“Kids Ask” is a series where pastors, Bible teachers, and theologians answer common questions young children have about the Bible.
Kids ask lots of questions, and sometimes they ask big questions about God. Here’s one that’s come up recently: “How can God be in all places at once?” And, “If God is everywhere, is he inside my nose and mouth too? How can God be with so many people at the same time? That’s too many people!”
How would you answer? Here’s how I’d address this with children.
We Need Jesus with Us
We certainly want to know Jesus is with us, don’t we? When we’re scared because of a thunderstorm or sad because a friend has moved away, we want to be sure Jesus is right there, taking care of us. That’s a good thing to want.
Kids ask, ‘If Jesus is everywhere, is he inside my nose and mouth too? How can Jesus be with so many people at the same time?’
Jesus loves us more than anyone else does, and he has the power to take care of us better than anyone else too. But it can be hard to believe Jesus is with us, because we know that after Jesus rose from the dead, he went back to heaven. The Bible tells us Jesus is in heaven right now, ruling his kingdom and praying for his people. So how can he be in heaven and also with us on earth?
Many years ago, Jesus’s disciples wanted to know the answer to that same question. Jesus had told his disciples he was going to die and then go to heaven. They were grown-up men, but they were still worried about facing hard things without Jesus with them. The Bible says they were sad when they thought Jesus would leave (John 16:6). They wanted to be sure he was still going to love them, care for them, and be near them, even from heaven.
Jesus didn’t want his disciples to be worried. So he told them he was going to send them a “Helper,” his Helper, to be with them (v. 7).
Who Is Jesus?
To understand who the Helper is, we must start by asking, Who is Jesus? Jesus is both God and a man. There aren’t two Jesuses but only one Jesus—the one who is God and human. How can someone be God and a human? That sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But nothing is impossible for God!
The Bible teaches there’s one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (who is named Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Are there three gods? No, there’s only one God and he exists as three persons. This may seem confusing, but that’s OK because we can believe what the Bible teaches even if we can’t fully understand it all the time.
Because Jesus is God’s Son, he’s powerful enough to save us like only God can. Because he’s also a human, he can live a perfect life and die a perfect death so we could be forgiven.
And because Jesus is God and a human, it can help you answer this big question: How can Jesus be in heaven and with us at the same time? Let’s think about it.
Powerful Enough to Be with Us
Is Jesus God? Yes, Jesus is God.
The Bible says God is greater and more powerful than we can ever imagine. Nobody and nothing can keep God stuck in one place. You can’t put God on a leash like a puppy. You can’t keep God in a tank like a fish. You can’t pin him to the ground in a fun wrestling match like you might with your friends or brothers or sisters. You can’t even keep God in the biggest ocean in the world!
God is so powerful that he can be anywhere he wants, any time he wants. The Bible has tons of stories about God being with his people. He met Moses in a bush. He met Moses on a mountain. He led his people out of slavery and on a big, long trip through a wilderness. He was even with them in the temple (the building where God’s people in the Old Testament came to worship him).
God created everything. He’s so powerful that nothing can contain him. There’s no place in the whole universe where we can run from God. And he’s so powerful that he can be with us anywhere, any time.
Kind Enough to Send the Helper
Is Jesus a human? Yes, Jesus is a human. He’s the perfect human who fixed our sin problem.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins as the perfect sacrifice. Then he rose from the grave to defeat sin and death. After he rose, the Bible says he went to be with the Father in heaven as the King of the universe. Does that mean Jesus is far away from us now? No, Jesus is always with us because God is always with us through the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit is the Helper Jesus promised.
This is good news, even if it doesn’t feel like good news at first. We might think it would be better if Jesus was still on earth, walking into our houses and talking to us face-to-face when we’re sick or sad. That’s what the disciples thought too. But Jesus told his disciples it was better for them if he went to heaven and sent his Spirit to be with them (John 16:7).
Why? When he was on the earth, Jesus was only close to a few people at a time. But because he went up to heaven and sent his Spirit, Jesus is close to everyone who trusts in him. Because the Spirit came, he now shows people their sin, makes their spirits alive, and helps them to believe in Jesus (vv. 8–11). Because Christians have the Holy Spirit, he helps us to remember and understand everything Jesus taught so we know how to love and follow him (vv. 13–15).
The Bible even says the Spirit inside us prays to God the Father for us when we don’t know what to say (Rom. 8:26–27).
Yes! Jesus Is with Us.
Another one of Jesus’s disciples, a woman named Mary Magdalene, saw Jesus right after he was raised from the dead. She was so happy he was alive that she tried to grab him and give him a big hug so he’d never leave.
But Jesus said she shouldn’t try to keep him with her. That would be selfish, and not good for Mary Magdalene either. Instead, Jesus told her he’d be closer to her and to all his family than he’d ever been. When Jesus went up to heaven, he would make sure everyone knew he or she could be part of God’s family and close to him (John 20:17).
Jesus told his disciples it was better for them if he went to heaven and sent his Spirit to be with them.
Because Jesus sent the Helper, God is always with his people. This is good news! You never have to worry if Jesus is too busy for you. You never have to worry if Jesus is too far away to see you or hear your prayers. You never have to wait for Jesus to be done talking to someone else before he can talk to you.
Jesus is God. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as his Helper, and Jesus is always with us! Jesus has promised to be close to us until he comes back again to take us to be with him where he is (John 17:24; Matt. 28:20).
Involved in Women’s Ministry? Add This to Your Discipleship Tool Kit.
We need one another. Yet we don’t always know how to develop deep relationships to help us grow in the Christian life. Younger believers benefit from the guidance and wisdom of more mature saints as their faith deepens. But too often, potential mentors lack clarity and training on how to engage in discipling those they can influence.
Whether you’re longing to find a spiritual mentor or hoping to serve as a guide for someone else, we have a FREE resource to encourage and equip you. In Growing Together: Taking Mentoring Beyond Small Talk and Prayer Requests, Melissa Kruger, TGC’s vice president of discipleship programming, offers encouraging lessons to guide conversations that promote spiritual growth in both the mentee and mentor.
