In His Presence
Do you ever pause to consider what it will be like to be in God’s presence? To a large extent it is at the core of Christianity. In God’s creation he created mankind to be his image bearers and to bring more glory to him. In the Garden of Eden, before sin, we walked with God. He would openly walk among His people. But when sin entered the world God could no longer be among his people. He couldn’t be in the presence of sin. We are now separated from the presence of our creator and our God.
Recently, as we were going through our sermon series in Colossians a verse stood out that called to mind what Christ had done for us. Colossians 1:20 - “and through [Jesus] to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” The key word that jumped out is how Jesus had now made peace through His sacrifice on the cross. Before Christ, we faced God’s wrath for our sins. Through the blood spilt on the cross by Jesus, we now have peace.
This peace then leads to reconciliation. That is, we once again are able to be in God’s presence. That’s the hope we hold on to in this world, that now we worship God apart, but upon dying here on earth we will be united with God in heaven.
I think the extent to which our worship of God will be changed isn’t as obvious when just reading through Colossians. When I saw it, I immediately began to think of Isaiah’s experience in God’s presence in Isaiah 6. Let’s compare.
Distress in God’s Presence
Isaiah is given a vision where the Lord God is sitting on his throne, and the train of his robe goes on for so long that the temple itself is filled by it. Surrounding the Lord are seraphim. These are angelic beings whose name means “to burn.” They have 6 wings, some of which they use to hide themselves, and the others used to fly around the throne. They are singing and saying to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Every time the Lord speaks the foundations of the temple shake, and the temple is filled with smoke.
Isaiah sees the whole scene and he immediately recognizes the holiness of God, and in comparison his own sinfulness. This is really showing us the position we were in before Christ’s act on the cross. Isaiah is an Old Testament prophet. He’s living in the Old Covenant. What he realizes is that when he witnesses God in his unveiled state that he is unworthy. He even says, “Woe is me,” that is it’s a sign of distress or of despair. Apart from Christ’s work on the cross, being in God’s presence would be fearful. You would immediately know of your sinfulness and your inability to be there. It would be a truly humbling experience.
The Effect of Peace
But in Colossians 1, it teaches us that Jesus has brought peace between ourselves and God. How has this peace changed how we feel in God’s presence?
Isaiah helps us see that too. In Isaiah 6:6-7 an angel of the Lord comes with a burning coal from the altar and touches it to Isaiah. The proclamation is that Isaiah’s “guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” After this, the Lord asks for a servant and Isaiah now feels the freedom to speak and respond “Here I am! Send me!”
Instead of despair, the Bible gives us several descriptions of what followers of Jesus now feel in his presence:
Confidence: Hebrews 10:19 - “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the Blood of Jesus.”
Joy and Gladness: Psalm 45:15 - “With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the King.”
Wholehearted worship: Hebrews 12:28 - “Thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
Transformation: Revelation 21:27 - “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Peace with God leads to transformation by His Spirit as he molds us to be more like Him.
Childlike: 1 John 3:1 - “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
Jesus promises that if we repent of our sins and accept the salvation he offers because of His work on the cross, that instead of despair and distress we now respond as transformed, confident, joyful, worshipping children of God. This is the effect of peace.
Stop and consider today: What do you think about being in God’s presence? Do you desire to be with him? Are you fearful of what that would be like? Or is there an excitement and a peace about returning to God’s presence?
