Experiencing God's Presence: Transcendence, Imminence, and Community

 

Summary

In our exploration of worship and the nature of God, we delved into the balance between God's transcendence and imminence. The critique often leveled at us is that we focus too much on God's majesty and holiness, potentially overshadowing His nearness and personal presence. However, I find it difficult to comprehend how exalting God's greatness could ever diminish the sweetness of His presence. Our journey to Christ is marked by a profound recognition of our own wretchedness and the grace that justifies us, bringing us peace with God and access to His presence.

We no longer approach God with fear as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai, but with boldness, thanks to the work of Christ. This access is not to be taken lightly; it is a privilege that brings us into the very family of God. The story of adoption, both earthly and spiritual, illustrates this beautifully. We are adopted into God's family, and this reality is celebrated every time we come to the Lord's table, where we experience the real presence of Christ.

The concept of a "personal relationship with Jesus" is often misunderstood. While it is true that God is personal, our relationship with Him is not exclusive or unique to us individually. We are part of the body of Christ, and our relationship is corporate. This understanding does not diminish the personal nature of our faith but enriches it by placing it within the context of the community of believers.

God's transcendence and imminence are not attributes but ways we experience His presence. He is not sometimes transcendent and sometimes imminent; He simply is. Our communion with God, whether in worship or daily life, is a communion with the God of heaven. This understanding elevates our worship, reminding us that we are lifted into His presence rather than bringing Him down to us.

Finally, we touched on the importance of taking Scripture at face value, particularly in the context of creation. The integrity of the biblical account is crucial, and we must be cautious not to impose external interpretations that could distort its message. Our faith is rooted in the truth of God's Word, and it is this truth that guides our understanding of both the natural world and our spiritual journey.

Key Takeaways:

1. Transcendence and Imminence: God's transcendence and imminence are not opposing attributes but ways we experience His presence. We are invited into His presence with boldness, recognizing both His majesty and His nearness. This duality enriches our worship and deepens our relationship with Him. [20:59]

2. Adoption into God's Family: Our spiritual adoption into God's family is a profound reality that transforms our identity. Just as earthly adoption brings a child into a new family, our adoption by God grants us access to His presence and makes us heirs of His promises. [22:22]

3. Corporate Relationship with Christ: While personal faith is important, our relationship with Christ is also corporate. We are part of the body of Christ, and our faith is lived out in community. This understanding enhances our spiritual journey and connects us to the larger story of God's people. [23:57]

4. Communion with God: Our communion with God is a heavenly experience, lifting us into His presence. This perspective shifts our focus from bringing God down to us to being elevated into His divine presence, transforming our worship and daily walk with Him. [30:44]

5. Integrity of Scripture: Upholding the integrity of Scripture, particularly in the creation account, is vital. We must resist the temptation to impose external interpretations and instead allow the Bible to speak for itself, trusting in its divine truth and authority. [46:10]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [17:06] - Worship Wars and God's Nature
- [18:27] - The Journey to Christ
- [19:30] - Fruits of Justification
- [20:18] - Access to God's Presence
- [21:28] - Story of Adoption
- [22:50] - Real Presence at the Lord's Table
- [23:32] - Personal vs. Corporate Relationship
- [24:27] - Understanding God's Transcendence
- [26:10] - God's Imminent Involvement
- [28:27] - Personal Relationship with Christ
- [30:05] - Living in God's Presence
- [31:28] - Teaching Children About God
- [32:41] - Experiencing Heaven in Worship
- [34:18] - Communion with the God of Heaven
- [46:10] - Integrity of the Creation Account

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Hebrews 4:16 - "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
2. Romans 8:15-17 - "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
3. Ephesians 2:18-19 - "For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household."

Observation Questions:
1. How does the sermon describe the balance between God's transcendence and imminence? ([17:06])
2. What is the significance of the story of adoption shared in the sermon, and how does it relate to our spiritual adoption into God's family? ([22:22])
3. According to the sermon, how does our understanding of a "personal relationship with Jesus" differ from a corporate relationship with Christ? ([23:32])
4. What does the sermon suggest about the importance of upholding the integrity of Scripture, particularly in the context of creation? ([46:10])

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of approaching God with boldness, as mentioned in Hebrews 4:16, change the way believers view their relationship with God? ([20:59])
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that our spiritual adoption transforms our identity and relationship with God? ([22:22])
3. How does the sermon challenge the common understanding of a "personal relationship with Jesus," and what implications does this have for living out one's faith in community? ([23:57])
4. What are the potential consequences of imposing external interpretations on Scripture, as discussed in the sermon? ([46:10])

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt distant from God. How might understanding God's transcendence and imminence help you feel closer to Him in those moments? ([17:06])
2. How can you actively participate in your church community to better experience the corporate relationship with Christ that the sermon describes? ([23:57])
3. Consider your current understanding of Scripture. Are there areas where you might be imposing external interpretations? How can you work towards a more faithful reading of the Bible? ([46:10])
4. In what ways can you celebrate and embrace your spiritual adoption into God's family in your daily life? ([22:22])
5. How can you approach God with boldness in your prayer life, and what specific steps can you take to deepen your communion with Him? ([20:59])
6. Identify a specific way you can shift your focus from bringing God down to you, to being elevated into His presence during worship. ([30:44])
7. How can you ensure that your personal faith journey is enriched by the community of believers around you? What steps can you take to foster deeper connections within your church? ([23:57])

Devotional

Day 1: Experiencing God's Dual Nature
God's transcendence and imminence are not opposing attributes but ways we experience His presence. We are invited into His presence with boldness, recognizing both His majesty and His nearness. This duality enriches our worship and deepens our relationship with Him. [20:59]

"For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" (Isaiah 57:15, ESV)

Reflection: How can you intentionally acknowledge both God's majesty and His nearness in your worship today?


Day 2: Embracing Our Spiritual Adoption
Our spiritual adoption into God's family is a profound reality that transforms our identity. Just as earthly adoption brings a child into a new family, our adoption by God grants us access to His presence and makes us heirs of His promises. [22:22]

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you live out your identity as a child of God today, embracing the privileges and responsibilities that come with it?


Day 3: Living in Community with Christ
While personal faith is important, our relationship with Christ is also corporate. We are part of the body of Christ, and our faith is lived out in community. This understanding enhances our spiritual journey and connects us to the larger story of God's people. [23:57]

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." (1 Corinthians 12:12, ESV)

Reflection: How can you actively contribute to your faith community this week, recognizing your role as part of the body of Christ?


Day 4: Elevating Our Worship
Our communion with God is a heavenly experience, lifting us into His presence. This perspective shifts our focus from bringing God down to us to being elevated into His divine presence, transforming our worship and daily walk with Him. [30:44]

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take to elevate your worship experience, focusing on being lifted into God's presence rather than bringing Him down to your level?


Day 5: Upholding the Integrity of Scripture
Upholding the integrity of Scripture, particularly in the creation account, is vital. We must resist the temptation to impose external interpretations and instead allow the Bible to speak for itself, trusting in its divine truth and authority. [46:10]

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: How can you ensure that your understanding of Scripture remains faithful to its intended message, resisting the urge to impose your own interpretations?

Quotes


"i don't see how i could possibly over exalt the majesty of god and i don't see how exalting the majesty of god and the greatness of god in any way diminishes the sweetness of his presence to which we have access." [00:18:01]

"we don't go any more to sinai to a mountain that that where there's a a wall around it and you're going to get shot with an arrow if your dog runs over there and touches the mountain, but the wall of partition has been broken the temple curtain has been rent and we are now ushered what have we been talking about this whole time into the very presence of christ into the presence of god into the presence of the saints and the general assembly in heaven." [00:20:12]

"as close as we can come into the presence of our lord and of god we come with boldness but never with arrogance never with presumption always remembering the majesty of our king in whose presence we are invited we come to his very table we're adopted into his very family you don't get any more imminent to that." [00:20:51]

"i mean the adopted the adopted ones of the transcendent god are invited into his immediate presence i emphasize that every time we come to the lord's table that'll divide us too but i really believe in the in the real presence of christ not physically but i believe in the real true presence of jesus christ at the lord's supper and that the sacrament is a real means of grace and that when we come there we're coming straight on into the immediate imminent presence of jesus christ at his table." [00:22:35]

"the phrase personal relationship with jesus christ bothers me a little bit i don't know how other people feel about that but i think it very often takes the place of a corporate relationship with jesus christ i can't i don't have a personal relationship with jesus christ in the sense that there's something about the relationship that i have with him that nobody else has i am a member of the body of christ i am a member of the church of jesus christ i have a corporate relationship with jesus christ." [00:23:30]

"transcendence and imminence are not attributes of god transcendence and imminence are not attributes of god god just is transcendence and imminence are ways in which we describe our consciousness of god our awareness of god he doesn't have a transcendent part and an imminent part he isn't actually sometimes transcendent and sometimes imminent his imminence is not a prisoner of his transcendence and his transcendence is not a prisoner of his imminence god simply is and where god is is heaven." [00:33:38]

"so wherever we experience what we describe as the imminence of god the god we are experiencing the god with whom we have communion is the god of the heavenly presence so we call him our father in heaven if i'm speaking here and now to our father in heaven even although from one point of view obviously body soul i'm here on the earth if i'm engaging in communion with him then my categories and i recognize the legitimacy of those categories for the systematizing of our theology but those categories of transcendence and imminence are not categories in which i'm describing where god is or really how it is that i'm communing with him." [00:34:22]

"i am communing imminently to me with the one who is always transcendent and in his transcendence is always imminent even although i'm not always conscious of that so wherever i have communion with god i have communion with god in the only place god is from that point of view i think we also need to understand that god is not a prisoner in his heaven from which he sometimes escapes in order to make himself known on the earth." [00:35:20]

"all spiritual blessings have been poured out upon us now what is the sphere in which those blessings have been poured out upon us where where are we to get them in the heavenlies as we engage in a church in spiritual warfare where are we engaging in that spiritual warfare in the heavenlies so there is this strand of thought in the new testament alongside other strands of thought that that helps us to understand all of our communion with god is in heaven." [00:36:30]

"when it comes down more narrowly as both the rc's senior and junior have been saying to the kind of specificity of our communion with jesus christ at the lord's supper that's why we say lift up your hearts because what we believe takes place this is the kind of thing that calvin says in the institutes although in a very distinctive kind of way what we believe we are experiencing there in a very intense focused form is our communion with jesus christ who is seated at the right hand of the father." [00:37:02]

"so we can take genesis at its face value and it'll stand every test so that's basically where you would put the the line of orthodoxy i think an orthodox treatment of genesis 1 and 2 is to come out with a six 24-hour day creation just as genesis says depending on what you mean by orthodox i mean but that would be in my estimation the purest truest representation of what those verses are saying and they're really not saying anything else so any other view is imported in." [00:45:56]

"i think it is only right that you take genesis at its face value which is a six 24 hour day or 23 point something treatment of the text there's nothing about evolution in there there's nothing about day ages in there there is nothing other than a straightforward presentation of what we have in genesis at its most simple reading six 24-hour days discussed as a period of light in a period of dark there was morning and there was evening and it was this day and it was morning and it was evening and this day." [00:43:31]

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Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?