Your Thoughts of God Are Too Human

Our thoughts of God are often too human and our thoughts of ourselves are often too divine. We often think of God in ways we can measure, manage, and fully comprehend. Gerald Bray, in his book The Doctrine of God, has cautioned that “an overemphasis on knowing God in personal relationship can so easily lead to a semi-conscious denigration of his divinity, and a loss of a sense of his glorious power and majesty.”

The Deep Heart that we are pursuing is a heart that knows God, ourselves, and others, but we want to know God as he is, not simply as we want him to be. It is profoundly important, then, to realize at this stage that knowing God actually tells us who we are not, and this should be a profoundly comforting reality.

Theologians have often distinguished between incommunicable and communicable attributes in God. Incommunicable attributes are those attributes which God alone possesses and makes him utterly distinct from creation.

God alone possesses simplicity. In other words, he is not made up of parts nor is he ever conflicted with himself. God alone possesses self-existence. He is life and he gives life to all things. He is always overflowing with a positive fullness, a completeness of being, and is not dependent on anyone or anything. God alone is immutable. His character and commitments never change and he can always be relied on. God alone is impassible, not capable of being overwhelmed by emotions yet feeling deeply and intimately with those he has created. God alone is eternal, transcending time itself. God alone is infinite, possessing no limitations. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, and everywhere present.

The best path to knowing ourselves is to begin with knowing God. Simply put, we are not him. Though we often desire independence, we are dependent on him for absolutely everything; though we desire to be unlimited, everything about us- our being, wisdom, power, life-span, and love- is limited. While this is humbling to hear, it also comforts us as it points us towards a God who is overflowing with an abundance of life, who is always present with us, and who has authored our lives with infinite wisdom and care.

Luther told Erasmus in a debate, “Your thoughts of God are too human.” Mine are too, which is why I need the correction of God’s word to remind me who God is (infinite, eternal, immutable, etc.) and who I am (finite, limited, sinful, redeemed).

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

Isaiah 46: 9

Two wonderful resources to dive more into these deep yet practical waters are Jen Wilkin’s None Like Him and Matthew Barrett’s None Greater.