20 – God Is Omnipresent, Yet Christ Walked from Place to Place: The Infinite Present in Finite Space

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Divine Paradoxes: Resolving Seeming Contradictions in Christian Theology
Category 1: God’s Nature vs. Christ’s Earthly Life

1. Introduction

One of the defining attributes of God is omnipresence—the ability to be fully present everywhere at once (Psalm 139:7–10; Jeremiah 23:24). Yet during the Incarnation, Jesus Christ moved from village to village, walked long roads, and was located at a specific place and time. This paradox explores how the boundless God entered into spatial limitation, and what that means for understanding the person of Christ and the nearness of God.

2. God Is Omnipresent

2.1 Scriptural Foundations

  • “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” – Psalm 139:7
  • “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” saith the Lord. – Jeremiah 23:24
  • “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” – Isaiah 66:1

2.2 Theological Implications

  • God’s presence is unbounded, eternal, and simultaneously real in all places.
  • His being transcends space, sustaining all things while remaining fully immanent and fully transcendent.

3. Yet Christ Walked from Place to Place

3.1 Scriptural Witness

  • “Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching… and healing all manner of disease.” – Matthew 4:23
  • “He must needs go through Samaria.” – John 4:4
  • “Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews.” – John 11:54

3.2 Spatial Limitation in Incarnation

  • Christ travelled by foot, experienced hunger and fatigue, and dwelt physically in Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem.
  • His human nature was fully subject to geography and time, even while His divine nature remained omnipresent.

4. Theological Resolution: Locally Present, Universally Divine

Divine AttributeIncarnate Limitation
God is omnipresentChrist was found in one place at a time
God fills all thingsJesus had to travel to reach people
God transcends spaceJesus entered space and walked earthly roads

This paradox is resolved through the doctrine of the hypostatic union: Christ is fully God and fully man, without confusion or separation. His divine nature was never restricted, even as His human nature was truly localised in space.

5. Historical Theological Perspectives

5.1 Patristic View

  • Cyril of Alexandria: Christ “remained what He was, while becoming what He was not.”
  • Leo the Great: “He came down from heaven in mercy, yet never left the Father’s side.”

5.2 Reformation Era

  • Calvin: In His human nature, Christ was local; in His divine nature, He remains always present to His Church.

5.3 Modern Theology

  • Karl Barth: “The Word became flesh” does not cancel divine omnipresence but conceals it in humility.

6. Doctrinal and Devotional Implications

6.1 Assurance of God’s Nearness

  • The God who fills the cosmos walked beside humanity in Christ—He is not a distant abstraction, but intimately involved.

6.2 Christ’s Earthly Journey as Model

  • His movement among people teaches us to be present, to travel for the sake of others, and to embody love spatially.

6.3 Unity of Heaven and Earth

  • The incarnation marks the touchpoint between the eternal and the temporal, showing that God is near, yet not bound.

7. Conclusion

The paradox that God is omnipresent, yet Christ walked from place to place, reveals the astonishing humility of the incarnation. The God who sustains galaxies chose to enter our local neighbourhood. This does not diminish His greatness—it magnifies His grace. He did not stop being omnipresent when He became man; rather, He proved His omnipresence by coming so near.

References

  • The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV)
  • Cyril of Alexandria. On the Unity of Christ
  • Leo the Great. Sermons on the Nativity
  • Calvin, J. Institutes of the Christian Religion
  • Barth, K. Church Dogmatics, IV/1
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