The preachers quoted here distinguish God's presence everywhere from his manifest presence, when people are made consciously aware of him. They describe his presence as the creature's highest good, better than every outward comfort, and as something that shows in a person's life.
The Hebrew word usually translated "presence" is the word for face.1 To be in God's presence is to be before his face. Scripture uses the idea in more than one sense, and the senses need to be kept apart.
God is present everywhere. "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there" (Psalm 139:7-8). "Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 23:24). Paul told the Athenians that God is "not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:27-28).
Yet Scripture also speaks of God's presence as something given and withdrawn. Adam and Eve "hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God" (Genesis 3:8). God promised Moses, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest", and Moses answered, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Exodus 33:14-15). David prayed, "Cast me not away from thy presence" (Psalm 51:11). This is God's presence in favour and fellowship, which sin interrupts.
In Christ that presence came near in a new way. His name is Emmanuel, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). He promised, "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (18:20), and "lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (28:20). By the Spirit God now dwells in his people: "ye are the temple of God, and ... the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Believers are told to seek a fuller awareness of it: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8). A. W. Tozer drew the distinction: "The Presence and the manifestation of the Presence are not the same."2 It was said of Brother Lawrence, a monastery cook, that "in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness."3 An account of the awakening at Northampton under Jonathan Edwards records that the town "appeared to be full of the presence of God."4
The end of the Bible's story is unbroken presence. "In thy presence is fulness of joy" (Psalm 16:11). "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them" (Revelation 21:3). Its opposite is the final loss: "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
- Strong's Hebrew 6440, pânîym: "the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also...".
- A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit Of God, "V The Universal Presence".
- Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, "Part 4".
- Jonathan Edwards, Writings of Jonathan Edwards - Volume 1, "Chapter vii".
In their own words
Each line below is quoted exactly from a sermon on this site. Follow the link to hear or read it where it was said.
The presence of God is the bliss of all moral creatures.
A.W. Tozer
in Attributes of God #7 'The Omnipresence of God'
Read in context
The manifest presence of God is when we are made consciously aware of God's presence.
Brian Long
in A Promise of God's Manifest Presence
Listen at 3:10
God's presence is infinitely better than the presence of all outward comforts.
Thomas Brooks
in A Most Sovereign Antidote
Read in context
The presence of God is like the tree that was cast into the waters of Marah; it made them sweet.
John Gill
in The Presence of God, What It Is, and the Means by Which It May Be Enjoyed.
Read in context
The presence of God is not so much God moving from one place to another.
Tim Conway
in The Presence of God or Mysticism
Listen at 32:37
You see, the manifest presence of God is visible in someone's life.
Francois Carr
in God's Presence
Listen at 45:53
The presence of God is even in hell, the Holy Ghost says in the 139th Psalm, but the manifest presence of God is only in heaven and where good souls are.
A.W. Tozer
in Attributes of God #7 'The Omnipresence of God'
Read in context
Now, God's presence is frightening in regard to judgment.
Shane Idleman
in Desperate for God’s Presence
Listen at 1:53
What Scripture says
- Psalm 139:7-8 where shall I flee from your presence?
- Exodus 33:14-15 my presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest
- Psalm 16:11 in your presence is fulness of joy
- Matthew 28:20 I am with you always, to the end of the world
- James 4:8 draw near to God, and he will draw near to you
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