|
|
What do we really mean when we say we are finite and God is infinite? Why do we have a hard time understanding some things
in the Bible such as Hell and judgment? Can this be explained by the infiniteness of God?
First off, if God is infinite,
then that means he is beyond all and if he is beyond all he is the creator of all. That means that he also can't be improved
upon in anyway. He has all actuality and no grounds for improvement. He is already perfect. He is a necessary being.
Now
let's look at some of the things that Scripture says about God.
John 3:33. God is truthful. This means that God is
truth to the maximum. He possesses all truth and is the source of all truth and if anything is true it comes from God. If
anything is false, it is because it lacks truth.
Exodus 34:6. God is compassionate and gracious. He desires above
all else to show his mercy and grace to us. Why he doesn't always will be explained later.
1 John 4:16. God is love.
God is love to the maximum and that is how much love he has for each individual on the Earth and it can never be removed.
1
Corinthians 10:13. God is faithful. God is going to keep his promises. He cannot avoid being faithful.
Deuteronomy
32:4. All his ways are just. God possesses justice to the maximum.
1 Peter 1:3- In his great mercy.... God has great
mercy. He cannot have any more mercy than he has now.
Romans 11:33. Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge
of God. God possesses wisdom to the max and knowledge to the max.
Psalm 68:34-Proclaim the power of our God. God has
all power and all power he possesses to the max.
Psalm 147:5-His understanding has no limit. How comforting this is.
God is all understanding. That means when I go through Hell on Earth he in Heaven understands. In fact, with Jesus, he's been
there. (Hebrews 4:15)
Now is God limited? Ironically, yes. God is limited by his character and responds accordingly.
For instance, he cannot lie because he is all truth.
Ponder for a moment if God were all justice but not all love and
mercy. How many lightning bolts would be coming down to us and would we not all be in Hell already? But God is all mercy and
all love and he does most all he can but still requires justice. This is why eventually, God must act justly.
But
consider how much love he bestows on us. This is one of the greatest Christian arguments for eternal security. How can the
infinite love ever decrease at all? How can infinite mercy on his child ever end?
Ponder the infinity of God sometime
and be amazed. Try to grasp this and keep the Tylenol nearby. Consider also that things that are new eventually pass away
and lose their wonder. I received a new gamesystem for my birthday but eventually the new will pass away and I will not get
as much wonder because there's only so much that can come. But God is infinite. There is no end to what we can learn about
him and when I feel I've exhausted him, he reveals more. In fact, he is so infinite it will take all eternity to know him.
Now
think about this. The Biblical command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. We being
finite have only limited love and we will never do this fully. But God will love us infinitely and never any less.
I
should point out that the Jewish rabbi Kushner wrote a book called "When Bad Things Happen To Good People." He theorized it
happens because when God gave man free-choice he gave him some of his power and thus he is no-longer all-powerful.
If
I could talk to him I would ask him, Mr. Kushner, when you take away from infinity, do you not have infinity left? God doesn't
have a limited storehouse of power but he has all that he can give all away and still have all left. It's beyond our understanding.
Mr. Kushner. Your god is a wuss. I'll take Jesus.
Comments? Suggestions? Thoughts? Questions? (Insults were due yesterday.)
God
bless.
Nick
Articles
|
|
|