The Attributes of God for Kids: Omnipresent (God is Everywhere)
What is God? Who is God? How can I know God? What does God do? Do those questions sound familiar? Kids have a lot of questions about God (and quite honestly, grown-ups do too).
Theologians (people who study God and His Word) use the Attributes of God to help us understand more about God. The attributes are a theological category that teaches us about God’s very unique nature, the things that make Him and Him alone God.
Talking to Kids About the Attributes of God
As you begin to teach your kids about the attributes of God, you can describe attributes this way: We all have attributes! They are ways we can describe ourselves. You may be fast, or tall, or short, or a twin. You may be athletic, creative, or kind. But you may be able to describe other people that way too! When we talk about God, He has attributes that belong ONLY to Him. They are the things that make Him God.
God’s Communicable and Incommunicable Attributes
There are actually two types of attributes we talk about when it comes to God: communicable attributes and incommunicable attributes. God’s communicable attributes are the attributes that God has that we can also have as people! Some examples of this: God is kind, loving, and wise. Humans can also be kind, loving, and wise. Ephesians 5:1 tells us to imitate God; His communicable attributes show us how to imitate Him.
In this Minno blog series, we will be taking a look at God’s incommunicable attributes, the ones that are completely unique to God. These are attributes that only describe God, nothing, and no one else. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at six attributes of God and helping you frame these ideas for kids.
Why Learn the Attributes of God?
Why learn the attributes? God is beyond our understanding, and yet through His Word, He has given us the ability to learn about Him and to know Him. Kids are concrete thinkers, and so when we start talking about how God is “all-knowing” and “all-present” they may have trouble grasping those BIG concepts.
And yet, it’s important that kids understand who God is as they build a resilient faith. So we’ll be digging in using kid-friendly language and ideas for teaching your kids about our wonderful, incredible God! The beauty of teaching kids about God and faith is that we can learn right alongside them. So lean in and open your heart to what God wants to teach you about who He is!
Ready? Let’s go!
Attribute: Omnipresent (God is Everywhere)
Key Verse:
Psalm 139:7–10
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Define It:
Omnipresence (Ohm-nee-prez-en-ss)
Omnipresence means being everywhere, all the time.
Know It:
God’s omnipresence means that He is present everywhere, all the time. His presence is not limited by time or space. Because God created the universe, He is above all things and holds all things together (Colossians 1:17).
Talk About It:
Start by asking your kids a fun question, like “if you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?” Then ask if they can name some of the special qualities of God (His attributes) that are SUPER and unlike anything we can do as humans. One of those is omnipresence, that God is present everywhere, all the time!
This, like many of God’s incommunicable attributes, can be really hard for kids (and grown-ups) to understand. But what’s important for kids to understand is not the ontological and theological concepts that define omnipresence, but what it means for them and their relationship with God. And God’s omnipresence means that He is always there for us. There is never a place we can go or a thought we can think that God doesn’t know, and He loves us regardless. There’s not a place we can go or thought we can think that makes God love us any less!
Here are a few verses that you can read together and talk about:
1 Kings 8:27 (NIV)
“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
Jeremiah 23:23–24 (NIV)
Am I only a God nearby,”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
Who can hide in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the Lord.
2 Corinthians 6:16 (NIV)
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”
Pray:
Spend some time praying together about God’s omnipresence. Ask Him to show you the ways that He is always near to you.
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Read more posts in the Attributes of God for Kids Series
