The implications of transcendence are as follows: there is something higher than humans. Humanity is not the end all be all in the universe, nor is it the cause of truth and value. There is something that gives us value from above. God can never be completely captured within the human concepts and understanding. This means that every theological debate and outworking can never exhaust God’s nature. He is too big in essence. Our salvation is not our achievement. Fellowship is God’s gift to us, where there is no possible way that we could ever be in a position to commune with a being such as Him. We can never achieve what He would require of us on our own. There will always be a significant difference between God and humans. The gap that we face is not just a spiritual or a moral separation, but it includes a metaphysical dimension stemming from creation. Even when we are redeemed we will not be like God. We are redeemed human beings, not gods. There will always be a divine transcendence. Reverence is always appropriate in our worship of God. There will always be a sense of awe and wonder that aspires as we come into contact with this God that is not like us. A God so great and mighty that He leaves me speechless as I commune with Him. Rudolf Otto called it the mysterium tremendum in his book The Idea of the Holy. Although there is love and intimacy in our relationship, equality will never be present. This means that we will never ask God to submit to our will, rather that we would submit to the will of YHWH. Lastly, we will look for genuine presentations of a transcendent God. Thus all things will not be accomplished by natural means. The use of prayer is essential to see the work of God and be able to respond appropriately to His divine accomplishments. As Erickson says, “As with God’s immanence, so also with his transcendence we must guard against excessive emphasis. We will not look for God merely in the religious or devotional; we will also look for him in the “secular” aspects of life. We will not look for miracles exclusively, but we will not disregard them either. Some attributes, such as holiness, eternity, omnipotence, express God’s transcendent character. Other’s, such as omnipresence, are expressive of His immanence. But if all aspects of God’s nature are given in the emphasis and attention that the Bible assigns to them, a fully rounded understanding of God will be the result. While God is never fully within our grasp since he goes far beyond our ideas and forms, yet He is always available to us when we turn to Him.”
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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Drew, it's awesome to hear what God is revealing to you about his nature. What touches my heart is that this God, the Creator of the Universe desires that relationship of love and intimacy. Even though we will never be His equal, He became our equal, a man, Jesus. Seeing how people accepted Jesus during his ministry shows me that they had no idea who he really was! That he was approachable, even to kids. I like the idea that we don't have to answer or even be right with every theological debate, but that in our relationship with Him, the reality of who He is becomes known in His time.
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