“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 1 Kings 8:27
Millard Erickson in his Christian Theology says that a Transcendent God is one who is “separate from and independent of nature and humanity.” We often think of God in very human terms… and this is right in many ways because we are made in His image, but to think of God the Father in human terms is also wrong because He is so unlike us! He is separate from and independent of His creation. King Solomon recognized this truth as he prayed during the dedication of the first temple. How could a temple built by human hands contain the God who created all the earth and everything in it? Solomon also acknowledges that all of heaven and the highest heaven could not contain our God.
The natural question to ask at this point would be – how big is your God?
No matter how you answer this question the truth is He is still bigger than you think! Just think about the vastness of our solar system. The Milky Way is 100,000 light years in diameter. I have no idea exactly what that means but I know it is huge. And the Milky Way is just one solar system in the vast universe. Our universe is so large and vast scientists are still discovering things about it and God spoke it into existence. And what raw materials did He use to create this vast universe? He created ex nihilo – out of nothing. Our God is so powerful that he could create everything we see in creation from nothing with just the power of His word!
This a visual of the observable universe built by our creator. Take a look, and then be reminded…He is even bigger than this!
Now, is a God this powerful capable of taking care of His children and meeting our needs? Of course He is! He can do more than we could ever ask or imagine, and He wants to pour out blessings into our lives until they overflow. The greatest blessing available to God’s creation is His offer of salvation through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Have you received the free gift of salvation by confessing your sins and asking for God’s forgiveness? Despite God’s transcendence he still desires a relationship with us that is both real and personal. And He wants to see us grow and mature in our faith.
Consider this great mystery: We are called to be like and to live like Jesus and yet we will never be God. Some religions believe as you grow and grow and grow you will eventually become a god. This is not the case with our Christian faith. As Erickson says, “We will never be God. He will always be God and we will always be humans…Salvation consists in God’s restoring us to what he intended us to be, not elevating us to what he is.” Once we have been restored we are to live and worship with all of our being!
Commit to trusting our Transcendent God with all of your needs.
Worship God as an intimate friend yes but also recognize that not even the vast expanse of the heavens can contain Him!!!
Expect that God is going to accomplish things in your life that are beyond all human explanation because our God is not limited by our understanding.