The people in the Members Church of God International are lauding for their one and only “sensible” preacher that he teaches the “unheard” truth that God is not omnipresent. It is as if this teaching that God is “omnipresente” (in the Latin) or that His presence is everywhere is theologically incorrect. He even claim that the Scripture doesn’t teach God is everywhere in its original language and context as if showing he is at par with the Hebrew and Greek scholars who have formally studied the languages. By the way, hindi nag-iisa si Mr. Eliseo Soriano sa ganitong maling katuruan kaya huwag nating isipin na unique sa kaniya ang maling katuruan na ito. 

Let me start off with Mr. Soriano explaining that the heaven which is 13.7 billion light-years of space up to the edge where the Hubble telescope can observe is part of the heavens. (The young-earthers creationists will surely refute his argument.) If this is the case then in his understanding, the heavens have an exact measurement unknown to many. He quotes the following two verses from the Psalmist,

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. – Psa. 19:1

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. – Psa. 19:6

He proceeds to explain, “His going forth is from the end of heaven. Do you believe there is an end of heaven? Even if it is not yet been discovered by the Hubble space telescope and the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope), the most efficient of a telescope made by man. The Bible tells us in advance before they discovered it that the heavens has its end. If there is a term in the Bible ‘the ends of the earth… there is what the Bible call the end of heavens and his circuit to the ends of it.” Can you now predict where he is going with this statements? The fact is this is just a figure of speech na katulad ng pagkakasabi sa Isaiah 11:10-12 na “four corners of the earth.” Anong ipakakahulugan niya diyan? Na may apat na kanto ang mundo? This will surely be absurd. Ang salitang Hebrew ng “corner” means “extremity” (furthest point) or nangangahulugan pinakadulo pag gusto mong sukatin ang bilog na mundo. Yes, spherical ang ating mundo based from Isaiah 40:22. The fact is Mr. Soriano is good at preparing the minds of the people first so he can give them the final blow without using any biblical tools in explaining the verses he quotes. A careful student of the Scripture must be prepared for what lies ahead when Mr. Soriano does this. Ang isa sa mga verses na kaniyang pilit na binabago ang kahulugan ay mababasa sa Acts 17:24 kung saan malimit na gamitin ito ng mga theologians and pastors to prove that God is omnipresent. According dito sa verse, 

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; – Acts 17:24

Now, in Mr. Soriano’s mind, kung ang Diyos ay nasa lahat ng dako, eh, bakit dito sa templo ay wala siya? According to him, “If he do not dwell in temples made with hand, are you going to say he is everywhere? Practically he is not there.” 

Do you see how he reasons? He makes this very literal to the point of saying that since God does not dwell in temples then He is not truly everywhere. Pero ang point lang ng passage na ito ay upang ipakita na hindi kayang i-contain si Lord ng kahit na anupamang bagay ng mundong ito. Ang gusto ba ni Mr. Soriano ay sabihin ng verse na, 

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, [also dwelleth] in temples made with hands;” 

If this is the case, then his understanding of God is thwarted because he now teaches God as a physical being not believing God is Spirit. Of course, he will never admit this. The belief of Mr. Soriano is like that of the Mormons who think God is a physical being that can be contained by His creation. 

He also attempts to support his view that God is not omnipresent by quoting the passage below, 

Ac 5:1, But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, Ac 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Ac 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? – Acts 5:1-3

His question now is this, “This inspired words of Peter, ‘Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart.” Brother Eli, have you realize that part of Ananias was filled with Satan…. If it is filled by Satan, is God there in the heart of Ananias?”     

Another passage that Mr. Soriano wrongly understood that God is not omnipresent can be found in the book of John saying, 

And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. – John 13:27

Mr. Soriano explains, “By logic, by spiritual principle, and by physical logic, a place that is filled with something cannot receive anymore, anything when it is already filled with something. Ananias, said Peter why hath Satan filled thine heart. Imagine, it is very.. not ahh… there is no available space anymore when Satan filled the heart of Ananias in the same manner that happened to Judas Iscariot. Now to say that God is everywhere… we do not believed so.”    

Another set of passages that Mr. Soriano confuses are found in James 3:15-16 where wicked behaviors are happening. He explains that if these things are present in this place then God is not supposed to be there because He is not the author of confusion says 1 Corinthians 14:33. He now concludes, “He is not where there is confusion. How dare you say God is everywhere. Are you insulting Him?” 

I believed these statements from Mr. Soriano are enough already for us to deduce how he perceives his understanding of God. Mr. Soriano may not admit it but he just created a “god” out of his own understanding who is consists of molecules, atoms, and sub-atomic particles that could fill a material temple, a believer’s physical heart, and a real estate of a church just for him to concede that God is truly omnipresent. Kaya nga ang sabi niya ay “physical logic” kasi ang nasa isipan niya si God ay isang material object. Again, hindi niya ito aaminin siyempre. And what’s funny is that Mr. Soriano’s companion in the program laughingly said, “I don’t think God would want to share that space with Satan, Brother Eli… It’s like having a bad roommate.” Obviously, Mr. Soriano and the poor guy who is being led to false teaching had a wrong understanding of the word omnipotence according to the Scripture. As Dr. Wayne Grudem succinctly explains in his book Systematic Theology, 

“God’s omnipresence may be defined as follows: God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.”    

Madali lamang itong mapabulaanan? All arguments of Mr. Sorioano are easily refuted when you read Genesis 1:1 that says, 

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. – Genesis 1:1

If God created the heavens (plural) and the earth then that only shows God cannot truly be contained by His creation. Ang gusto kasing mabasa ni Mr. Soriano ay yung mga words na si God ay talagang nanduon kasama ni Satan na para bang si God at si Satan ay mga physical beings na puwede lang mag walk-in sa isang parte ng katawan mo, sa isang templo, o sa isang parte ng bahay. At kapag nandoon si God then nag walk-in si Satan ay magwo-walk-out na si God kasi hindi puwede magsama ang dalawa. Nakakatawa di ba? That is how shallow his understanding about God. Nasaan na iyong kaniyang paniniwala na God is a spirit (see Jn. 4:24). 

 To prove that God is spirit that cannot be contained by any material object, the prophet Jeremiah writes,

Jer 23:23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Jer 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. – Jeremiah 23:23-24     

Mr. Soriano will probably say, “See, God fills the heaven and the earth. This only proves God literally and physically fills everything.” In interpreting the Scripture, we need to use some figure of speech to understand this kind of words. Ang ibig lang sabihin nito ay he is present everywhere. Kaya nga sa ibang mga versions ang pagkakasalin ng mga Bible scholars ay ganito, 

No one can hide where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth? – Jeremiah 23:24, GNB

Jer. 23:23 Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. Jer 23:24 Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. – Jeremiah 23:23-24, NLT

Dr. Wayne Grudem’s insight about God being omnipresent is well-explained in his book Systematic Theology saying, 

God’s omnipresence is beautifully expressed by David:

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (Ps. 139:7-10) 

There is nowhere in the entire universe, on land or sea, in heaven or in hell, where one can flee from God’s presence.

We should note also that there is no indication that simply a part of God is in one place and a part of him in another. It is God himself who is present wherever David might go. We cannot say that some of God or just a part of God is present, for that would be to think of his being in spatial terms, as if he were limited somehow by space. It seems more appropriate to say that God is present with his whole being in every part of space (cf. also Acts 17:28 where Paul affirms the correctness of the words, ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’ and Col. 1:17, which says of Christ, ‘in him all things hold together).”  

Kung hindi matututo si Mr. Soriano ng proper rules in Bible interpretation then lalabas na magkakaproblema siya sa kaniyang literal interpretation. Tatanggapin ba niya ang turo na si Lord ay isang “malaking ibon” kapag binasa niya itong passage na ito?

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. – Psalm 91:4

This passage is also found in the book of Psalms. Eh, paano naman itong sa isang passage na nagsasabing ang Diyos daw ay “isang apoy?” Magtuturo na ba si Mr. Soriano ngayon na ang Diyos ay literal na apoy. So lahat ng apoy na nakikita niya sa paligid niya ay ang Diyos? 

For our God is a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:29 

I’m sure natatawa ka. So papaano natin ipapaliwanag yung mga verses na binanggit natin kanina in Acts 17:24, Acts 5:1-3, and Jn. 13:27? Since God fills everything, it simply means that God’s whole being or yung kaniyang attribute being a spirit is present in every square millimeter of this vast universe. Again, huwag nating isipin na si God ay parang physical na bagay na wala na doon sa lugar na iyon dahil si Satan ay nanduon. Since God gives us the freedom to decide in everything we do, He will not force Himself on us. If we want evil to dominate in us or in a particular place then it will surely happen for the Lord will surely allow the demonic forces to have their way. But that doesn’t mean He is not there for He may be silent without us feeling His very presence. Nasubukan niyo na bang makipaglaro sa inyong mga maliliit na anak ng taguan? Nagtago ka at siya naman ay hanap ng hanap sa iyo. Mga twenty-minutes ka nang nagtatago at hindi lumalabas pero nakikita mo siya from a distance. Akala niya ay wala ka na pero nandiyan ka lang pala malapit sa kaniya at nag-o-observe. This is not very accurate but I hope you got my point. Sabi nga sa Ezekiel 43:5, “the glory of the LORD filled the temple.” So ramdam pa rin Siya sa loob ng isang templo. Ang point lang sa Acts 17:24 ay hindi mo kayang ikahon si Lord. Iyon lang naman iyon. Pero sana hindi na ginawan ng doktrina ni Mr. Soriano. Even if our heart is wicked as a believer, the Lord is still in us because “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 Jn. 4:4). The Lord can still overcome the power of the enemy for He said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5). Sinong mas paniniwalaan natin? Si Mr. Soriano or si Lord? And even in a place full of wickedness, kahit na isang prostitution place pa iyan. Kapag tumawag ang isang prostitute sa Panginoong Diyos at nagsabi ng, “Panginoon, tulungan niyo ako na makaalis sa lugar na ito” ay siguradong nandoon ang Panginoon para pakinggan at tulungan siya. Kahit nga sa impiyerno, God is there but a person cannot feel His very presence, joy, love, grace, and mercy because the person in that place will feel that he is separated and isolated from God. But it doesn’t mean the Lord doesn’t know what’s happening in that place. Malamang ang sasabihin ni Mr. Sortiano, “Ibig mong sabihin ay nagdurusa ang Diyos sa impiyerno?” Again, mali po ang logic ni Mr. Soriano kasi ang tingin niya sa Diyos ay physical being. Ang ibig lang sabihin ni David noong sinabi niyang “if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” ay God is truly everywhere kahit saan siya mapunta. Ang “diyos” ni Mr. Soriano ay hindi ang Diyos ng Bibliya.

Remember, Mr. Soriano doesn’t bother to use the tools in interpreting the Scripture without admitting that when the Bible scholars translated the Bible that he was using, they use proper hermeneutics. I’m sure he knows about this. Marami pang mga turo si Mr. Soriano na hindi papasa sa tamang pagpapaliwanag ng Bible pagdating sa omniscience and omnipotence ni God. May mga nakakatawang paliwanag din si Mr. Soriano dito sa attribute ni God na ito na kung inyong gagawing literal ay siguradong magugulat ka. I hope that you will not just be led to believe of Mr. Soriano’s false teachings because if you will just nod at every teaching he says then it will surely give you a picture of a false god that is not the God of the Bible. Mr. Soriano seems “sensible” to those who are ignorant of the Scripture. This is why the apostle Paul commands not only Timothy but including all believers as well to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

I hope that we will all be like the Bereans who will examine, searched, investigate, determine, discern, scrutinize, and sift the Scriptures daily, to know whether what these so-called teachers say are true and faithful to the truth of the word of God. 

Reference:

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology