How can Something Omnipresent have a Form?

This is something that puzzles me. In Exodus 33:18–23 God says unambiguously that He has a face, a hand and a back. This distinctly means there is form and a body yet he is supposed to be omnipresent. To me this is a pretty big issue because man is supposed to have been created in his image.

It would be one thing if the bible claimed the universe was god’s body or that god was purely spiritual but it definitely says he has form. I am trying to gain some insight on this and have done some searches looked through couple sites and one even said.
The only way to understand this passage from Exodus without making a mockery of God’s word is to agree that God has a shape and a body!

It seemed like a site meant to instruct others on how to answer questions like that however it never really answered the question it seemed to dodge the issue. I would like to know how do those of faith reconcile this or do you even try? If you have an idea how that is supposed to work I would like to know. Please no YouTube videos they always seem to be doing mental gymnastics. If you can explain it plainly that would be great.

reply to post by Grimpachi


Is that God the God or God the person or God the ghost? Haha little joke. Iet me go read it. What's the context before that?

OK sorry I just read it... The WHOLE I don't know chapter? All of Exodus 33...

Moses is Talking to a........... PILLAR of SMOKE...

Read in context.

Exodus 33:
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.

10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.




By the way I don't think of the God in the Bible as THE God..
I mean.. He's just Yahweh.

The Show "Lost" had a Pillar of Smoke as well...



BTW. You have no form. Only your body does. You puppet master you.

reply to post by Dustytoad


Thanks but that doesn't really help. The Bible says God has form in fact it shows we were made in his image however he is supposed to be omnipresent which means he is everywhere it just doesn't make any sense.

Maybe it isn't supposed to make sense but that is what I'm trying to find out.

ETA

It is late I think I will get some sleep and try again tomorrow.

reply to post by Grimpachi


You have no form.


image
  Use Image in a sentence
im·age
[im-ij] Show IPA noun, verb, im·aged, im·ag·ing.
noun
1.
a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.

2.
an optical counterpart or appearance of an object, as is produced by reflection from a mirror, refraction by a lens, or the passage of luminous rays through a small aperture and their reception on a surface.
3.
a mental representation; idea; conception.
4.
Psychology . a mental representation of something previously perceived, in the absence of the original stimulus.
5.
form; appearance; semblance: We are all created in God's image.

reply to post by Grimpachi


The God that speaks for God is the talking head for God inside of the bubble as we call it. To all the others here and above, they know him as Father. But, he is just the voice for God. Father has a form. God sits outside of creation. Father is the one whom interacts with all of creation.

The one whom sits on the throne in heaven is Father. More so, so others here and above have interaction with God, in speech and in sight.

Originally posted by Grimpachi
reply to post by Dustytoad

 

Thanks but that doesn't really help. The Bible says God has form in fact it shows we were made in his image however he is supposed to be omnipresent which means he is everywhere it just doesn't make any sense.

Maybe it isn't supposed to make sense but that is what I'm trying to find out.

God is indeed everywhere. The bible was referring to Father when they spoke of God.

Father = Voice of God
God = Creator, No form, etc.

reply to post by jhill76


But it says we were made in his image there are even parts of the Bible talking about his hands back and arms.

So that means he had or has an actual body.

Originally posted by Grimpachi
reply to post by jhill76

 

But it says we were made in his image there are even parts of the Bible talking about his hands back and arms.

So that means he had or has an actual body.

Yes, he looks as man does, but is much bigger, and his face is much different, it moves unlike man does, same could be said for the Arc. The biggest of all creation. He walks upright, talks, etc. This is Father, the voice of God, not God in totality.

Originally posted by Grimpachi
reply to post by jhill76

 

But it says we were made in his image there are even parts of the Bible talking about his hands back and arms.

So that means he had or has an actual body.

Jesus had a body.. I have a body and I often say... I AM...
I don't ever say I AM ALL....

But in reality I don't have a body. I just borrowed it from the Earth and Stars, and my parents.

The real me isn't talking right now.
I gave you the definition of image by the way.

Okay I must not be explaining this well because it all comes full circle back to something having form yet being omnipresent. Being physically present somewhere yet being everywhere simply does not make a bit of sense to me. Like I said I am tired so I will give this another shot after some sleep.

Maybe then I can phrase my question a little bit better.

Originally posted by Grimpachi
Okay I must not be explaining this well because it all comes full circle back to something having form yet being omnipresent. Being physically present somewhere yet being everywhere simply does not make a bit of sense to me. Like I said I am tired so I will give this another shot after some sleep.

Maybe then I can phrase my question a little bit better.

When the Bible was written, and when anyone speaks of God, they are referring to Father. No one here or above except a select few can go outside of creation and interact with God, they can only interact with Father. So, Father has a form. Thus the confusion. Father is a piece of God, to have interaction with all in a form, that all can see and hear.

reply to post by jhill76


The one time I "spoke" with god it was Golden liquid light pouring into my head as pure love..

But even I know that's not the whole picture.

Brains only go so far. Spirits have wings especially with no red bull.


Or to the OP:

How do you have an avatar?
How am I not talking to you the person?
I thought you were physical but I only see electrons on a screen.. Are you a person or an Avatar?

Originally posted by Dustytoad
reply to post by jhill76

 

The one time I "spoke" with god it was Golden liquid light pouring into my head as pure love..

But even I know that's not the whole picture.

Brains only go so far. Spirits have wings especially with no red bull.

Yes. When Father comes down, you will know it, there is an enormous weight/heavy chest feeling that accompanies it too, when he reaches in. Father only gives the ones here and above a piece of the puzzle, the entire picture will not be given until the appointed time, as the human mind can not comprehended all that is.

Spirits have wings especially with no red bull.

Indeed they do, some do not have wings, some are nameless, no halos but pure light above the head, etc....

Originally posted by Grimpachi


This is something that puzzles me. In Exodus 33:18–23 God says unambiguously that He has a face, a hand and a back. This distinctly means there is form and a body yet he is supposed to be omnipresent. To me this is a pretty big issue because man is supposed to have been created in his image.

It would be one thing if the bible claimed the universe was god’s body or that god was purely spiritual but it definitely says he has form. I am trying to gain some insight on this and have done some searches looked through couple sites and one even said.
The only way to understand this passage from Exodus without making a mockery of God’s word is to agree that God has a shape and a body!

It seemed like a site meant to instruct others on how to answer questions like that however it never really answered the question it seemed to dodge the issue. I would like to know how do those of faith reconcile this or do you even try? If you have an idea how that is supposed to work I would like to know. Please no YouTube videos they always seem to be doing mental gymnastics. If you can explain it plainly that would be great.

Great question! Allow me to do my best to answer, though I believe you have made a few errors. God certainly does not say He has a face, hand, and back the way you are thinking.

Moses wants to see who God is, to understand him. If you ask a person, "Who are you?", them showing you their face is what you are after. Moses wanted to understand God, and thus God used the term face, as that is what a person would understand. That is how we understand who someone is, their face, so that is what God used as a term. What God is saying (in my opinion) is that the human body is incapable of understanding God, and a person would die from being "overloaded" attempting to understand God, it is simply biologically impossible.

So God agrees to show Moses His glory. The Hand of God is also a metaphor and not a physical hand. Much like a person would use a hand to shield themselves from the brilliance of the sun, God will shield Moses from harm with his "hand".

The last part is the backside, and I can think of several possibilities. Perhaps God meant while Moses could not see Him, Moses would see his "backside", as in show Moses a small piece of Himself. Just as if you saw someone running away you would know they were there, but you wouldn't be able to say who they were because all you were shown was their backside.

reply to post by Grimpachi

This is old hat.
As long ago as the time of Augustine, Christian theologians were deciding that such passages were not to be read literally because God did not have a physical body.
The idea that not everything in the Bible is to be taken literally is nearly two thousand years old.

Moses may have ben given some greater awareness of the presence of God.
However, John's gospel declares that no man has seen God (because it's impossible to do so), so Moses would not have literally seen him either.

I think that passage is a little short-sighted to say the least.

Think of it this way...

You are a spiritual being and God is a spiritual being. So we are created in his image.
God is eternal. We are eternal.

It is naive to think that your "human form" is what God was referring to when he said "...his image."

Your human form lasts (at best) 100 years...your spiritual form will last "forever".

Don't get too attached to that skin suit you're wearing. It doesn't last long.
Oh, and you won't find God in a book...he is omnipresent remember. He is\right there in your heart

God is far more than Jehovah, Yahweh or just the Father
God came into this world as Jesus, before then He was known as the Word
and
There is the third part, The Spirit.
Christianity and the OTteach of a Triune God, not just a single form God. Though the Jews will argue this point
The word Elohim is used thousands of times for “God”; Adonai is used hundreds of times for “Lord”; both of these words are plural nouns in Hebrew.
A number of passages speak of the “faces” or “presences” or “persons” of God (Exodus 33:14; Deuteronomy 4:37; and Job 13:8).
God refers to Himself as “Us,” “Our,” and “We” (Genesis 1:26, 2:18 (LXX), 3:22, 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, and 41:21-24),2 a phenomenon that is reflected in virtually every English translation.
The OT says of God, “they caused me to wander” (Genesis 20:13), “they appeared” (Genesis 35:7), “they drew nigh” (Deuteronomy 4:7), “they went” (2 Samuel 7:23), and “they judge” (Psalm 58:11).
The OT calls God our “Creators” (Ecclesiastes 12:1), “Makers” and “Husbands” (Job 35:10; Psalm 149:2; Isaiah 54:5).
The OT says that God is “holy” (Joshua 24:19; Proverbs 9:10, 30:33), another plural.

The Trinity is what seperates Christianity from all other faiths. Omnipresent because the single God is made of more than what the mind of humanity can reasonably understand.

You can only take and understand that by faith, or you can deny it.
Thats the joy of free will

reply to post by borntowatch


In the part he refers to "God" is a Pillar of Smoke, or a Cloud Pillar... And he thinks clouds have faces and hands, but that's a different story.. Read Exodus 33...

But I agree with everything you said. Good post.

Originally posted by Dustytoad
reply to post by borntowatch

 

In the part he refers to "God" is a Pillar of Smoke, or a Cloud Pillar... And he thinks clouds have faces and hands, but that's a different story.. Read Exodus 33...

But I agree with everything you said. Good post.

I guess its about how you read the statement, literally or with some context of description.
No body would suggest the bible is completely literal

Well less you have an axe to grind?



I think we agree, God is beyond what we can imagine.

reply to post by borntowatch


reply to post by borntowatch


Yes I agree. I am saying Moses saw a representation or it's just a story, but either way in Exodus 8 and 9 it's clearly explained how God appeared, even if the OP starts a few paragraphs after..

If you read it all together God is a pillar of smoke (much like a burning bush) that appears before the Tabernacle.

But it's True that's not what God is.

God is beyond the mind, but that's not all there is either.