God's Infinity
That God is infinite means that He is not limited in any way. There is no way to measure any of His characteristics, for all of His attributes are without bounds.
Because God is infinite, He is also incomprehensible. Psalm 145:3 tells us that God's "greatness is unsearchable," which means we will never be able to fully grasp all of what He is. We may understand some of what He is, but we can never come close to wrapping pea brains around his infinite greatness.
That God's attributes are infinite really just means that God himself—his nature—is infinite. As finite creatures, we can only begin to grasp this by separately considering the unlimited nature of the various attributes. So we look at God's infinity in relation to time and call it God's eternity, in relation to space and call it His immanence and transcendence. We call His infinite knowledge omniscience, and his infinite ability omnipotence. By looking at each of these separately, what it means that our God is wholly infinite becomes just a little bit clearer for us.
In thinking of God's infinity in relationship to all of His attributes, we need to go beyond just thinking about them as boundless amounts of a certain characteristic, but also to think of them as unlimited in quality. All of God's attributes belong to him in perfection and without defect. His goodness, for instance, is not only boundless in quantity, filling the earth and beyond, but it is also of boundless quality. As with all his other attributes, God's goodness is perfect. It cannot be added to or improved upon; it is always expressed flawlessly.
What does God's infinity mean to us? It means, for one thing, that God is completely other. There is no one else like Him and no one to compare Him to. He is so different from what we are that we can only grasp bits of what He is. We can never hold him in our minds in a complete way. The right response to Someone so far beyond what we are and what we know can only be awe and worship.
It also means that the aspects of his character that He shares with us will never run out. John tells us, "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." Because God is infinite, His fullness is of the never ending sort. There is always more for us. The grace we receive is exchanged for more grace, in a never ending cycle of grace upon grace. We should be confident in (and extremely thankful for!) God's never-to-end, never-to-run out, always-more-in-abundance fullness.
Because God is infinite, He is also incomprehensible. Psalm 145:3 tells us that God's "greatness is unsearchable," which means we will never be able to fully grasp all of what He is. We may understand some of what He is, but we can never come close to wrapping pea brains around his infinite greatness.
That God's attributes are infinite really just means that God himself—his nature—is infinite. As finite creatures, we can only begin to grasp this by separately considering the unlimited nature of the various attributes. So we look at God's infinity in relation to time and call it God's eternity, in relation to space and call it His immanence and transcendence. We call His infinite knowledge omniscience, and his infinite ability omnipotence. By looking at each of these separately, what it means that our God is wholly infinite becomes just a little bit clearer for us.
In thinking of God's infinity in relationship to all of His attributes, we need to go beyond just thinking about them as boundless amounts of a certain characteristic, but also to think of them as unlimited in quality. All of God's attributes belong to him in perfection and without defect. His goodness, for instance, is not only boundless in quantity, filling the earth and beyond, but it is also of boundless quality. As with all his other attributes, God's goodness is perfect. It cannot be added to or improved upon; it is always expressed flawlessly.
What does God's infinity mean to us? It means, for one thing, that God is completely other. There is no one else like Him and no one to compare Him to. He is so different from what we are that we can only grasp bits of what He is. We can never hold him in our minds in a complete way. The right response to Someone so far beyond what we are and what we know can only be awe and worship.
It also means that the aspects of his character that He shares with us will never run out. John tells us, "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." Because God is infinite, His fullness is of the never ending sort. There is always more for us. The grace we receive is exchanged for more grace, in a never ending cycle of grace upon grace. We should be confident in (and extremely thankful for!) God's never-to-end, never-to-run out, always-more-in-abundance fullness.
I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
(Psalm 145:1-3 NKJV)
posted by Rebecca Stark at 7/26/2004 10:25:00 AM
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