The Immanence of God

“Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.”^[1]

First, what is “immanence”? According to the New Oxford Languages Dictionary, it means, “1. exiting or operating within; inherent; 2. (of God) permanently pervading and sustaining the universe”; Merriam-Webster says it is “indwelling, inherent”; and the Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “present as a natural and permanent part of something.”^[2]

So, when we speak of God as being immanent, we speak of Him as being in God’s creation. But not just in. Dr. Norman Geisler explains,

“The literal meaning of the immanence of God is ‘to be within’ or ‘near’ in relation to God’s creation. Immanence is closely related to God’s omnipresence, in that God is always present within the universe, though distinct from it. God is ‘within’ the universe in that God is its sustaining cause.

“‘Am I only a God nearby,’ declares the LORD, ‘and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:23-24).

“In Christ all things hold together... (Colossians 1:17).”^[3]

A.W. Tozer explains the difference between omnipresence and immanence this way: “God is omnipresent, which means God is everywhere. God is also immanent, which means that God penetrates everything.”^[4]

It’s one thing to just be there. We’ve all had that experience of being “in” a meeting, but our mind is wandering. We’re there, but we’re not all there. In fact, we may as well not be there! Of course, that is an extremely poor analogy for the “thereness” of God. Where He is, He is all there. In our last article on the Omnipresence of God, we spoke about His “thereness” as it is described by the psalmist in Psalm 139:

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139:7-12)

There is quite literally nowhere we can flee from His presence! J.I. Packer puts it this way: “One thing that is clear,… is that he is present everywhere in the fullness of all that he is and all the powers that he has, and needy souls praying to him anywhere in the world receive the same fullness of his undivided attention.”^[5] He is fully there, He is fully aware, and He is fully engaged. Just read these verses:

• Psalm 145:18-19 – The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
• Acts 17:28 – in him we live and move and have our being.
• Colossians 1:15-17 – The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
• Hebrews 1:3 – …sustaining all things by his powerful word.

It is clear from these verses and more that God did not just create then sit back and leave His creation to get on without Him the best it can. He is fully aware of all that is going on with us.

But in his article “Divine Transcendence and Immanence,” John Frame makes this remarkable statement:

“To say that God is immanent is to say that he is present in time and space, that he is near us. There is no biblical term that captures all of what theologians want to say about God’s transcendence, but the idea of immanence is helpfully summarized in the term Immanuel, God with us (Isa. 7:14; 8:8; Matt. 1:23).”^[6]

God with us. Immanuel. This, perhaps more than anything else, should illustrate God’s deep, deep involvement in all that He has made—His immanence. It’s not just enough for Him to see what’s going on—which He does; it’s not enough for Him to see what’s going wrong, even if that is a result of our own sinfulness and rebellion against Him—which it is.

In spite of all that, God sent His own Son into the world to die in our place, to pay the penalty for all the sins we have committed, and to reconcile us to Himself.

He didn’t do that because we are worthy of this incredible sacrifice—we certainly are not—but simply because He loved us; simply because His wonderful gracious nature was “not willing that any should perish,” that is, die in their sinful state, but that everyone should have the opportunity to repent (2 Peter 3:9).

As the apostle Paul told Timothy:

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:15-17)

Immanuel, the immanent God with us!

1. Charles Wesley, “Hark! the Herald Angel’s Sing,” public domain.↑
2. Keep in mind that immanent and imminent are not the same thing, although sometimes confused since they are pronounced virtually the same. Imminent means that something is about to happen. This term is often used about the rapture, the “snatching away” of Christians which is spoken of in the Bible. Another easily confused word, simply on the basis of pronunciation, is eminent, which refers to someone who is famous and/or respected.↑
3. Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology: Volume 2: God, Creation (Bethany House, 2003), p. 527.↑
4. A.W. Tozer, The Attributes of God Volume 1: A Journey into the Father’s Heart (Moody Publishers: Kindle Edition).↑
5. J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Tyndale House Publishers: Kindle Edition), p. 35.↑
6. John Frame, “Divine Transcendence and Immanence,” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/divine-transcendence-immanence/.↑