What is the immanence of God?
What Is the Immanence of God?
A Graduate-Level Exploration in Baptist Theology
The immanence of God refers to God’s active and ongoing presence within His creation, without being identical to it. It teaches that while God is distinct from the universe He made, He is also intimately involved with every part of it. This doctrine affirms that God is near, sustaining, guiding, and governing His creation at every moment.
Do not confuse immanence with imminence, the latter referring to the soon return of Jesus Christ. The immanence of God concerns His nearness and involvement within time and space.
1. God Is Present in His Creation but Not Part of It
The Bible refutes both pantheism and deism.
Pantheism falsely teaches that God is identical with creation, that everything is God or a part of God. This belief denies God’s personhood and His ability to act independently of the created order.
Deism, on the opposite end, wrongly teaches that God created the universe but no longer intervenes in it. In this view, God is distant and disengaged.
However, the Scriptures affirm that God is both transcendent and immanent. He is distinct from creation (transcendence), yet present and active within it (immanence).
Jeremiah chapter 23, verse 23 asks:
"Am I a God near at hand," says the Lord, "And not a God afar off?"
Isaiah chapter 55, verse 9 proclaims:
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
That is God’s transcendence—His exalted nature.
Yet Scripture also declares His nearness:
Colossians chapter 1, verse 17 says:
"And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."
That is God’s immanence—He holds all of creation together.
2. God’s Immanence Expressed in Scripture
God’s immanence is not merely a theological idea; it is consistently affirmed throughout the Bible. He is present not just everywhere, but personally and purposefully involved in every detail of life.
Psalm chapter 139, verses 1 through 10 beautifully illustrates God’s intimate knowledge and presence:
"O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me."
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul affirms God’s sustaining presence in his sermon on Mars Hill:
Acts chapter 17, verses 25 and 28 state:
"Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things."
"For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'"
3. God’s Providence Flows from His Immanence
Because God is immanent, He is also providential—He rules and orders all things according to His will.
Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11 teaches:
"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will."
Ephesians chapter 4, verse 6 says:
"One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
God's immanence means He is actively involved in the events of history, in the direction of governments, and in the details of our personal lives.
4. Immanence in the Story of Redemption
The doctrine of God's immanence is not merely abstract; it is narratively demonstrated across the pages of Scripture:
The giving of the Word of God testifies to His willingness to speak, guide, and reveal Himself.
The covenant with Israel, the miracles of deliverance, and the fulfillment of promises all reflect His active involvement in human history.
The Incarnation of Jesus Christ is the ultimate act of immanence: God becoming man.
Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3 declares:
"Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."
Jesus is Immanuel—God with us.
As Matthew chapter 1, verse 23 says:
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, 'God with us.'"
5. Practical Implications of God’s Immanence
God is not distant. He is near to the brokenhearted, the confused, the weary, and the sinner who seeks Him.
We can pray boldly, because the One who upholds the universe is personally attentive to every word.
God’s will is not abstract—He is directly and continually working all things for His glory and our good.
The believer can take comfort in the truth that the same God who governs the stars also numbers the hairs on our head (cf. Luke chapter 12, verse 7: "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.")
Conclusion: Immanence and Worship
The immanence of God brings a profound richness to our worship. We do not serve a remote deity who wound up creation and walked away. We worship the living God, who draws near to us, sustains us, guides us, and indwells His people.
As Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5 reminds us:
"For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"
Therefore, let us walk in reverence and gratitude, knowing that our sovereign God is also our ever-present help.
