Blogpost #28

Chapter 13: God is Transcendent 

 

When is an attribute not an attribute?

Transcendence is not an attribute of God. It's also never used in the Bible to describe God. So why do we use it and why did Tozer include it? Being human, we tend to look at things from a human perspective. This can easily leave us with a false concept in our thoughts about God. And, as Tozer encouraged us starting back in chapter 1, we must think rightly about God, if we are to have any chance of knowing Him.

To "transcend" means to rise above. It could apply to a circumstance where, because of an emergency, one situation rises above all the others and demands immediate attention. But, it's probably easier to illustrate in the human realm...especially among the sports and entertainment realms.

Most parents have had to think through the practical side of their children's dreams.  What do I mean?

It means the precarious balancing of wanting to encourage our kids to feel free to dream, even "shoot for the stars," but also realizing the price that has to be paid to fulfill those dreams, both personal and financial and often by both parents and child. It also means recognizing that some dreams require having natural skills that not everyone has.

In other words, it means guiding them so that their dreams align with who they really are, yet realizing that they might be capable of much more than it appears. If you look at pictures of Tiger Woods as a skinny young boy with those huge glasses, you might not see the potential his father did. Being a parent requires serious wisdom.

Tens of millions of young people have dreamed of being the next Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. But what are the odds of that happening? They are not good! Here's why. Think about the filtering process.

Let's start with high school. You might have, literally, millions and millions of young people who aspire to the greatness of a Tiger or MJ. The really good athletes (in any sport) will get to college, probably on a scholarship. (With typical college expenses running $50-100k, that's an attractive possibility!) But, at least 90% of those who started out playing in college will be filtered out. Of the ones who finish college and turn "professional," another 90% (or more) will be filtered out. In case your math is a little weak, this works out to 1 out of 100. But then there's the elite in the professional ranks; this eliminates another 90% in whatever field you look at. So now we're looking at 1 out of 1000, at least.

But, then there is what is often called the generational athlete, the one who only comes along once in a generation, the one who transcends the game, whose persona is bigger than life. Both Jordan and Woods fill the bill here. When Woods was at this peak a few years ago, one of his playing competitors (Ernie Els - who is a Hall of Fame caliber player himself) made this revealing comment, "Right now, Tiger is playing a different game from the rest of us." His greatness was so compelling that those who played with him, even at the highest level, had to admit that he was in a league all his own. His ability to perform was (and often still is) transcendent, it rises above all the other players.

That's a good illustration of the meaning of transcendence, but it has a fatal deficiency. It's a human picture. God is not human. He is not even super-human, He is another of a different kind. He is divine. When we say He is transcendent, we don't mean that He's one-in-a-million or even one-in-a-billion among men. It doesn't apply. His transcendence is wholly and completely beyond humanity, even the best of humanity. Humanity was His idea. He is the Creator of all humanity...and without Him we would cease to exist.

God is not merely the highest being, He is the source of all being. He is not merely Almighty, He is the Source of all might, all power. The truth is that all our efforts to comprehend Him, to describe Him, to understand Him fall short. They just do. You just can't get your mind around who He really is. It just doesn't compute. The best we can do is conjure up an ultra Super-Hero...and that just falls pathetically short. When we think we're beginning to grasp one attribute another comes in and we find there's a whole new dimension we never saw before...and in a sense, we just have to start over.

God is never outdated. He is never obsolete. The more we know of Him, the higher He rises. He is simply beyond our grasp. He knew that. He designed us with a capacity to know Him, even enjoy Him, but the capacity is limited. It's limited by His design, but it's also distorted by our sinful natures.

He knew that also. That is why He revealed Himself...first in Creation, then in Scripture and, finally in His Son. There probably are no more spellbinding words in all of world literature than those opening words in the first chapter of the book of Hebrews. Surely, they qualify as majestic:

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things,

 through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory 

and the exact representation of His nature,

 and upholds all things by the word of His power."

 Heb 1:1-3 NASU

The Transcendent Man

Knowing that we could never reason our way into understanding who God really is, especially who He is as a person, He gave us one final revelation: His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Hebrews 1:3 says so clearly, "He is the exact representation of His Nature." What does this mean? It means that He is God in human form.

How can that be? Isn't He supposed to be infinite, almighty, omniscient? How can a man (with all his inherent limitations) be God? Isn't that a logical impossibility? Can He be both infinite and finite?

The theologians describe Him as "the unique Being in the universe." He is both God and man. That is how He was able to become the mediator between God and man; the One (and only one) who could be the link that made a reconciliation and restoration of a relationship with a holy God possible once more. It also means going from glory to the dung heap! How was it possible? The answer of the Bible is simply that "He humbled Himself." If we knew and understood more of who God really is, we would probably label that as the understatement of all time!

While the Lord was both God and man on earth, His deity is described in the Bible as being "veiled." In other words, He purposely kept hidden the more dramatic attributes of His being so that we would not be distracted and mesmerized by them and miss what is probably more important: His character.

Of course, in events like the Transfiguration we see momentary glimpses of His true power and glory, just as we do in the feeding of the 5000. But the primary revelation was focused on the work of redemption which had to be accomplished by a man, a perfect but fully human man, a man who perfectly displayed the righteous character of God in His life.

When Hebrews 1:4 says that the Son is the "exact representation of His nature," it literally means "the representation of the reality of Him." What does that mean? It means that this man, in all his humanity, is the very image of God. And, filled with the Spirit of God, His life and character reflect that image. We see in His life and the things He did what a perfect man does, a man made in the image of God and unpolluted by sin, and how he glorifies God with His life. We see in living reality what transcendence really looks like. That's why the Apostle John could says "in Him was life. And the life was the light of men."

His selfless sacrifice of Himself transcends human love.

His obedience to His Father transcends and overcomes our disobedience.
His kindness and compassion transcends human kindness and compassion.
His humility and meekness transcends our pride and arrogance.
His judgment transcends and satisfies the wrath of God on our behalf.
His Resurrection transcends our death and makes a new birth and a new life possible.
His Desire for us to be with Him in Heaven transcends every obstacle.

"With God all things are possible." Why? Because He is Transcendent. If we would live in the light of His Transcendence, in the light of His "unsearchable wisdom," then it should lead to an awesome reverence for all that He has said and revealed.

When He encourages, our faith should be strengthened.

When He rebukes, we should learn from the instruction.
When He commands, we dare not disobey.

He has commanded us to "follow Him". Since we know His path leads to glory, why would we travel any other path, especially when He has promised not to ever leave us or forsake us?

 "I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that men may know 

from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me.  

I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness,

 causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these." Isa 45:5-7 NASU

Blogpost #27

Chapter 12

 

OMNIPOTENCE–THE DIVINE POWER OF GOD

The jarring headline read, "The Merchant of Death is dead." This was the bold print at the top of the obituary of Alfred Nobel in 1888. The only problem was, he was reading it! He was still very much alive. It was actually his brother who had died.

But what captivated Nobel's attention was the realization of how people perceived him, and ultimately, how they would remember him. He didn't like what he saw. The title, "The Merchant of Death," was unsettling, so he set out to change that perception. How did he do it?

He was an enormously wealthy man, so he created a charitable foundation that would fund the awards we know today as the "Nobel Peace Prizes." Millions of dollars have been awarded in prize money, but what was it that made Nobel so concerned about his legacy. Why was he being labeled the "Merchant of Death"?

Alfred Nobel was a chemist and inventor. In 1867 he filed a patent for the invention of a high explosive called dynamite. While dynamite found its most destructive uses during WWI, it was a major asset during the great infrastructure-building days when the great dams and railroads were built. Its ability to blast away mountains of rock and other obstacles made stunningly quick progress of a Herculean task possible. Nevertheless, what people remember most is the devastation and the death-toll that dynamite caused.

Dynamite is still the great default metaphor to describe power 

that can instantly and permanently change things.

PAUL'S DYNAMITE: THE GOSPEL

Dynamite comes from the Greek word "dunamis" which means power. This is the same word which Paul chose to describe the divine power which is active in the gospel. In Romans 1, Paul said "the gospel is the power (dunamis) of God unto salvation." The picture here is that just as dynamite is able to blast away stubborn mountains of rock blocking the path of progress, the gospel is also able to blast away the seemingly immovable mountains of darkness, the deception and rebellion which blocks the path to the restoration of a rebellious sinner to a right relationship with a holy God. And the effects of this spiritual dynamite are just as obvious and permanent.

OMNIPOTENCE: THE ETERNAL POWER OF GOD

What do we mean when we use the term omnipotence? First, it is a term that can only be used of God. When we think of the divine attribute of omnipotence, we literally mean that God has all-power and that He alone has all power. The Scriptures clearly teach this. David says it in Ps 62:11, "...power belongs to God." He is the source of all power; it's His personal possession.

A common synonym which is often used interchangeably is the word almighty. It's used over 50x in the Bible ...but it is never used of anyone but God. Any power that anyone else may seem to have is strictly on loan from God. He is in control.

It is even more accurate to say that there is no limit to God's dunamis; it is infinite and eternal. Why do we care about this, or at least why should we? Is this more than an academic issue? What's the practical importance to us? Two words. Wisdom and Sovereignty. 

 

DIVINE WISDOM'S VALUE DEPENDS ON DIVINE POWER

We've been looking at God's wisdom, seeing how it is revealed. But there's another reality here that is essential to God being God. Wisdom without power is useless. You may know the right thing to do, but if you do not have the power to effectively apply your wisdom, what good is it? That's impotence; not omnipotence. Only wisdom with dunamis has real practical value.

One fundamental tenet of Christianity is that God rules wisely. But His sovereignty depends on power. There is a business axiom that is often called the Golden Rule. It's a little different from what Christians call the Golden Rule. It goes like this; "He who has the gold, makes the rules." But it must be understood, if you are not strong enough to protect your gold, someone stronger will take it from you. That's just common sense. Your ability to rule is ultimately dependent on your power to control those you rule over. 

 

America is a great example. We enjoy an experience which few people, if any, have ever had: a nation which is ruled by the people and for the people. Two hundred-plus years ago our forefathers were convinced that the dunamis of a nation was in the people who made up the nation. They convinced those early citizens that if they would collectively delegate their power to elected representatives, they could achieve more working together than they could as individuals. Of course, success would ultimately depend on the integrity and wisdom of the elected representatives.

The few times a system of government like this has been tried, it has always unraveled. Sadly, our nation does not appear to be an exception to the rule. Why? The reasons why it unravels are almost always character-related, in other words, these nations almost always self-destruct because the people become corrupt. Usually, it is the leaders of the people who are corrupted first.

England's Lord Acton famously surmised, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men..." In other words, at heart, all men are selfish and greedy. While history tends to confirm Lord Acton's assessment of men's uses and abuses of power, it is not so with God. He does not abuse His power because all His ends are righteous, and unlike men, totally selfless. It is the selfish, sinful nature of man which supplies the contaminating corruption to the power God allows him. There are no such character-deficiencies infecting God's power. It is absolute and always totally consistent with His goodness and righteousness.

GOD'S POWER REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

It is very interesting to note that the most common term used to describe God's omnipotence in the Old Testament, almighty, is never used in the New Testament Gospels or Epistles (NASV). It is used several times in the book of Revelation and in an O.T. quote in 2 Corinthians, but that's it.

The term that is often used in the N.T. is the power of God, but it's used either of God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. God the Father is basically left out. The purpose seems to be to show that whereas in the O.T., God often revealed His divine power directly (i.e. in the Creation or in behalf of Israel in Egypt), His dunamis power during this present age is revealed indirectly thru Christ and by the Holy Spirit. Why is this?

The great example of God's power in the N.T. all revolves around the person and work of the Lord Jesus. Paul speaks about the the gospel...the power of God in salvation. In I Corinthians, as we saw last time, "Christ crucified" became "the power of God" to those who believe. And the great confirmation of the truth of the gospel is the power of God demonstrated in the resurrection of Christ (Romans 1:4). Peter seems to sum up the whole idea in his first epistle when he tells us that God has "caused us to be born again to a living hope thru the resurrection" and that our salvation is "protected by the dunamis of God thru faith." 1 Peter 1:3-6

What can we glean from this? I think the main lesson is that the power of God that is active in the gospel is the same divine power that was revealed in creation. It is easy to see the enormity of that power in creation, but it's not always so obvious in a spiritual work like salvation. But according to the Bible, it's the same unlimited power at work.

What is interesting is that both creation and the Resurrection are clear manifestations of the eternal power of God. And only those who come to God and accept these truths by faith will ever know their reality. It's a simple fact of life: God only reveals Himself to faith. We know this, but tend too often to forget it. But nothing works without it!

The Christian life is a life of faith. Faith is believing what God says is truth and then seeking Him on the basis of that truth. IF you eliminate faith as a path to knowledge, you eliminate the possibility of ever knowing God at all. Today people want reality. They want the experience which God's truth promises. But, only faith leads to that reality. Isn't that what Hebrews 11:6 says?

"...without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God 

must believe that He is 

and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." NASU

As the days grow darker in America spiritually, it will surely require the dunamis, the divine power of God, to break through hardened hearts so that men might see the need to seek Him in faith so that the power of the gospel might do its work.