“I am with you” is a common phrase in many cultures. Most notably in the ancient Hebrew context, during the time of Moses, the phrase spoken by God took on enormous significance. When Moses was commissioned by God to lead the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, he obsessed about his own inadequacy. “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?’ And He said, ‘Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain’ ” (Exodus 3:11-12). God’s presence was a promise. A few verses later, God said to Moses, “ ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.” ’ ”

Repeatedly, God reminded them of that promise. And in fact, when Christ was born, He was called by God, “Emmanuel” which means, “God with us.” And at the end, when He instructed His disciples with the great commission, Jesus said, “… lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20b). We are reminded by the writer of Hebrews, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you…” (Heb 13:5b).

With the presence of God, what else do we need? Why would we need the presence of anyone else? Why does Paul tell the Colossians, “I am with you in spirit”? First off, he is not evoking some kind of mystical presence in replacement of Christ’s presence. Nor is he assuming a high-church “saintly” role. Paul knew very well his place in the grand scheme of things—he was a sinner saved by grace and a servant of Christ. His point is that although he was not physically present, he was still spiritually involved in their lives. We humans are so attached to the physical world that we tend to obscure spiritual realities. Our bodies are the medium through which we interact with the physical world around us. And when someone is physically far away, the relationship suffers. But not so with Paul. He was very much before the Lord on their behalf, through prayer and rejoicing. He was truly with them spiritually.

Jesus said that where two or more are gathered in His name, He is there in their presence. It seems to me that when we are gathered “spiritually” together, even when not physically present, we can know that the Lord is also in our presence spiritually. Oh, that we would open our eyes to this reality!