Understanding God’s Storyનમૂનો

God Is Present with His Creation

At the very heart of the story of Scripture is God’s presence with His people. God is the with-us God. At the very beginning, God is present with His creation.

Genesis 1:2 says, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

This one little verse corrects two false stories: God is neither distant from His creation, withdrawing after creation, nor can it be said God is the creation. He is inextricably linked with the natural world—the animals and plants, the planets and stars as its creator and sustainer—but also wonderfully different from it. And God is with His creation.

Two categories that can help us understand God’s presence with His creation are transcendence and immanence. The Bible presents a unique perspective as it relates to God’s presence in and with His creation. Scripture emphasizes God’s transcendence over His creation and His immanence with His creation.

God’s transcendence refers to the distinction between God and His creation. To transcend means to be above and beyond something. God is the eternal, uncreated, self-existent creator of all things. He is above and beyond what He has created—all else pales in comparison to Him.

But God is not transcendent to the point of being distant from His creation. He is also immanent; God is near to His creation. Though God is above and beyond, He acts within and with His creation. He is transcendent, yet He stoops down low to relate to what He has created.

God is perfectly transcendent and perfectly immanent. He is the God who reigns over everything. He is the God who is near to that over which He reigns.

To put it in kingdom terms: The King reigns over His kingdom and He is the ever-present King.

From the beginning, we see that God is with us (Matt. 1:23). And this is a theme we will see repeated throughout the storyline of the Bible.

This means the goal of your life—and the goal of all creation—is to enjoy the presence of God.

Let me say that again. The goal of your life is to enjoy the presence of God.

All the happiness you’re searching for, all the significance, all the meaning and purpose, all the joy and satisfaction—all of it is found in God’s presence.

Life is found in God’s presence. The goal of every human story should be finding rest in the presence of God.