How I Used Truth - Lesson 10 - Annotation 4
Explain each of the following terms: omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience.
4. Omni means "all" (and we may add "the only"). The word presence comes from the Latin word praeesse, from prae meaning "before" and esse meaning "to be." God is omnipresence for God is all; He is the one spiritual substance or Mind essence that is within, around, everywhere throughout creation. We live in a spiritual universe, which is permeated, penetrated, enfolded, sustained, and supported by this spiritual Presence. Paul caught this truth when he said, "for in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). We can say of every atom of the universe that it too lives, and moves, and has its being in God as omnipresence. God is all the presence, the only presence, there is -- in and around us, everywhere, at all times, in all places, under all conditions.
"If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there"
(Psalms 139:8).
As human beings we live in the air and are surrounded and sustained by air. As spiritual beings we live in omnipresence and are permeated and surrounded by this Presence. Whether we are conscious or unconscious of this Presence, it sustains and supports us.
"Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah" (Jer. 23:24).
The word potence is from the Latin word potentia meaning "power"; so "omnipotence" refers to the all-power of God, or God as the only power throughout creation, the life principle. Potent also means "being able to do or to perform an action; ability to accomplish." God as power has complete dominion and authority.
Omnipotence is related to omnipresence. It is the power, might, and authority that works through omnipresence. All the moving force or energy that controls nations, peoples, planets and their systems, has its beginning in God as omnipresence and as omnipotence. It is only through God as omnipresence and omnipotence that any part of creation has the power to develop in accord with its own nature. This is the life principle active in the universe. There is but one power, God, the good omnipotent. However, there are many ways in which this power manifests itself, from the tiniest electron to the mightiest Word.
"There is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom. 13:1).
The word omniscience means all knowledge, or the only knowledge. The word science is from the Latin word scire, meaning "to know." This knowledge, however, is not the result of an accumulation of facts, but the inner knowing of the reality of all things. Thus, God is omniscience, the source of all Truth or universal knowledge.
"The lawful truths of Spirit are more scientific than the constantly shifting opinions based on intellectual standards. The only real science is the science of Spirit. It never changes. It is universally accepted by all who are in Spirit, but one must be 'in the Spirit' before one can understand this science of Spirit" (Charles Fillmore Christian Healing 7).
Out of God as omniscience come all of the sciences that men study. The principles, plus the laws that govern their expression, all come from this one science, this one Principle, which we term God. God's will or plan is the orderly working of all creation.
All knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are being manifested throughout the universe in different degrees. All knowledge comes from the one omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient Spirit that pervades, moves, and inspires each and every creation from its lowest to its highest expression. Omniscience is God as Truth, as the one Reality underlying everything; the "all-sufficiency in all things." In conclusion we might briefly identify omnipresence as the substance of God, omnipotence as the power of God, and omniscience as the wisdom of God.
"God, the source of our existence every moment, is not simply omnipotent (all-powerful); He is omnipotence (all power). He is not alone omniscient (all-knowing); He is omniscience (all knowledge). He is not only omnipresent, but more -- omnipresence" (Emilie Cady Lessons In Truth 2:11).
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Preceding Entry: What is the primary cause of failure, poverty, sickness, and death?
Following Entry: Explain substance and life in the Absolute, as ideas in Divine Mind, and show how they are related.
