Imitatio. Early Christian literature
Luthardt's Hist, of Christian Ethics (Eng.
see P. Sabatier's Life and other writings.
see Charles Beard's Martin Lvlher, also his Hibbert Lecture.
(Luther, that great religious genius, is the Reformer to study).
Robert Mackintosh. IMMANENCE (Lat. in, 'in,' and manere, 'to remain ') means abiding or rlwelling in. In general it denotes the existence and operation of one thing within another. In Philosophy it expresses the identity of the originating and causal principle, in- volved in the genesis of the universe, with the universe itself in its pogressive history. In The- ology it denotes the mdwelling and operation of God within the entire universe, of which He is tlie first cause and the abiding ground. It stands in contrast with ' transcendence,' which implies that
God is prior to, and not limited by, the universe, ■.vliicli flepends upon Him for its origin and con- liiiiird existence. But immanence and transcend - rnr.' .iiv not. exclusive of each other. A correct tliiislir pliilosophy gives a place to each of these priurijilis in its exposition of the relations of God to the universe. The historv of the principle of
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tioii I-, N uii| li I 11 111 ,uin I I / 1/1'. "I A iistotle, according to winch tliL ti iiiiLi ul tliL wuikl iiiouldLd it into a harmonious whole Tht Au^ituteli m distmction between the immanent acts of tht. soul in fomiin,^^ a pui-pose and its tiansient acts in making thL puipose cfftLtne, illustrates the principle of imman entelnageneial waj
In the later Platonic philiisophj of the School of Alexandria the piinciple of the ^oj-o, especialh in the hands of Philo the Jew, also suggests the idea of immanence Philo perhaps borrowed the term from the Wisdom literature, where it was used in the sense of g-o^ix or latio. and applied to denote what Plato had called -Site... This usage of the term xdj.« is inter- esting in itself and on account of its bearing upon the usage of the same term in the Fourth Gospel.
In modern philosophy the dictum of Malebranche, that we know things truly only when we see them in relation to Go<l, and the monadology of Leibnitz, according to which a vital principle is supposed to lie at the heart of all things, both involve the idea of immanence. Spinoza's pantheism, as, in- deed, all pantheism, so emphasizes immanence that transcend- ence has no place. The absolute idealism of the Hegelian type of philosophy and the Hindu theosophy both make so much of the immanence of the Deity that His transcendence is quite obscured. In the philosophy of our own time there is a tendency towards a fuller recognition of the immanence of God, and this tendency is affecting theology in a wholesome way. The result is a sound theistic philosophy, as the basis for a more vital theology.
This article has to do mainly xvith the idea of immanence as it appears in the Gospel narratives, and specially as it is exhibited in the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Synoptics do not give as much prominence to the Divine immanence as does the Fourth Gospel. It might be too much to say that transcendence prevails in the former and imman- ence in the latter ; yet it is true that one of the points of difterence between the Synoptics and the Fourth Gospel is the way in which the relations between God and the universe are construed.
1. In the Synoptii:s there are hints of the Divine immanence in nature which resemble the OT utterances upon this point, e.g. Mt 5*^ 6^, Mk 6*^ Lk 2129. Transcendence is not excluded in these passages. God's immanence in man is also sug- gested by Mt 68 10-^, Mk 13", Lk 1" 22« 11". The fact of the immanence of God in Christ is alluded to in Mt 3"* 41 12i« 27«, Mk l'- 9^, Lk 4'. That God is immanent in some sense in the subjects of His Kingdom is implied in Mt 10« 13^3 18= 28=", Mk 1>5, Lk IS'^i. It may be added that demon- iacal immanence in men is often expressed in the Synoptics, e.g. Mt 8=» 12«, Mk 3== 917^ Lk 8».
We can scarcely conclude from these and similar passages that special stress is laid upon the idea of immanence in the Synoptics. The fact that God is constantly in vital and operative contact with the entire universe of being is very evident ; but God's being and activity are not necessarily limited by the universe. He is the First Cause of all things, yet second causes have their place and dependent efficiency in the universe. Hence it is that God's transcendence is clearly recognized.
2. In the Fourth Go.spel immanence has a larger place. Some interpreters suppose that St. John borroxved many of his ideas, especially that of the \(57os, from the Platonic philosophy, as represented by Philo of Alexandria, xvho combined some OT ideas with the philosophy of Plato. But there are differences between the \6yo^ doctrine of St. John and that of Philo xvhich entirely exclude the supposition that St. Jolrn xvas a mere borrower.
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The fact that he makes no allusion to Philo or to Alexandiia, but rather assumes that he gathered his ideas from the teaching of Jesus, fully justifies this view.