God's Presence In Our Lives!

in #steemchurch6 years ago

The Bible testifies that God is Spirit. He is not limited by a body of flesh and blood, which binds Him to a certain time and place, but it is possible for Him to be everywhere at the same time: in his holy dwelling heaven and on earth with his creatures, especially with whom loves and serve in humility and humility

For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15

God created the people to live in communion with Him. That's why He wants to be close to them. In many places in the Bible we, therefore, see that God is among people He loves:

When they heard (Adam and Eve) the sound of the LORD God, who walked in the garden in the evening chill ...
Genesis 3:8

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
Leviticus 26:12

“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
Exodus 25: 8

for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.
Deuteronomy 6:15

Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.ʼ
Numbers 35:34

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However, after the people of Israel had been disobedient and rebellious in disbelief for centuries, the prophet Ezekiel saw in a vision how the Lord departed from their midst (chapters 10 and 11:23). But he and other prophets could at the same time announce God's promise that He would again live with believing and obedient people in the future:

Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord.
11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.
13 Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”
Zechariah 2:10-13

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Revelation 21:3

Because his presence as a Person for people is not visible, the Bible speaks of the presence of "the Spirit of God" and "the glory of the Lord". Already in the first verses of the Bible, it is said that God's Spirit is on earth, and the prophet Haggai spoke of "the Spirit" in Israel:

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:2

according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
Haggai 2:5-6

God has always been present on earth, because He continues with his work, reaching his stated goal. But in a special way, He was present among Israel in the Angel of the Covenant, because the prophet points to him. He is called "the Angel of God's face" or "Face". In this angel was the Spirit of God, so that He spoke and acted in the same mind, spirit, as God himself does. The people, therefore, regarded him as God himself:

20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
21 Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out
Exodus 23:20-23

The LORD your God will cover you for yourself; He himself will drive and annihilate those nations before you so that you can take possession of their land.
Deuteronomy 31:3

7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
8 He said, “Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me”; and so he became their Savior.
9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them.In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
11 Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people— where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them,
Isaiah 63: 7-11

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And as God was present in Israel in the person of this angel, He is now in Christ Jesus:

Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my Spirit upon Him.
Matthew 12:18-21

This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.
Matthew 17:5

For He who sent God speaks the words of God, for He does not give the Spirit in moderation.
John 3:34

After his revival from the dead to eternal life, He is no longer a man of flesh and blood, but a perfect spiritual Man. He is no longer visible to His disciples, but He has received a glorified way of life in which, like God, He is "in the Spirit" on earth. In this way He dwells among his followers and even in each of them individually:

26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
John 15:26-27

Behold, I (Christ) stand at the door, and I knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him ...
Revelation 3:20

You are in the Spirit, at least if the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you ... And if the Spirit of Him (God), who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells in you ...
Romans 8: 9-11

Under the New Covenant, "the Spirit of God" is actually Christ Jesus, who after his ascension acts as God's omnipresent authorized shepherd and leader of believers on earth:

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.
Matthew 18:20

In spite of the fact that God and Christ cannot be among us because of our unholiness (Hebrews 7:26) they are still present in the Spirit and in all who believe. The Spirit of God can, therefore, be God or Christ himself, or an angel. It is, therefore, meant God's power and influence on earth and not a separate Person of Deity.

The manifestation of God
When we speak of God as "the Spirit," it means that He is invisible to us. God can obviously manifest, make visible, but He does not because we sinful people can not bear the sight of the holy and almighty God. Even when God sent an angel, people could not bear or hardly bear his sight and thought they would die because they had seen "God"

When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”
Judges 13:21-22

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Even Moses and Elijah could only catch a glimpse of the Angel who spoke to them (Exodus 33:18-23).
God's presence often appeared from certain (sometimes terrifying) natural phenomena.
The cloud and fire column in the desert also testified of the presence of God in the people of Israel. This hid the glory of God before the eyes of the people. The sight of the glorified Lord Jesus is now also unbearable.

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
Revelation 1:12-17

The Tabernacle and later the Temple was built as the visible dwelling place of God among men.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40-34-35

The presence of God is like a beacon in our life, it's like the wall of fire that protected the children of Isreal from the wrath of the Egyptians. We must not allow sin and disobedience to make the presence of God leave, without it we are exposed to the enemies.
Thanks for reading!!

All Bible verses gotten from Bible gateway

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God's presence is in us and with us.
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