“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD (Jer. 23:24b).
Commenting on God’s infinitude, Hodge wrote, “Although God reveals Himself as a personal Being capable of fellowship with man, whom we can worship and love, and to whom we can pray with the assurance of being heard and answered; nevertheless, He fills heaven and earth; He is exalted above all we can know and think.” God’s infinity is not merely a spatial concept, in that He is omnipresent, everywhere at one time, but it applies to His being and character. His love is unlimited. His being knows no boundaries.
While we are limited by time and space, however difficult these concepts are to define, God is not limited in this way. He is everywhere at once. The heavens do not contain Him, the parameters of the universe do not set boundaries for Him. He, being the essence of existence, is omnipresent. We must not reason from this truth that God’s omnipresence is fundamentally pantheistic. Again, Hodge writes, “A thing may be infinite in its own nature without precluding the possibility of the existence of things of a different nature. An infinite spirit does not forbid the assumption of the existence of matter. There may even be many infinities of the same kind, as we can imagine any number of infinite lines. The infinite, therefore, is not all.… God is infinite in being because no limit can be assigned to His perfections, and because He is present in all portions of space.” This, however, does not mean that everything that exists is one and the same with God.
Let’s bring this down to a practical level and apply it to the strengthening of our faith. How did God’s infinitude, His omnipresence, His unlimited knowledge, increase the faith of David? Psalm 139 tells us: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.” No matter where David was, whether in Jerusalem or in a foreign country, God was there. What an incredible comfort! No matter where we are, no matter what our thoughts and feelings, God knows us because He is present with us. This truth alone should cast out many of our fears, those fears of being alone, or having no one understand us. God knows us and is with us. Such is the glorious nature of our God!
Consider the many ways God’s infinite presence should strengthen your faith. Be specific and practical.
