24.10.07
Shorter Catechism on God (3): God is Infinite
Read: Psalm 139:1-24
Psalm 139 is, at the same time, the most uncomfortable, and the most comfortable chapter in the Bible. That’s because it talks about the infinity of God – the God who you cannot get away from. Wherever you go, whatever you are doing or thinking, God is there. God is everywhere – He is infinite. Sometimes you might want to get away from Him, but you can’t. Sometimes, you just want to know that He’s with you – and He is. God is infinite.
The question of God’s infinity forms the third of our studies into question and answer 4 of the Shorter Catechism, “What is God? God is a Spirit – infinite, eternal and unchangeable – in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” I want to look at God’s infinity by asking first of all, what we mean when we talk about God being infinite, and then secondly, to look at various applications to our day to day lives of God being infinite:
[A] What is Infinity?
To say that God is infinite is to say about Him that He has no limits, no boundaries, and He is present everywhere at all times. There are three senses in which He is infinite: first, He is infinite in time – He is eternal or everlasting – a point we will look at in our next study. Secondly, He is infinite in space – He is present in all points of space – there is nowhere He is not. That’s what those who wrote the Shorter Catechism probably meant by saying that God is infinite. You cannot say He is here but not there, because He is everywhere. Now that is not to say that this table, or that chair is God – that is pantheism – that everything is God – but it to say that God is present in that chair and in that table. God is both transcendent, in that His presence transcends and is above everything we see and touch; but God is also immanent, in that He is close to us. The common way of talking about this is to say that God is omnipresent – He is present everywhere – there is nowhere He is not. That’s what King David is saying in Psalm 139 – there’s nowhere I can run away from God – the heavens, the depths (which is probably a reference to the grave), the far side of the sea, the light nor the darkness, the womb of my mother.
The third way we can talk about God being infinite in qualities – to use the language of the Shorter Catechism, He is infinitely wise, infinitely powerful, infinitely holy, infinitely just, infinitely good and infinitely true. There is no limit or boundary to His wisdom – in no situation is He ever unwise. Wherever God is, and that is everywhere, He is fully and infinitely powerful and holy.
[B] The Application of God’s Infinity
Perhaps the infinity of God, His immensity and omnipresence, aren’t things you think about every day; but when you do think about them, what difference should it make to your thinking and behaviour? As I see it, there are six clear applications of the infinity of God:
1. The Fallacy of ‘Sacred Space’ – if God is omnipresent, or present everywhere, then in an absolute sense, there is no place where God is nearer than He is in another. When we lived in England, Kathmar and I would often go for a walk to a local park. In that park was a plaque with the little poem written on it “The Kiss of the sun for pardon, the birds of the air for mirth, one is nearer God’s heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth.” But if we take God’s infinity seriously, that’s just not true. In our tradition, we value the sacred space of a church building – even sub-consciously, we feel that God is closer to us if we are sitting upstairs in the ‘sanctuary’ than if we are sitting downstairs in the ‘small hall’ or if we were sitting in our own homes. But again, that’s just not true. The church isn’t the building, it’s the people and God is no closer in this place than He is in a classroom. This building isn’t sacred and we shouldn’t think that just because we are going to have to leave it for a few months, that we are going away from God. If we are feeling that, then we don’t really understand the Biblical doctrine of God.
2. The Beauty of God’s Universal Comfort – there is nowhere you can go which is beyond the comforting beauty of God. The Apostle Paul found that to be true – whether he was in a jail in Rome, or debating amongst the Philosophers of Athens, or preaching in the Temple in Jerusalem – He knew that God was always with him. In the same way, thousands of missionaries have found that God was their comfort and friend in Britain and in China, or wherever they went – their support on the High Seas; their help during days of rebellion and danger. God is with you in the hospital as much as He is with you in the house – as much in the office as in the church.
3. The Challenge of God’s Ever-Seeing Eye – the fact of God’s omnipresence means that you can’t ever get away from Him. Supposing you go away on a business trip, you’re not away from God – His eye is upon you. God is as present with you on a Saturday night as He is on a Sunday morning – He sees how much you drink; He hears what you say and He knows that girl you’re with. If you think you can be a Sunday and Wednesday Christian; someone who is only pious when other Christians are around, the doctrine of God’s infinity is a severe wake-up call to you. This God can see round corners and through closed curtains.
4. The Assurance of God’s Never-Failing Control – because God is infinite, He is sovereign over the whole universe. When I was on honeymoon in the Maldives, I did some scuba diving and was amazed by the coral formations and the sea life of those beautiful islands. But the thought struck me as I was gazing at dazzling orange, blue and purple corals, that for however long the earth has been in existence, it is only in the last 50 years or so that mankind has seen these amazing things – but God has seen them from the moment He created them, and furthermore He has controlled their growth and development for thousands of years. He’s the God who is sovereign over the sea life of the Indian Ocean, and the God who is sovereign over the circumstances of your life. He’s the God who is in control of your situations, so that for example, if you’re job is under threat, you know that He is control – your life, and what happens to you, is not chaos – it is carefully ordered by God and over it, God is sovereign. Rest then in His providence for you.
5. The Rebuke to our Fickle Worship – If God is infinite and immense; if He fills the whole universe and there is nowhere where He is not – then there is no room for another infinite God. It’s pure logic – if God is infinite, there can’t be another infinite Spirit God. Why then, if our God is infinite, do we worship other things? Is our money infinite? Is our family infinite? Is our reputation or our career infinite? None of them are, but God is. Are the graven images and idols other religions bow down to – are they infinite? No – only God is. Therefore, if God is infinite, and He is the only one who is infinite – why worship anyone or anything else?
6. The Spur to Ceaseless Mission – if there is nowhere God is not, then we can take the courage in all our evangelism. For example, God is present in the Pinnacle Building next door – when we cross the threshold of the building, we aren’t going onto unfamiliar ground, because God is already there. When we talk to another person about Christ, God is there with us. When missionaries take the Gospel to far off countries, they may be far off to us, but God is already there. We can’t go where God is not, because He’s everywhere. And that same power to convert is present in the Pinnacle Building, in our offices, in our homes, in the mission fields of Africa and China, and even in our own church here.
God is infinite, but in order to save us, the infinite God took upon Himself a finite human body and a finite human mind – His name was Jesus and even now, that finite, but infinite God-man is seated in heaven making continuous intercession for us. God is infinite, and we praise Him for that. Tonight as you leave this meeting, God will go with you because God is always with you and He’ll be waiting for you at home and in your office tomorrow. AMEN