“God is in everything.” Those words sparked a lengthy conversation about the relationship of God to the physical universe. Christians who make that statement do not mean the same thing a Hindu or Buddhist might mean by a similar statement. The Christian might mean that since God is Creator of all things then all things contain an active part of God. Therefore, His being can legitimately be said to be in all of His creation. This asserts more than the existence of evidence of God’s creative work in the things He created, but that all things contain a part of God. This asserts that a piece of God is present in every created thing. Is this a Biblical assertion?

The Bible teaches that God is present everywhere. “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7) “Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him? says the LORD, Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24) God is present everywhere in His creation and His presence fills all His creation. God is truly present in all places simultaneously. The Biblical teaching of the unlimited presence of God is not the same as the teaching that God is present in everything

The Bible teaches God is present everywhere while also remaining completely distinct from His creation. God is everywhere, but God is not in everything. Declaring that God is in all things blurs the line between creature and Creator, a line which the Bible draws clearly. Aside from the incarnation of Jesus, the Divine and the created are never described in the Bible as co-mingled. God is greater than all the world and is higher than the heavens. He cannot be contained by the universe or even by Heaven. (1 Kings 8:27) Isaiah 40:22 says, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.” Isaiah shows God is separate from His creation. He sits above the earth. He spreads out the heavens. He is infinitely greater than all His creation.

Isaiah 40:25 asks, “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” If God is in everything and everything contains the Divine, then what could be wrong with portraying God as a Sun, an elephant, a calf or some other created thing? Only because God is not in any of those things is it wrong to represent Him by an image of them. God is not in all creation, but “above all.” (Ephesians 4:6)

Understanding that God is always present with all His creation in all places and at all times while also always separate and distinct from His creation is not easy. The distinction is difficult but important. To mingle God’s being with His creation is to elevate the creation to the level of the Divine and to diminish the infinite, limitless God until He becomes equivalent to His creation. God is not equal with any or all of His creation. He is infinitely greater than all His works. None dare lessen His greatness. All must marvel at the infinity and intimacy of God who transcends all creation and remains present with each person.