within us (Rom. 8:9-11).
The very moment we hear and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are "sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:12-13).
He comes to dwell within us as a "guarantee of our inheritance"
"until the day of redemption" (Eph. 1:14, 4:30). We
have "the presence of the Lord" within us, not just when we are at
church, or praying, or worshipping, but always.
As God the Father dwelt among His
people, Israel, in the tabernacle and the temple, and as God the Son
"tabernacled" among men in a body of flesh, which He referred to as
"this temple" (John 2:19-21), now God the Holy Spirit has taken up His
dwelling within us. As individual believers, our bodies have become the temples
of the Holy Spirit.
"Or do you not know that your body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you
are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor.
6:19-20)
Collectively, the Church the Body of Christ,
which is made up of individual believers, "grows into a holy temple in the
Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in
the Spirit" (Eph. 2:21-22).
As wonderful as it is to have the
presence of the Lord dwelling within us, there is another sense of "the
presence of the Lord" that we cannot experience as long as we remain in
bodies of sinful flesh:
The Presence of the Lord in Heaven.
As to our spiritual position, we are
already seated "in the heavenly places" because God sees us "in
Christ" (Eph.
2:6). Being "in Him" we are considered "holy and without
blame before Him" (Eph. 1:4). The expression "before Him" literally
means "before His face" or "before His presence." However,
we still await the day when the Lord will come for His Church and usher us into
"the presence of the Lord" in heaven itself. When Christ appears, we
will "appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:3-4).
He will "transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious
body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to
Himself" (Phil. 3:20-21), and "thus we shall always be with the
Lord," in the presence of the Lord for all eternity.
Even if a believer dies before the Lord
appears, we have the confidence that "to be absent from the body is to be
present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8).
Paul spoke of death as a departure expressing his earnest desire "to
depart and be with Christ, which is far better" (Phil. 1:23).
The psalmist David spoke of how wonderful it will be to be in "the
presence of the Lord."
"In Your presence is fullness of
joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psa. 16:11)
What a glorious future to those who
know the Lord as Savior! What a blessed hope! Is this your future, your hope?
If not, you too will one day stand in "the presence of the Lord," not
to experience joy and peace with Him, but to be judged and condemned for your
sins. The psalmist David, in Psalm 68:2, declared
"The Wicked Perish at the Presence of God."
Paul described the vengeance God will
pour out on "those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power"
(2
Thess. 1:8-9). The expression "from the presence of the Lord"
literally means "away from the presence of the Lord." The
condemnation for sin will be eternal separation from "the presence of the
Lord." Clearly, the writer to the Hebrews was right when he said
"It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God." (Heb. 10:31)
This doesn't have to be your future.
God does not desire "that any should perish" (2 Pet. 3:9).
God loves you, even though you are a sinner (Rom. 3:23)
and under the penalty of death (Rom. 6:23).
God demonstrated His great love for you by sending His only Son into the world
to die for your sins (Rom. 5:8). Jesus Christ was then raised from the dead that
you might have eternal life.
If you simply believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and the finished work He accomplished for you through His death, burial,
and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:3-4), you can be saved from your sins. You can
have the presence of God's Holy Spirit indwelling your heart. You can have the
hope of one day being in the presence of the Lord forever. Won't you receive,
by faith (Eph.
2:8-9), this wonderful gift of eternal life and truly experience "the
presence of the Lord"?
Grace Bible Church
http://www.gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
(A 10 Minute Video)
http://www.gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
How God Saves
Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read
Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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