ego eimi
Monsignor Pope Ping!
Do Roman Catholics not believe that He is already with us?
Do they not believe that where two or more are gathered....He is already there?
We have the Holy Spirit continually dwelling in us for those who believe in Christ.
This is a great topic; and in some ways, it is ineffable. I am forever cogitating on the Incarnation itself, and the concept of miniature incarnations abounding within people who have availed themselves of the New Birth, so that, as it says in John 17: “I in them, Thou in Me...”, and “Christ in you, the hope of Glory”, this very enfolding of God into man, and vice-versa.
God’s Presence is also guaranteed wherever two or three are gathered together in His Name. Thirdly, He is said to “inhabit the praises of His people”.
I love this topic because the pastor here brings out the difficulty of using “where” with respect to God’s “location”. I find it fascinating to try to calculate what His unique dimension is like. I do not think it is a material or physical dimension such as we are accustomed to experiencing. Rather, there are recognizable elements, such as are described by prophets and apostles, but they are difficult for even those notables to express.
The absence of physics as we know it help to illuminate the fact that, to God, time is merely a by-product of matter in motion. But God, Who is outside of time, can observe the entire unfolding of it without Himself being subject to it.
I aspire to dwell with Him in that amazing dimension, which has no physical coordinates. I think everyone ought to want to seek that heavenly city, wherein dwelleth righteousness, and whose builder and maker is God.
When God said, "Let there be light" there were no solid objects.
So the sound and light waves from that command are still going.
And yet they are still in Him.
It is only ... 'it is.' (A is A.)
This of course raises the question: Why do we attribute a special presence to Christ in the Eucharist or the tabernacles of our churches? Like the ancient Jews, who found a special presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple, we do not lack sophistication. We understand that God is not merely in this place or that one, but we do accept by His own revelation that He is uniquely and powerfully present in certain places and in certain ways designated by Him to confer that special presence. Thus, while God speaks in and through His creation, He speaks even more clearly and powerfully in his revealed Word. And while He is everywhere immanently present, He is profoundly present in a special way in the Eucharist and in certain holy places.
Then read what God says. How does God define the new covenant? Remember, he destroyed the temple, got rid of the priestly system and the sacrificial system .
Heb_8:10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Heb_10:16 “This is the new covenant I will make with My people on that day, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
Rev 2:7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches.
(Jer 31:31) “The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.
(Jer 31:33) “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put My instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.
(Luk 22:20) After supper He took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with My blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
(1Co 11:25) In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with My blood. Do this to remember Me as often as you drink it.”
(2Co 3:6) He has enabled us to be ministers of His new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
(Heb 8:8) But when God found fault with the people, He said: “The day is coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.
(Heb 8:10) But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.
(Heb 8:13) When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means He has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.
(Heb 9:15) That is why He is the One who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
(Heb 10:16) “This is the new covenant I will make with My people on that day, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
(Heb 12:24) You have come to Jesus, the One who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
Yep - we exist within God’s mind - the whole universe - He spoke us into existence...I like the paradigm that everything that is, exists within God, yet He can exist within our finite hearts...
The Hebrew word "name" is shem (שם).
Same letters. It's the place of "there", because... that's what is literally in a name.
"Space" by definition is boundless. If it had a limit, it wouldn't be space. It would require a limiting modifier.
1 Kings 9
1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,
2 That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
A house is not just a physical building, it's a family line. A house (temple) within. A house divided against itself cannot stand, however.
This is going to take a special builder who is particularly skilled in joinery. The word son, ben, is from the root banah, build. He will repair and build the Temple to completion.
"There" and "name" are one place, space. Solomon means whole, perfect, complete (and by extention, peaceful).
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you.
"Panels are made slightly smaller than the available space within the frame to provide room for movement. Wood will expand and contract across the grain, and a wide panel made of solid wood could change width by a half of an inch, warping the door frame. By allowing the wood panel to float, it can expand and contract without damaging the door."
The concept is "give", to provide room to play.
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
There's a saying about "thinking outside the box", but even better to construct a bigger box such that there is no "outside" the box.
There's a guy who knows how to build that type of box, but who's listening to his instructions.