Beyond...to Infinity
“We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect…”
God is “I AM”: a person who always was and always will be. He is being. He is life. Existing before all things, He brought all things into existence. As the Creator, He is the definer of the good and the perfect, the standard by which all values are measured. What God loves and approves is good and what He disapproves and despises is evil.
God is infinitely perfect because He is infinite. We noted God’s infinity in relation to time. God is not limited by space either. Human beings have a definite location. God does not. God is in no particular place but is everywhere at once, i.e. omnipresent (Psalms 139.7-12; Jeremiah 23.23). Jesus comforted His disciples with His eternality and omnipresence: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28.20).
God is also infinite in knowledge, i.e. omniscient. God knows everything. Proverbs 15.3 relates this, in part at least, to His omnipresence. God knows when every sparrow falls and knows how many hairs are on your head (Matthew 10.29-30). “No creature is hidden from His sight” (Hebrews 4.13).
God’s knowing is an innate ability rather than a matter of observation. He knows. God knows what is and what might have been (Matthew 11.21-24). He knows the outcome of every possible combination of free choices. This makes God wise. God knows what is good and what is the optimally good choice in every moment and every situation.
God is also infinite in relation to power, i.e. omnipotent. One of His names is El Shaddai – God Almighty. When Sarah laughed at the idea of being old and having a child, God responded “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18.14 cf. Jeremiah 32.17). After saying it was hard for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom, Jesus noted that “With men, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19.26).
Note: There are things God cannot do. He cannot violate His own nature, i.e. He can’t sin and He can’t die (which is what makes God becoming man such a great mystery). Neither can God do the rationally absurd – make a rock too big for Him to move – because the rationally absurd can’t be done in any imaginable world.
When I ponder these different aspects of God’s infinity, I realize that He is immense beyond the limits of my comprehension. That drives me to worship Him.
His immensity humbles me and reminds me how small and limited I am.
I am only here for a short time.
I can only be in one place at a time.
Though I can learn, I am extremely limited in what I know and what I can ever know.
My powers and abilities are so limited compared to God’s.
My limitations narrow my perspective to focus on what is possible for me in life.
But knowledge of God’s infinite immensity reminds me that I am not “I AM” and that there is life beyond me, there is time beyond me, and there is a larger purpose beyond me. I am but a tiny thread in an enormous tapestry that He is weaving.
He is the weaver and each of us is a part of the tapestry.
He is the potter and each of us is but one vessel that He makes – for temporary and limited use.
I don’t have to ‘know’ everything about everything. I can’t do it anyway.
He calls me not to know, but to ‘trust’ – to believe.
Believing (faith) is a ‘knowing’ of sorts.
I don’t know the details of the plans.
I don’t know every step.
I know only that God, I AM, is infinitely perfect, that He is great and that He is good, that He is working all things together for good (Romans 8.28).
That is all my childlike faith needs to know.
God is “I AM”: a person who always was and always will be. He is being. He is life. Existing before all things, He brought all things into existence. As the Creator, He is the definer of the good and the perfect, the standard by which all values are measured. What God loves and approves is good and what He disapproves and despises is evil.
God is infinitely perfect because He is infinite. We noted God’s infinity in relation to time. God is not limited by space either. Human beings have a definite location. God does not. God is in no particular place but is everywhere at once, i.e. omnipresent (Psalms 139.7-12; Jeremiah 23.23). Jesus comforted His disciples with His eternality and omnipresence: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28.20).
God is also infinite in knowledge, i.e. omniscient. God knows everything. Proverbs 15.3 relates this, in part at least, to His omnipresence. God knows when every sparrow falls and knows how many hairs are on your head (Matthew 10.29-30). “No creature is hidden from His sight” (Hebrews 4.13).
God’s knowing is an innate ability rather than a matter of observation. He knows. God knows what is and what might have been (Matthew 11.21-24). He knows the outcome of every possible combination of free choices. This makes God wise. God knows what is good and what is the optimally good choice in every moment and every situation.
God is also infinite in relation to power, i.e. omnipotent. One of His names is El Shaddai – God Almighty. When Sarah laughed at the idea of being old and having a child, God responded “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18.14 cf. Jeremiah 32.17). After saying it was hard for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom, Jesus noted that “With men, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19.26).
Note: There are things God cannot do. He cannot violate His own nature, i.e. He can’t sin and He can’t die (which is what makes God becoming man such a great mystery). Neither can God do the rationally absurd – make a rock too big for Him to move – because the rationally absurd can’t be done in any imaginable world.
When I ponder these different aspects of God’s infinity, I realize that He is immense beyond the limits of my comprehension. That drives me to worship Him.
His immensity humbles me and reminds me how small and limited I am.
I am only here for a short time.
I can only be in one place at a time.
Though I can learn, I am extremely limited in what I know and what I can ever know.
My powers and abilities are so limited compared to God’s.
My limitations narrow my perspective to focus on what is possible for me in life.
But knowledge of God’s infinite immensity reminds me that I am not “I AM” and that there is life beyond me, there is time beyond me, and there is a larger purpose beyond me. I am but a tiny thread in an enormous tapestry that He is weaving.
He is the weaver and each of us is a part of the tapestry.
He is the potter and each of us is but one vessel that He makes – for temporary and limited use.
I don’t have to ‘know’ everything about everything. I can’t do it anyway.
He calls me not to know, but to ‘trust’ – to believe.
Believing (faith) is a ‘knowing’ of sorts.
I don’t know the details of the plans.
I don’t know every step.
I know only that God, I AM, is infinitely perfect, that He is great and that He is good, that He is working all things together for good (Romans 8.28).
That is all my childlike faith needs to know.