Mat 18:18
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Mat 18:19
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 18:20
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
1Co 5:1
It is reported commonly
that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
1Co 5:2
And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1Co 5:3
For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present,
concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
If Jesus must be omnipresent when saying Matt. 18:20, then Paul must be omnipresent when writing 1 Cor. 5:1-5. But perhaps there is a more subtle nuance to the language of both.
Maybe Jesus is saying that when two or three pray in agreement to the Father in His name, it is to the Father as though He were also among their number asking the Father with them.
And likewise paul may be saying, when you agree together and hand the reprobate over to satan, it is as though I am also in your midst adding my voice to yours.
Making Matt 18:20 proof positive of Jesus' omnipresence, would have to make 1 Cor. 5 proof positive of Paul's omnipresence.
Your comparison overlooks a qualification in Paul’s statement that does not appear in Jesus’ statement.
(1) Paul’s statement (1 Corinthians 5:3, KJV):
“For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,”
The relevant Greek in Beza 1598 is:
παρὼν δὲ τῷ πνεύματι, ἤδη κέκρικα ὡς παρὼν
“but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present.”
The words ὡς παρών (hōs parōn) mean “as if present.” Paul’s “present in spirit” and his judging “as though I were present” occur in the same sentence and concern the same act of judgment. They should be interpreted together. Paul is bodily absent but participates through his apostolic judgment as though personally there.
https://biblehub.com/beza/1_corinthians/5.htm
(2) LSJ’s entry for ὡς, under C.I, gives this grammatical category:
“with Participles in the case of the Subject, to mark the reason or motive of the action, as if, as”
This is the closest grammatical category because παρών is a participle in the nominative case referring to Paul, the subject. In this passage, the phrase expresses the assumed circumstance of his judging: “as if present.” LSJ supplies the relevant sense, although it does not specifically discuss this verse.
https://lsj.gr/wiki/ὡς
Cambridge Dictionary likewise defines the English expression “as though” as “as if.” Thus, the KJV’s “as though I were present” aligns with this meaning of the Greek.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/as-though
(3) Consider these examples:
“Although I was absent from the meeting, I sent my decision in writing, as though I were present.”
“Although I was absent from the meeting, I sent my decision in writing, as if I were present.”
Both mean that my decision participates in the meeting despite my personal absence. Neither means I am literally in the room.
“I supported them from another city, as though I were standing beside them.”
“I supported them from another city, as if I were standing beside them.”
Again, both describe support despite physical absence.
Now compare those statements with: “Wherever you gather, I am there in your midst.”
That directly asserts presence. It does not say, “It is as though I were there.” You would need to establish a figurative meaning from the context, rather than supply an “as though” qualification that the statement itself does not contain.
(4) Jesus’ statement (Matthew 18:20, KJV):
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Beza 1598 has:
Οὗ γάρ εἰσι δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν.
The concluding words, ἐκεῖ εἰμὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, mean “there am I in their midst.” There is no ὡς qualifying His presence as “as if” or “as though.”
https://biblehub.com/beza/matthew/18.htm
You suggest that the Father treats their prayer as though Jesus were among them asking alongside them. But that is something you are imagining and supplying to the passage. It is not stated in the actual text. Jesus says He is in their midst.
Furthermore, Paul describes his participation in one particular congregation’s judgment. Jesus gives a general promise concerning gatherings in His name. Therefore, taking Jesus’ promise as actual presence does not require making Paul omnipresent. Your comparison does not establish that their statements mean the same thing.
(5) Let’s also not ignore John 3:13, which says in the KJV:
“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
While speaking to Nicodemus on earth, Jesus describes Himself as “the Son of man which is in heaven.” This supports Christ’s divine presence beyond His bodily location on earth. I understand this in connection with His being one with the Father in heaven (John 10:30).
The modern Critical Text omits “which is in heaven” from John 3:13, and translations following that reading omit it from their main text as well. This is a Greek textual difference, not merely an English translation choice. The omitted Greek is ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, meaning “who is in heaven.” Thus, this omission removes an explicit testimony to His heavenly presence while on earth.
https://biblehub.com/john/3-13.htm
https://biblehub.com/texts/john/3-13.htm
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