When I was in seminary, two of our professors placed in the library a section that they called The Center for Biblical Revival. They did this several years before I got there so not only were there CD’s and DVD’s but also some cassette tapes. I happened to drive an older car and it had a cassette tape player. For the last two years of my seminary classes, I had to drive about seventy-five miles to campus so I had time to listen to just about every cassette in that collection. Those cassettes shaped me and certainly encouraged me in ministry.
Many of the preachers and professors that I listened to were firmly rooted in the Puritan and Reformed tradition of the church. One of the constant emphases of their sermons and lectures was on the subject of God coming near to His people. That has always fascinated me. When I left seminary, I was very zealous to see a true revival in my day. I can attest that I have seen personally glimpses of God coming near to His people. But I have yet to experience what the Puritans spoke of in their writings. I have not given up hope.
What is helpful for us, I believe, is to speak of God’s nearness in the two ways the Puritans spoke of it. They spoke first of God’s essential presence. Theologians call this God’s omnipresence. What that means is that God is always fully present in every place in this universe. The Psalmist asked the question, “Where can I go from your presence?” The answer is very simply, nowhere. God is infinite in His being and thus there is no place where God is not. Paul stated in Acts 17 that in God we live and move and have our being. This should provide us both conviction and comfort. We should be convicted of our sin because God is always present and sees and knows all. But comfort comes to us because even in our darkest most difficult times, we are never without His presence. As the Psalmist stated, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You are with me.”
What the Puritans desired, and what I would say that most of us desire as well is called the manifest presence of God. The manifest presence of the Lord is demonstrated in several ways in Scripture. In the Book of Exodus, Moses pleaded for the presence of the Lord to continue with the Israelites as they journeyed to the Promised Land. When the tabernacle was completed, God made His presence known manifestly in very tangible ways. In the New Testament book of Acts, the Lord comes near to His people filling them with His Spirit which resulted in the advance of the Gospel in the known world.
What we can say about the manifest presence of God is that it is far more tangible, experiential than the essential presence of God. But God does not give His manifest presence to His people for the purpose of them simply having a spiritual experience. God’s manifest presence in Scripture is always for the purpose of advancing His mission in this world. Part of that mission is our growth in grace so that we are better equipped to do God’s work His way. The overflow of God coming near to His people is a renewed strength, a stronger devotion, and a more willing and humble heart of service.
One of my favorite verses regarding the manifest presence of God is Revelation 3:20. Jesus addressed the church at Laodicea as lukewarm, wretched, pitiable, blind, and naked. They did not see themselves this way but thought they were doing well. The Lord Jesus told them that He stood at the door and was knocking. If they would simply open the door, He would come in and eat with them and them with Him. This statement is one of closeness and intimacy. It is Jesus Christ teaching us that He stands ready to bless us with His presence.
Joe Tolin pastors the Kingman Presbyterian Church.
