Coram Deo a latin phrase often heard in theology or maybe even your pastor had said it before in his sermon. This blog post tells you what that means and uses what R.C. Sproul said.
Coram Deo
Breakdown of the latin word.
- Coram (before the face of)
- Deo (God)
Remember the blog post on Soli Deo Gloria, note the Deo there too. There the latin word Deo is broken up more. Which Soli Deo Gloria is Glory to God Alone.
R.C. Sproul writes …
“The big idea of the Christian life is coram Deo. Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life.
This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.
“To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.”
R.C. Sproul
To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze.
To live all of life coram Deo is to live a life of integrity. It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the majesty of God. A fragmented life is a life of disintegration. It is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, confusion, conflict, contradiction, and chaos.
The Christian who compartmentalizes his or her life into two sections of the religious and the nonreligious has failed to grasp the big idea. The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious. To divide life between the religious and the nonreligious is itself a sacrilege.
This means that if a person fulfills his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or homemaker coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a soul-winning evangelist who fulfills his vocation.
Integrity is found where men and women live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It is a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church. It is a life that is open before God. It is a life in which all that is done is done as to the Lord. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience that is held captive by the Word of God.
Coram Deo … before the face of God. That’s the big idea. Next to this idea our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles.”
See the VOTD June 2, 2019, where I share the sermon from my pastor Jimmy Innman and he shares the quote above with us and sermon on the dwelling place of God. (video is there, may need to fast word to the sermon).
Coram Deo is a Latin phrase translated “in the presence of God” from Christian theology which summarizes the idea of Christians living in the presence of, under the authority of, and to the honor and glory of God.
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