Is God in Everything?

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (Colossians 1:16-17).

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 11:36).

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:6).

Many religions, like Hinduism and Buddhism say that God is in all things, but often these beliefs lead to people worshiping the creation. Many New Age people also have this worshiping of “mother nature” kind of thing going. Some call this idea, Pantheism. As with most things, there is some grain of truth to be gained that can help us better understand God and the necessity of Jesus Christ as the ONLY WAY.

Worshiping the creation or looking to the creation in attempts to divine some kind of greater knowledge or “enlightenment” is more than wrong – it is sorcery and idolatry (more on that in a moment). But, is there some truth to the idea that God is in everything, not just all knowing and all present yet distinct from the creation, but actually within the creation? Perhaps He is, but even so there is still that one and only path to Him because of our sin, and that is Jesus Christ – the only image that is fit for worship when all other reflections of God within the creation are not.

If God is all and in all, then that might change the way we look at some things. Like God’s “unfairness” in the death of a child for example. If some aspect of God is in that child, then God would also have experienced that death. He creates all, ends all, and experiences every “punishment” that mankind and the creation in general endures – and He does this for us. To say God is evil because of our suffering would be foolish, because what is even one life of continual suffering compared to all the suffering of mankind ever — which God Himself endures every moment of every day? Maybe Jesus is a reflection of that too.

The problem with this view is one might say then that when a child dies, God dies in part also. Well, we know that when a person dies, the spirit that gives them life returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7). So, that must mean that every living person has a spirit of life and they have something in them that is God. If some small part of them is God and they suffer, does God not suffer?

Does He not suffer every time someone is abused? Could it be that our sins have a larger affect than we might think? Could it be that even these “victimless” crimes have a victim, even God Himself? Does He feel our drunken stupors and other sins that we think aren’t harming anyone but ourselves? Sure, if we are sinning then we are disobeying God, so that alone is reason enough to do what we are told and resist what we are told to resist, but how much more if when we do these things to ourselves and to others, we do them to God?

This also brings to mind the scripture that says, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). But of course, we can also see the fact that as Christians, we are one body in union with Jesus Christ. So, that would make sense why He would say such a thing even if God is not present in every living thing.

Let’s assume God is in everything. If so, why not worship the creation?

We should never worship the creation or hold ideas that make mankind or any aspect of the creation as God. Even if there is some small measure of God in all things, that does not make us worthy of praise or powerful in our own right. We are dust, remember? But, it would explain some of why we are often attached to the creation and feel a kind of communion with the earth at times. Even so, we are called to rise above the earthy state, because God is divine and not of the earth.

How do we reconcile that? We are earthly beings. As earthly beings created by God and having His breath of life, we should also resist being of the earth. What is so bad about being “earthly” if God is present in the earth?

The reason is because of sin and the fact that our sin binds us to Satan – who is the prince of this world. Does Satan have a kind of life? Or is he something else? Is he not death? Sin is death, is it not? Satan is death. Jesus is life – and presently both exist in this world – but ultimately death will be destroyed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

This also hearkens back to the sins of witchcraft, sorcery, idolatry and the like. Even if we can say that God is in all, there is still the presence of sin and death (and that will be so until death and hell are cast into the lake of fire). Also, we consider the characteristics of Satan, like giving “knowledge,” making man like God, etc… we can clearly see why we are to stay clear of such things because they are of the earth in the sense of Satan’s dominion of death. The knowledge Satan brings is not knowledge that gives life. It is knowledge of things that cause destruction and detaches one from seeking Jesus Christ who is Light and Life.

Jesus is the ONLY WAY out of sin and death. All other attempts that mankind has created (or Satan has created) are poor imitations that do not bring any real and lasting freedom. Satan can mimic a lot of things, and he does. He also tries to mimic Jesus, and at times he is so convincing that we follow him thinking we follow God. But, there is one thing Satan cannot mimic or replicate. Life. He and all things that are of Satan is death. He has no power of life and resurrection. In that, Jesus is the ONLY WAY.

Jesus Christ is the way that we overcome the powers of this present world. The creation belongs to God, but presently it is ruled by death. Since the garden of Eden, all things die, therefore, it is no stretch to say that Satan is the prince of this world. Even so, ultimately, there is still life in this world, and though Satan would destroy all life if he could, Jesus makes that impossible.

The next thought then is, if God created all things and is in all things, how does that relate to Satan? This is where it gets even more tricky because we might consider that God is also present in Satan. But, God is life, remember? What is Satan if not death?

Pondering these ideas can make our head spin, and regardless of what we think we know about God, we are only barely nicking at the surface of His majesty. What we do know is that God’s ways are profoundly different than ours, and we are foolish if we think we know anything as we aught to know it.

And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know (1 Corinthians 8:2).

Even so, we do have the one who was created as the image of God in the flesh: Jesus Christ. There are things we know about His life, sacrifice, and resurrection that provide us a way out of the destruction in our lives. Through Jesus Christ and the power of His death and resurrection, we have everything we need in order to live an abundant LIFE – one that is not bound to sin and darkness – and one that will eventually be freed from all forms of death when we are also raised and see all things put under the feet of our mighty creator and King!

I cannot say that this idea that God is in everything is absolute. But, if you are a Christian that has adopted these kinds of ideas, such as those found among “New Age” believers, then consider the implications more fully. What things might you be looking to as part of your faith and “spirituality” that are not acceptable — things that are of the prince of this world and not Jesus Christ?

Many things in this world seem to be truth, but in reality they are small grains of truth mixed within a sea deadly lies. Even so, there is a truth, and there is only one truth. I think when we can see those small specks of light within all these lies that go about destroying and deceiving, we can begin to see something wonderful. God is real – and even more importantly – Jesus Christ is ALIVE and is the one and ONLY WAY to God.