Immanence is just one of His many attributes, and while this means many different things for the believer, the important thing to understand is that God is active in our lives every day. There are many ways He interacts with us, and an understanding of this idea of immanence as expressed in the Bible is an important place to begin. The psalmist writes in Psalm 139:7-12 that there is no where that we can go from God's Spirit, or His presence, and that He is always near to us. This is reiterated in Isaiah 57:15, that says that even though God lives in a high and Holy place, he is “also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit.” (ESV) The book of Acts tells us in chapter 17 verse 28 that we should seek after God, because He is “actually not far from each one of us” (ESV), and that He is “patient toward you” (2 Peter 3:9), waiting for you to draw near to Him. This is an active patience, as it is ongoing, waiting for the sinner to repent.
Jesus, as God, takes an active role in our lives as well, and Scripture tells how He is continually active. Hebrews 7:25 says that “he always lives to make intercession for them.” (ESV) This sentence tells us that this intercession is continual, which is not the actions of a savior and God who has left us on our own. Colossians 1:17 is another example of Jesus being currently active, saying: “in him all things hold together.” (ESV) This shows Jesus actively holding things together, and since Jesus and God are the same, God is actively holding all things together in our lives. It is quite extraordinary to know that the God of the universe, who, while holding things like gravity, time, and space in the palm of His hand, is holding our lives together. Even with these examples, and many others, there is a group of people who do not believe that God is active in our lives at all. These people are known as deists.
A deist is a person who believes in a god, but doesn't believe that the deity has any interest in the situation of their creation. Deists do not actually believe in the God of the Bible, as “they deny the Trinity, the incarnation, the divine authority of the Bible, the atonement, miracles, any particular elect people such as Israel, and any supernatural redemptive act in history.”1 Basically, deism can be summed up as “the classical comparison of God with a clockmaker...God wound up the clock of the world once and for all at the beginning, so that it now proceeds as world history without the need for further involvement.”2 Deism does not coexist with Christianity, as Christians believe that God takes an active and caring roll in their lives, is capable of changing their situation, hears and answers their prayers in some fashion, and has sent His Son to be the vehicle of salvation. Deism, however, “contradicts orthodox Christianity by denying any direct intervention in the natural order by God.”3
God's active role in our lives permeates every aspect of our journey as Christians, including our career choices. Those, like myself, who feel the calling of God to preach His word, are led by God in many different ways to take care of His flock. A preacher's main job is “to speak as a personal witness to God's revelation, interpreting it, explaining it, and applying it to the needs of the people.”4 God has given many tools to those called in this task, but they are not tools that are limited to those preaching, but certainly shows an active involvement in the life of one called to share God's word.
We have seen how Jesus, being one with the Father, is active in the life of the believer, and this is best exemplified by Hebrews 7:25. The Holy Spirit also is an active participant as well, in many different ways, and “has a personal interest in our lives (He baptizes, seals, indwells, fills, and leads us).”5 It is also important to remember that “God the Trinity is at work in individuals at all times doing the work of God, even though certain persons of the Trinity perform certain functions assigned to His person.”6 One way this directly effects a person called to preach is the giving of spiritual gifts. These gifts are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, and some of the most important gifts given to preachers are found in verse 8: “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit.” (ESV) These gifts are actively given to guide and teach, both of which are important in the life of a pastor. Restraining sin is also an extremely important job of the Holy Spirit in the world, and though “at times one may wonder if anything is going right and think the world is in total chaos, things are never as bad as they would be if the Holy Spirit were not at work in the world.”
Another way God is active in the lives of believers, and especially in the life of one who is called to spread His word is the aspect of prayer. We serve a God who wants to consume an intimate portion of our lives, and “He wants us as covenant partners, not as automatons or slaves.”7 It is through prayer that we come before the Throne of God and meet with Him. It isn't just throwing words to “the man upstairs”, or speech that is unheard. In Matthew 6:8 it tells us that our “Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (ESV) This shows an active joint participation in our lives: our participating with the will of the Father, and God participating by anticipating the desires of our hearts. Prayer “entails revealing our innermost selves to God, but also God's revelation of his desires to us.”8
One final way God interacts with the world is through the giving of Scripture. God has given us, in one book, an instruction manual, a road map, a history book, a love letter, and hope for the future. Scripture is for our us, so that we may learn more about God and the plans that He has in our lives. He actively speaks to us in His Word, and He has “'breathed out' Scripture as a function of his creative activity, making the revealed word of God authoritative for human salvation and instruction in divine truth.”9 The Bible itself tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (ESV) In the life of a person called to be a preacher, Scripture is more than profitable in the ways mentioned above, and one of the most important tools a pastor has in his disposal to lead the Lord's flock.
The Lord is active in the world today, especially in the lives of those who call themselves His children. Knowing how He interacts with His creation is especially important in the life of a pastor, and the impact of God in life is extremely important in this profession. His interaction in our lives can be summed up as follows: “God is graciously present in forgiving love with the converted, who by faith have been propitiated, reconciled, and redeemed by Christ's precious blood. They become His people, He becomes their God. God dwells in them as his holy place or temple.”10
WORD COUNT - 1372
Bibliography
Elwell, Walter A., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Ed.. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company, 2001.
Towns, Elmer L., Theology for Today, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008.
1 Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Ed.. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company (2001) 329.
2 Ibid., 329.
3 Ibid., 329.
4 Ibid., 948.
5 Elmer L. Towns, Theology for Today, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning (2008) 439.
6 Ibid., 270.
7 Ibid., 947.
8 Ibid., 290.
9 Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Ed.. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company (2001) 1080.
10 Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Ed.. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company (2001) 439.
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