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Transcendent and Immanent God

Yes the God of the Bible is BOTH a Transcendent God and an Immanent God. That is to say, when we speak of God's Transcendence, we speak of his "otherness." On the other hand, when we speak of God's Immanence, we speak of his "nearness" and "actions" in our lives.

The open theism movement in our modern day stresses the immanence of God - that is, that God is personally involved in human relationships and He lures us, by his love, to respond in different ways - and yet deemphasizes the transcendence of God - that is, that the Holy, Righteous and Merciful God is so "other than" human beings.

The Scriptures affirm both of these doctrines all over the Scriptures. It may be an interesting study to search the Bible for verses that affirm both of these theological doctrines about God. For example, here is one that must not be overlooked:

Hosea 11:9 9 I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath.
Here Yahweh is speaking and affirms both his Transcendence (The Holy One) and yet at the same time, his immanence (In your midst).

Have you ever contemplated this reality? That the Almighty, Holy, Righteous, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Self-existing, Creative, Loving and Eternal GOD would really dwell in our midst? The notion that the God of the universe is in our midst - in our presence is breathtaking. This, of course, was fully revealed in the person and work of the Second Person of the Triune God - the Lord Jesus Christ.

May we meditate and bath ourselves in this blessed reality that God - the Transcendent One - is also immanent - near to us! Praise Be to God!

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