While the Bible and reason teach that God is omnipresent, the Bible and reason just as clearly teach that God also resides in heaven. The Bible is very clear about this.
Jesus taught us to pray by saying, “Our Father, which art in heaven…” (Matt. 6:9). In this simple statement, He clearly affirms that the first Person of Godhead, the Father, resides in Heaven. Several things need to be addressed in this connection. First, this post assumes the triune nature of God. That is, that God is three Persons in One God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This topic will be addressed in another post, but for our purposes here, it will be assumed as correct. Second, while the Father is in Heaven on His Throne, the second and third Persons of the Godhead may be elsewhere. For instance, in Jesus’ baptism, the Father spoke from Heaven, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove and Jesus was in the Jordan being baptized. Thus, while in some sense God’s Presence is everywhere, as we have seen, the Person of the Father was in Heaven on His throne.
When Jacob went out from his father unto Haran, he came to a certain place where he pillowed his head upon some stones (Gen. 28:10,11). In a vision from God, he dreamed there of a ladder whose top reached to Heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending upon it (v.12). But above the ladder was Jehovah (v13). Jacob said, “How dreadful is this place. This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (v17). Heaven, then, in Jacob’s view, in the Biblical view, was the House of God.
When Solomon prayed at the dedication of the Temple he had built as a “house of habitation” for God (II Chron. 6:2), He made clear that God’s actual dwelling place is in Heaven (II Chron. 6:39). On multiple occasions Solomon would say of God, “Then hear Thou from Heaven” (6: 23, 25, 27, 35) which he would call “Thy dwelling place” (6:21, 30, 33, 39). During Hezekiah’s day, it is said the prayer of the children of Israel was heard and that it went up to Heaven, to His holy dwelling place (II Chron. 30:27). Isaiah said that God dwells in the high and holy place (Is. 57:15). Every time we read of Heaven, it is always spoken of as being upward.
The following is a list of passages which refer to Heaven in some form as God’s dwelling place:
Gen. 28:17- This is the House of God, the gate of Heaven
II Chron. 6:39 – Heaven Thy dwelling place
II Chron. 30:27 – Holy dwelling place, even Heaven
Psalms 123:1 – Dwellest in the heavens
Is. 57:15 – Dwell in the high and holy place
Is. 63:15 – Heaven is called the habitation of the holiness and glory of God
Matt. 23:9 – Your Father in heaven
II Chron. 20:6 – God in heaven
Psalm 115:3 – Our God is in the heavens
Is. 66:1 – Heaven is the place of His rest
Gen. 21:17 – Angel of God called out of heaven
Gen. 24:3 – The Lord, the God of Heaven
Gen. 24:7 – Lord God of Heaven
Josh. 2:11 – He is God in Heaven
II Chron. 36:23 – Lord God of Heaven – Ezra 1:2
Ezra 5:12 – God of Heaven – (6:9,10; 7:12, 21,23; Neh. 1:4,5; 2:4,20; Psalm 136:26; Dan. 2:18,19,37,44; John 1:9; Rev. 11:3;16:11)
Job 22:12 – God is in the height of heaven
Psalm 14:2; 53:2 – God looked down from Heaven
Psalm 57:3 – He shall send from Heaven
Psalm 80:14 – God look down from heaven and visit
Eccl. 5:2 – God is in Heaven
Is. 14:13 – satan said I will ascend into heaven and exalt my throne above the stars of God
Dan. 2:28 – God in Heaven (Matt. 22:30)
Dan. 5:23 – Lord of Heaven
Matt. 23:20 – He that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and Him that sits thereon
Mark 16:19 – In heaven is the right hand of God
Acts 7:55 – Looked into Heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God
Rom. 1:18 – Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven
I Thess. 4:16 – Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven
Heb. 9:24 – Jesus went into Heaven itself to appear in the presence of God for us
I Pet. 3:22 – Is gone into Heaven and is on the right hand of God
Rev. 3:12 – New Jerusalem comes down from God out of Heaven
Rev. 20:9 – Came down from God out of Heaven- Rev. 21:2
Rev. 21:10 – Out of Heaven from God
A distinction needs to be made between the various uses of Heaven in the Bible. The word “Heaven” is used in a least three ways. Heaven is used, first of all, in reference to the atmosphere surrounding the earth (Gen. 1:20; Psalm 104:12). Then it is used of the place where the stars are, the universe (Gen. 1:14,15; Psalm 19:1). But Heaven is also used of where God resides (II Cor. 12:2; II Chron. 6:39). It is in the third sense that we are speaking about now. Sometimes, however, the other two heavens are used interchangeably with God’s place of dwelling (e.g., Psalm 103:19 – The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all).
God is a spirit (John 4:24). A spirit does not have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39), but a spirit may at least have a body or form (I Cor 15:44; cf. Ex. 33:23). His Presence is everywhere, but His Person resides in Heaven, the third Heaven, where He sits upon His throne, a representation of His sovereignty and rule. God exists and resides somewhere outside and superior to the created, material universe, in some sense as Spirit and where ever that “place” is, is Heaven. Heaven, then, is the eternal realm of God’s personal presence, inseparable from His eternal existence.
The Bible repeatedly affirms that while God’s Presence pervades all creation, He Personally dwells in Heaven. Scripture portrays Heaven as the seat of His throne, the realm of His glory, and the place from which He engages with His creation in a personal way. Understanding the distinction between His Presence and His Person, strengthens our comprehension of God’s nature–He is both transcendent over the universe and imminent in His interaction with His people (Acts 17:27,28). As we grasp this truth, we are invited to approach Him with reverence, recognizing that His throne in heaven is not a limitation of His being but an expression of His divine order and majesty (Heb. 10:19-22).
Eric L. Padgett