GOD IS INFINITE AND TRANSCENDENT, YET KNOWABLE.

Jan 4

Series: God is…Getting to Know God, Again

The goal of this series is to answer one simple question: What is God like? I believe that as we grow in our knowledge of God, our love and trust in Him will grow stronger.

How do you describe the indescribable?

We try to explain God in human words, but they simply don’t do justice. Every word we use to describe God is a compromise and not enough. The attributes of God are our attempts to describe the essence of God in human language. The attributes of God are “things about God, certain aspects of His great and glorious eternal nature, which He has been pleased to reveal to us, and which, in a measure, we can lay hold of.” -Dr. Martyn Loyd-Jones

Attributes of God

God is Infinite and Transcendent
God is Immutable
God is Triune
God is Omnipotent and Independent
God is Omnipresent and Eternal
God is Omniscient and Wise
God is Sovereign and Providential
God is Love
God is Holy
God is Righteous and Just
God is Merciful and Good

Dr. Sam Mikolaski describes God’s attributes like this: “An attribute is a fundamental quality of God’s being. They are perfections of God’s nature. They are inherent qualities. They are essential or permanent qualities. … They say that God is this and not that.”-Dr. Sam Mikolaski

Incommunicable attributes of God vs Communicable attributes of God

Communicable attributes of God are qualities that people can reflect in a limited way. Since “communicable” means something that can be shared or passed on, these are characteristics God allows humans to possess to some degree. Incommunicable attributes, on the other hand, belong to God alone. They are unique to His divine nature and cannot be shared with humanity.
Theologians argue about how to classify some of the attributes with subtle nuances, such as partially communicable. I personally would like to keep God’s sacred attributes that are His alone, apart from us as much as possible, out of respect and sheer reality. But I also know we are image bearers of God and can reflect most attributes to some degree. Let’s use our first attribute today as an example…

Let it be known that I do not claim to fully understand God or know everything about him, which is actually the first attribute we'll cover today.

God is Infinite and Transcendent, yet Knowable.

We’ll work off of this thought today: “We can never fully understand God, yet we can know God truly.” -Wayne Grudem

Job 11:7-9 “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.”
Psalm 145:3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.
Psalm 147:5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!
Job 36:26 Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Romans 11:33-34 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! 34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?

God is Infinite

“He is infinite in that He is not subject to any of the limitations of humanity, or of creation in general. He is far greater than everything he has made, far greater than anything else that exists.” -Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, p. 75
We cannot contain the God of the Bible within any attribute we assign to him. He is limitless in every respect. No space can hold him: he is omnipresent. No knowledge escapes him: he is omniscient. Nothing is more powerful than him: he is omnipotent. -Tobin Perry, Logos

God is Transcendent

The Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms says transcendence is, “The attribute of God that refers to being wholly and distinctly separate from creation (although always actively involved in and with it as well).” God is the creator and greater than and unlike anything He has created.
God being infinite and transcendent means He is too great for us to fully comprehend. When we say that God is incomprehensible and infinite, we do not mean that we cannot know anything at all about God. What we mean is that we cannot know Him exhaustively and comprehensively.

God is Immanent

God is also personal. Because the Lord is infinite, transcendent, and beyond our ability to comprehend, he must reveal Himself for us to know anything about him. Christians believe that God, out of his great love for humanity, chose to reveal himself to us.

God reveals what we need to know to have a relationship with Him

God chooses to reveal Himself in two ways, through general and special revelation.

General revelation refers to nature and creation: Romans 1:20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Special revelation refers to the written (Bible) and the living Word (Jesus): 2 Peter 1:16-19 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes 17 when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” 18 We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.
Even when God reveals himself, he remains a mystery beyond words. I agree with St Augustine here, “If you understood him, it would not be God” -St. Augustine

God has chosen not to reveal everything to us

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.”
Proverbs 25:2 It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.
I believe our finite minds cannot comprehend or handle what God knows. It is an act of mercy that God limits our knowledge of Him and the way He works, for it could hinder our sanity (Perhaps this is why the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was barred from eating, too).

The most important thing to know today is that God knows you and He wants you to know Him!

Psalm 139:1-6
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

God is knowable and wants you to know Him by seeking Him.

There are well over 200 instances in various forms in the Bible where God expresses a desire for us to know Him. The overarching message is God's persistent desire for a relationship with humanity.
Hosea 6:3 Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

Enoch discovered this truth…

Genesis 5: 21-24 When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 Enoch lived 365 years, 24 walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.
Hebrews 11:5-6 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Close

These attributes compel us to be humble about our knowledge of God.

We really don’t know everything about God. Much of God and how He thinks or how He works is a mystery, so we need to be humble enough to say, “I don’t know.”
Let this message inspire us to never stop seeking to learn, know, and experience God.

These attributes of God compel us to seek Him by faith

We seek God by faith, believing He exists. We become children of God by faith in Christ at salvation. We experience Him intimately through the Holy Spirit.

These attributes of God compel us to seek Him through the study of God’s Word

Discussion

When you think about the question “What is God like?” Which attribute stands out most to you right now, and why does it matter in your current season of life?
Why do you think God limits what He reveals about Himself?
In what ways does the doctrine of God’s knowability guard us from both pride (“I have God figured out”) and despair (“God is too distant to know”)?
How does knowing that God is infinite and transcendent shape the way you approach Him in prayer, worship, or everyday decisions?
Where have you personally experienced God revealing Himself, through creation, Scripture, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, and how did that experience deepen your relationship with Him?
What does it look like for you, practically, to “seek the Lord” this week, by faith, through God’s Word, or in an intentional relationship with Him?

What additional notes did you make during the sermon?
How can we pray together for you today?

The most important decision you will ever make!

If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life, we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and, when you’re ready, say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways, and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!

We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.

Pray Together

We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!

Ryan Coon