Tuesday, April 15, 2008

God is Infinite

“All our thoughts about Him will be less than He, and our loftiest utterances will be trivialities in comparison with Him.”1  Novatian

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out!”  Romans 11:33

God’s infinitude is yet another one of the absolute attributes only God can possess.  Here is why only God can posses such an attribute; the rest of us have limits.  We only live so long, can only do so much, only are so big (or rather small), can only be in one place, can only live in one time (now). God has never ceased to exist, can do anything, is boundless in size, is everywhere at once and in every time and without time all at once.  A. W. Tozer puts it well in Knowledge of the Holy to say, “Infinitude, of course, means limitlessness, and it is obviously impossible for a limited mind to grasp the Unlimited.”2  And further, “Even to try to conceive of it would appear to be self-contradictory, for such conceptualization requires us to undertake something which we know at the outset we can never accomplish.”3 

The way we try to understand something is to understand its limits.  We say a house has so many square feet of space in size, is a certain style (which is defined by a classification of limitations) and is a specific shape.  These things are what define the house and make it what it is. We cannot conceive of a house that is every size, every style, and every shape.  Try to describe this house to someone and you find yourself trying to describe everything known to man about housing.  It simply cannot be every size, every style, and every shape.  It must be a definite size, certain style, and distinct shape.  The limitations of the house make it unique and define what it is and how we interact with it. 

So here is our dilemma.  When we say God is infinite, knows no bounds, is without limit, and is measureless; how then do we define Him?  We must make reference to the known to describe the unknown and in so doing we continually fall short of understanding who He is.  Tozer puts it like this, “All that He is He is without growth or addition or development.  Nothing in God is less or more, or large or small.  He is what he is in Himself, without qualifying thought or word.  He is simply God.”4 

Novatian writes, “At the contemplation and utterance of His majesty all eloquence is rightly dumb, all mental effort is feeble.  For God is greater than mind itself.  His greatness cannot be conceived.  Nay, could we conceive of His greatness He would be less that the human mind which could form the conception.”5

“Because God’s nature is infinite, everything that flows out of it is infinite also” Tozer observes.6   And a wonderful observation it is.  What does He offer?  Life eternal, limitless mercy (not getting what we deserve), infinite grace (getting we do not deserve), boundless love, peace which passes understanding, joy unthinkable!  He is the boundless, measureless, limitless one!  He offers us limitless life!  He gives away unbridled grace! 
He has infinite knowledge, infinite presence, infinite power, infinite sovereignty, and infinite existence.  His moral attributes are infinite also: infinite holiness, infinite righteousness, infinite love, infinite faithfulness, infinite mercy, infinite grace and infinite justice.  So this tells us we are not beyond reaching and repairing.  He has infinite resources to put at your disposal as you appropriate His promises as set forth in His Word.

“Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”  Psalm 147:5

Oh Great God, Limitless One, we bow before you and humbly ask you would continue to expand our knowledge of You.  We ask, Infinite One, that You would show us ever-increasing measures of Your boundless character, Your measureless power, Your infinite faithfulness, and the fullness of all Your attributes.  Help our limited minds, hearts, souls and spirits to comprehend You to the greatest measure possible and then to stand back in utter awe, absolute wonder and awesome amazement at who You are eternally and all You do as you live in the eternal now outside of time and space!  We are grateful have a God so magnificently majestic as You!  We are privileged to be Your Children and humbled to call You, Father.  As we strive to understand and experience You, make us, Dear LORD, more like You.  In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen!

Footnotes
1 Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy: the Attributes of God, Their Meaning in the Christian Life. New York: Harper & Row, 1961. 45. Print.
2 Tozer. 44.
3 Tozer. 44.
4 Tozer. 45-46.
5 Tozer. 44.
6 Tozer. 46.

References
All Scriptures not specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.
Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy: the Attributes of God, Their Meaning in the Christian Life. New York: Harper & Row, 1961. Print.