The Omnipresent God!

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

Apart from theological perspective, presence is powerful thing. According to Google, the word ‘presence’ is “the state of existing, occurring, or being present.” My guess is that my presence at Promise International Fellowship, my home church, was impacted the church so much. Hellen Hung, who served as the carer of little babies during the church service, told me that the church would not be same without me as I was a devoted server. Timothy Harris, who served as a lead pastor at the church, proclaimed to the congregation that I was a living church. My last week of New York was amazing and booked as it was a farewell time for me. A week after I left the connect group, the members made a small video to say that they miss me. Although I felt lonely sometimes, I have to say that I was deeply loved. Furthermore, my mentor thinks the same way I think about presence, so she gives thanks to God all the time. Presence with others has a value to one another, whether it is in a physical, mental, or spiritual way.

Although we cannot see God physically and feel His presence most of the time, God is with us all the time. He is not bound and cannot be restricted by time. God has proclaimed, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end. I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” (Revelation 1:8). The space even could not contain Him. King Solomon knew this and said, “Will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27). God assures us this by saying, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” (Isaiah 66:1) He also has repeatedly said that He would never leave nor forsake us throughout the Bible. One of the names of Jesus Christ was Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:18-25).

Jesus is the Son of God but He was also the perfect representation of God during His earthly ministry (John 1:14). God’s love has been shown through the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus (1 John 4:9-10). So, that we may believe God through faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-26). Although God is prompting us to come back to Him, we have to make a decision whether to follow Him through faith or not. He has been wanting to restore us into how He designed us to be, as we are part of His creation. He has been willing to pour His Spirit into those who are willing to accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord and believe in Him. The reason for this is that He wants to guide us to have total dependence in Him and walk in His ways as beloved daughters and sons of God (John 16:7-15). Overall, God does not want to lose us and us to live eternal separation from Him.   

The Omniscient God!

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

John Gill, a biblical scholar, states that ‘through all’ is “taking care of all” in Arabic version. ‘Through all’ may also indicate to the excellences of God’s nature. When we think about that God is being all-powerful and all-knowing as to taking care of all, He cannot be understandable, since favouritism is considered as a sin. If I was God, I would provide for all but it would depend on people’s devotions. When I think about God’s love, it amazes me. How can God be the loving and compassionate Provider for everyone and willing to count them as precious sons & daughters of God?

As God is all knowing and takes care of everything, He is flawless (Romans 11:33-36). In other words, His mind is so incredible, that we could not ever comprehend. Psalm 147:4 tells us that God determines the number of stars and know each one by name. According to Australian study, there has been vast number of observable stars. Jesus Christ also declares that number of our hairs are even numbered (Matthew 10:30). After this statement of Jesus, He tells us not to worry. This means that He knows each of us by name. The author of Hebrews wrote, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (4:13).

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)

If we put Romans 5:6-11 in simple terms and the content of providence, it would be like: “Since God takes care of nonbelievers much, how much more He will take care of believers in Jesus Christ as His sons & daughters?” Although sometimes unpleasant circumstances come to us, God has already got plans for each of us and been wanting to have intimate relationship with every single one of us (Ephesians 1:3-14). According to the Bible, He has actually been wanting to establish us into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:28-30), but since everyone is different, God will establish us in different ways, more than we can imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21). We may believe that we can escape from God’s love but we actually cannot. The story of Jonah is probably one of the best illustrations.

The Omnipotent God!

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

According to the commentary of John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible, he states that the sovereignty of God’s nature is higher than angels and people; the depth of his government, over all creatures in general. If God is superior, then how about all sufferings and evil in the world? Although He is Good, does He have favourite people, such as those who believe in Jesus Christ?

Since the Bible is God’s word, let us look at the Bible about favouritism. James 2:1-13 declares that favouritism is forbidden as it is considered as a sin. As God is filled with goodness, He cannot sin and show favouritism. Although ‘The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms’ declares that what sin means in the human condition, it also means “breaking God’s law.” How the superiority and goodness of God can break His own law? Jesus Christ was the perfect illustration of this as He was God in human form (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15). Apostle Peter declared, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22). The author of Hebrews also mentioned that Jesus knew what human sufferings are like and though He was tempted, He did not sin (4:14-15).

Since Romans 8:28 states that God works everything together for our good, sometimes the result of His goodness could come out of unpleasant situations and difficulties. One of God’s promises is that He will provide us the strength and direction whenever we need them. When we look at the Bible, Romans 5:3-5 proclaims that suffering gives us perseverance, which leads us into character and then hope. He wants to mature us (James 1:2-4). 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 refers while Apostle was filled with pride from the visions and revelations he had, God gave him a thorn in the flesh to torment him. Paul begged the Lord to remove it from him but He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul, then, rejoiced in being weak as he sensed the power of Jesus laid upon him.

Overall, God is the sovereign being of all creatures. He is willing to help us in times of need. Isaiah 9:6-7 talks about Jesus Christ and it talks about how magnificent His government is. To be more specific, “The greatness of His government and peace will be no end… Establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” The commentary of Joseph Benson, ‘the zeal of the Lord’ is “Great work shall be brought to pass by Almighty God, out of that fervent affection… to his own glory, to the honour of His Son, and to his people.” Let us declare Hebrews 4:16 together through faith in Jesus Christ: “ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

The One Part 7: God and Father of All!

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

Since people have been separated from God from the Garden of Eden and cannot see Him physically, idols have been probably created. Although the word ‘idol’ is often recognised as a celebrity, star, or just a famous singer, it has a different meaning. According to ‘The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms,’ the definition of idol is “a false god or representation of such a one that may be worshiped.” Apart from Pokemon game, theological studies may had been my idol, even though I do not like to admit it. I was so busy and focused on my studies, that I ignored my mum several times and slept past midnight every day. I could had slept early and wake up early to study but that could be a same thing as sleeping late to study and waking up late. I could not reply my situation to my mum as I feared that she could not understand. Because of these circumstances, I decided that I am going to take one paper each semester. It was hard decision as I really have been wanting to work in the church after getting my certificate. However, I have decided to honour my mum. I have many concerns about what my daily routine is going to be like but I have to trust God to take care everything (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Although people may have been ignoring God and worshipping other gods, He has not been ignoring us. If God has been ignoring us, human beings would have been dead. We see this several times in Old Testament. Instead, He has been loving us so much. Because of this, He sent His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to remove our death penalties and give us eternal life in Him by the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus (1 John 4:9-10).

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

Old Testament is not out of contexts but it demonstrates how serious God is about having relationship with us (John 10:11-18) as He is the Heavenly Father according to the Bible. Furthermore, John 10:27-30 declares that once we become believers in Jesus, He will never let go of us. We may run from God but His Spirit probably would prompt us to come back Him (Ephesians 1:11-14). I ran from Him a couple of times but I eventually came back to Him. I am filled with inexpressible joy of the Lord now as I can sense everything is useless unless they are of God. We find this in the book of Ecclesiastes.

The One Part 6: Baptism!

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

Humans probably need to shower every day or two, to make themselves physically clean and get rid of their smell from sweat. For example, my daily routine is to shower every day and especially when I get wet from rain or sweat from exercising. Apart from teeth get rotten if we do not brush our teeth daily, I also need to brush my teeth every time I plan to go out because of my breath. According to my mum, it is because I rarely speak at home. But what about our spiritual junk? To be more specific, how do we get rid of our guilt and sins from the past?

The truth is that we cannot by ourselves. However, according to the Bible, water-baptism is the solution if we want to get spiritually renewed. Baptism symbolises the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:4). In Jonathan Edwards’ book, ‘Gospel-Centered Discipleship,’ He states, “Through faith in the gospel, Jesus’ death and resurrection becomes our death and resurrection.” This means that baptism allows us to die in our sinful nature and become resurrected in godly nature. Therefore, baptism technically is our spiritual birth (Romans 6:5-14). We also can see this in John 3:1-8. When Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, heard whoever wants to belong to the Kingdom of God must be born again from Jesus, he thought Jesus was talking about physical birth. Jesus tried to let him understand this Kingdom mystery by explaining it to him in a clearer way; “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:5-6) Jesus, even, was baptised, even though He originally came from God (Matthew 3:13-17).

As baptism is spiritual birth, believers in Jesus Christ only need to get water-baptised once. Although water-baptism does not signify that we are not going to sin anymore, it shows God and other believers our confession in Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. Although we are still sinners, God forgives us every time we repent because Jesus already died in our place (1 John 1:5-2:2). 2 Corinthians 5:21 proclaims, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”