Jeremiah 23:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In this context, attentive readers can discern that the Spirit is God and operates consistently, just as the Son does, without being separate from His essence. Furthermore, these sayings convey that when it is mentioned that God dwells within us, it signifies that the Spirit is the one who resides within.

This sentiment is reflected in the Psalms when it states: How shall I escape from Your Spirit, or how shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will support me (Psalm 138:7-10). The prophet Amos echoes this idea, saying: If they hide in the grave, My hand will reach them there; and if they rise to heaven, I will bring them down from there. If they conceal themselves on top of Mount Carmel, I will seek them out and take them from there. And if they plunge into the depths of the sea, even there I will command the serpent, and it will strike them (Amos 9:2-3). Moreover, the Psalmist notes: Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night shines as bright as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You (Psalm 138:12). It is also noteworthy that the prophets frequently preface their proclamations with Thus says the Lord to ensure that these messages are not taken lightly as mere words of men, but are consistently recognized as divine utterances.

If we were to postulate a non-material entity, akin to the fifth body proposed by certain philosophers, we would still find it to be mobile, much like the heavens, for it is dubbed the fifth body. But which force propels this body? Surely, another entity initiates the motion, for all that moves is set in motion by something else. And what, in turn, moves this other entity? This cycle would continue indefinitely until we encounter something that is unmovable. The first mover must itself be unchanging, and this is God. If He were not unchangeable, how could He exist beyond any specific location? Thus, it is established that God is the sole unchangeable reality, and through His immutability, He directs all that exists. Consequently, one must affirm that the Divine Nature is without physical form.

They cherish what they possess as their own rather than as a gift from God; they seek their needs only from others who, like themselves, possess nothing, and they remember God only to complain before Him about their failings? – No! They are not God’s servants, but rather exiles from His presence, believing they can reign within their confinement. God is omnipresent: but do those live in His omnipresence who, while they acknowledge it, create only fleeting thoughts of Him that leave no lasting impression on their hearts; who recognize His Providence yet refuse to acknowledge His ongoing mercy in their lives, who, despite ‘tasting and seeing how good the Lord is’ (Psalm 33:9), may appear to ‘see’ yet do not genuinely ‘taste’? - God is omnipresent, and particularly here in the temple ‘there is His name, ... and His eyes, ... and His heart’ (1 Kings 9:3): yet can it be said, as a reproach to this holy place, that all truly approach the throne of His presence with accuracy? Let us remain silent, as those who are cast out from this sacred space, perhaps misled here by hypocrisy or similar motives. Are there not even among the sincere admirers of God’s house some who, in this man-made temple, in this sensual and tangible expression of His presence, struggle to find the true temple of God; burdened by that which ought to heighten their sorrow; hearing the ‘words’ of God yet failing to perceive in them ‘the spirit ... and the life’ (John 6:63)? They stand in praise, yet cannot yet exclaim as David did, “Arise my glory, arise my psalter and psaltery” (Psalm 107:3); or, ultimately, when they encounter something here, do they not know how to carry it away as a testament to themselves? God is always present, and by His incomprehensible grace, He is near to all, ready to be perceived even when He is unseen and unheeded: “Let them touch Him and find Him, for He is not far from everyone who is with us” (Acts 17:27). Yet, despite this, how many would dare to confess with the voice of divine love: “I have found Him, whom my soul loveth; I have held Him, and have not forsaken Him” (Song of Songs 3:4)? Thus, true proximity to God must be the object of diligent pursuit and the outcome of persistent effort. “Seek the Lord, and ye shall be established: seek His face ye shall compel” (Psalms 104:4).