Behold Your God

“We are speaking of God. Is it any wonder that you do not comprehend?” (Augustine)

“And whatsoever conception comes into your mind, say, This is not God; God is more than this: If I could conceive him, he [could not be] God; for God is incomprehensibly above whatsoever I can say, whatsoever I can think and conceive of him.” (Stephen Charnock)

“If all this sounds strange to modern ears, it is only because we have for a full half century taken God for granted. The glory of God has not been revealed to this generation of men.” (A.W. Tozer)

Incomprehensibility: the impossibility of being completely understood

“If we could understand God, he would not be God, for it is a part of the nature of God that he should be infinitely greater than any created mind.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

1. The smug assumption that if we work hard enough we will fully comprehend the revealed realities of God’s character.

2. The tendency to humanize God, to think of Him as one of us only bigger.

Incomprehensibility—what does the Bible say?

Ezekiel 1:26 ESV

26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.

Ezekiel 1:28 ESV

28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

“We may speak much of God; talk of Him, His ways, His works, His counsels, all day long; but the truth is, we know very little of Him. Our thoughts, our meditations, our expressions of Him are low, many of them unworthy of His glory and none of them reaching His perfections.” (John Owen)

Wonderful

What do we mean when we use the word wonderful?

That steak dinner was wonderful! We mean it is good or pleasant.

But the Bible uses this word to refer to something that is beyond understanding, something that belongs to the category of mystery. It fills us with wonder because it is wonder-full. It bewilders us with its greatness.

Judges 13:18 ESV

18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

In other words the self-revealing name of God would fill them with wonder and confound them by its glory.

Unsearchable / Unfathomable

Something that cannot be discovered by examination, investigation, or calculation.

Job 11:7–8 ESV

7 “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? 8 It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

Psalm 145:3 ESV

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

Romans 11:33 ESV

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Romans 11:33 NASB95

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

Invisible / Unapproachable

1 Timothy 6:15–16 ESV

15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

When you begin to understand that your God is beyond complete understanding, do you delight to praise Him?

Fully, effortlessly Incomprehensible

All of God’s attributes are beyond comprehension

The duration of God

Job 36:26 ESV

26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.

The love of God

Ephesians 3:19 ESV

19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The anger of God

Psalm 90:11 NASB95

11 Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?

The peace of God

Philippians 4:7 ESV

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God’s actions are incomprehensible

Job 5:9 ESV

9 who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number:

Job 37:5 ESV

5 God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

God’s thoughts and decisions or judgments are beyond our comprehension

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Romans 11:33 ESV

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

The reason we cannot comprehend God

Job-

Job 26:14 NASB95

14 “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

Moses-

Exodus 33:20–23 ESV

20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

Paul-

2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB95

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Applying God’s Incomprehensibility

We must never give in to the temptation to reduce God to a manageable size.

2. We must never go too far and abuse this doctrine.

The Cure

John 17:2–3 ESV

2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

1 John 5:20 ESV

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.