Is God Really Everywhere? A Biblical Case Against Omnipresence

 Is God Really Everywhere? A Biblical Case Against Omnipresence


The concept of God's omnipresence—His being everywhere at all times—is widely accepted in modern theology. But does this idea truly align with what Scripture says? A closer look at the Bible suggests that God often operates in localized, personal, and sometimes even absent ways. Let’s explore 15 verses that challenge the philosophical concept of omnipresence and present a more dynamic, relational view of God’s presence.


1. Genesis 3:8 “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden…” Why would Adam and Eve hear God walking in the garden if He were already everywhere? This scene implies God has a physical or localized presence.


2. Genesis 11:5 “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.” God “comes down” to observe human activity—suggesting that He wasn’t already present in that location.


3. Genesis 18:20–21 “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry…” God investigates Sodom and Gomorrah, implying that His full knowledge wasn’t immediate or ever-present in that location.


4. Genesis 28:16 “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” Jacob’s reaction implies that God’s presence is not assumed to be everywhere, but revealed in specific places.


5. Exodus 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” If all ground were equally filled with God’s presence, why is this spot uniquely holy?


6. Exodus 19:11 “The LORD will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai.” God coming down to the mountain indicates movement—He wasn’t already there in full presence.


7. 2 Chronicles 7:2 “And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house.” God’s presence is described as something that fills a space—a specific place at a specific time.


8. 1 Kings 8:10–11 “...the cloud filled the house of the LORD… for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.” God’s glory inhabits a location. If He’s everywhere, why would His glory need to “fill” a specific building?


9. 1 Kings 19:11–12 God was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire—but in a still, small voice. This shows God chooses how and where to be present, not a constant omnipresence.


10. Job 1:6–7 God asks Satan where he has been, and Satan responds that he has been roaming the earth. If God were everywhere, He wouldn’t need to ask.


11. Isaiah 66:1 “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool…” This spatial description implies God reigns from a specific throne, not that He is dissolved into the universe.


12. Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.” Jonah’s flight implies the belief that God's presence can be escaped or avoided—something incompatible with omnipresence.


13. Zechariah 2:10 “For behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. Why would God come to dwell among people if He is already fully present?


14. Matthew 6:9 “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Jesus taught that God is in heaven—not everywhere. This sets a specific location for God’s primary dwelling.



15. John 14:23 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

This verse supports the idea that God’s indwelling is reserved for those who love and obey Him. The presence of God is relational and conditional—not universal or automatic.



Conclusion: A God Who Dwells in His People

Scripture shows us a God who is not abstractly omnipresent but personally and intentionally present. His presence is covenantal, not spatial. After 70 AD, as a Full Preterist understands, God’s dwelling shifted fully into the hearts of believers—His temple—just as Jesus and the apostles foretold. Rather than being everywhere, God is with His people. Not floating in the sky or spread throughout the cosmos, but living in those who are His.

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