Day 4

God is Far Above and Near

Romans 11:33-36 

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

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,

    or who has been his counselor?”

35 “Or who has given a gift to him

    that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

With parents, there is usually one who is more authoritative, who demands obedience and will punish disobedience. Then there is the other who is almost closer to a friend than someone you view as above you. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but it’s a common pattern among married couples. 

On the first day of this devotional, we looked into the aseity of God, meaning His complete self-existence and self-sufficiency. Referring to God’s aseity, it is clear how we are to view God as far above us, as independent of His creation. In other words, God is transcendent. 

God being transcendent and far surpassing us, existing outside of space and time, is made clear in Scripture (Deuteronomy 4:39, Psalm 8:1, 97:9, 113:5-8, 123:1). Simply recognizing God as the Creator magnifies His transcendence (Genesis 1:1). There are various ways in which God is transcendent above us such as His complete power over all things (Isaiah 43:13), His moral perfection and goodness (Exodus 15:13, 33:20, Hebrews 14:15), and His eternality and immutability as discussed in the previous two devotional days. 

However, is God merely far off, unknowable, and ignoring His creation? Scripture states that God is not only transcendent above His creation, but that He has chosen to be immanent within it (Haggai 2:5, Matthew 28:20). That is, God is present within His creation. The immanence of God is not to be confused with the imminence of Christ, which refers to His ability to return at any time. Perhaps the clearest examples of the immanence of God are the incarnation of Jesus Christ (John 1:1-14) and the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:25-27, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Ephesians 1:13-14). 

While pantheism teaches that everything is God and deism teaches that God is separate and far from His creation, Scripture teaches that God is both different from and independent of His creation and actively upholding it (the existence of God’s creation is reliant upon Him). While many pagan gods are incredibly immanent, they lack transcendence (e.g., Greek and Roman gods). Other pagan gods or even other monotheistic religions hold to an incredibly transcendent deity that is too far above humanity to be immanent with us (e.g., Islam).

Reflect: What would it be like if God were only transcendent but not immanent? What if He were only immanent but not transcendent? How would this affect God’s power and your prayers? 

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The common view of God in America is one of a moralistic, therapeutic deity. God is not involved in His creation, but if I need Him, I can call on Him like a genie in a bottle. This is horribly wrong; God does not exist to make you feel good or boost your self-esteem. We do not need a moralistic, therapeutic god. We need the transcendent and immanent Lord (Isaiah 57:15). 

If God were only transcendent but not immanent, He’d be all-powerful, but He wouldn’t hear or care for you. If God were only immanent but not transcendent, He would hear and care for you but be unable to do anything. Why would you pray to either of these?

We must rejoice in the true comfort of knowing our God is transcendent and immanent. As Jeremy Kimble said, “We should pray to this God, knowing He is both near to relate to us and powerful to answer.” 

Jesus’s name, Immanuel, means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Through Him, creation was formed and is sustained (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17). Praise the Lord Jesus!

Today’s big words: 

1. Transcendent - God is above, different from, and independent of His creation; He is not bound by anything within creation. 

2. Immanent - God is present within His creation. 

3. Imminent - Christ can return at any time.

Day 5 link here (coming soon)!