The Knowledge of the Holy: The Divine Transcendence
[Editor’s Note: This is a 23-Day Series exploring different aspects of God’s nature and personality, using Tozer’s “The Knowledge of the Holy” as a discussion starter. You can read the introduction of the series here.]
It’s been said that our generation has lost it’s reverence for anything holy. No where is that more true than when we approach the topic of transcendence. Because we’ve lost a holy appreciation for God and his nature, we talk little about transcendence. Really, we don’t know what it is. But just because we don’t understand it’s relevance doesn’t mean there is no value in the reality. God is transcendent and appreciating that reality will help us in our journey to know and understand Him.
God is transcendent. What that means is that God is infinitely greater and higher than we are. Tozer says that transcendence is used to describe One thing (God) who is above our created universe. He is quick to point out that words like “above” should loose all of their spatial meaning. God is above us in the way that He is separated from us by His beauty and His grandeur. Tozer goes on to describe how God is so much higher than us, but not by degrees. He is of an entirely different category. Even though the archangel is “above” the worm, God is still a similar distance “above” both because He is uncreated. He alone is perfection.
Tozer goes on to say we are all to comfortable with this transcendent God. He argues that if an angel from around the throne of worship would come to earth, they would find our discussion of anything else but God’s glory puzzling. And if we caught a true glimpse of God as He truly is, it would ruin us for anything but discussing Him. These are the words of the enraptured heart, but again, we should trust the words of an enraptured heart. Tozer also points out that an intimate relationship with God, far from being ruined by the fear of the Lord and the awe of His person, is actually strengthened and maintained by reverence for Him.
I feel like this is important to highlight. We want a God we can know and be close to and I think that a God we can be close to is great, especially since it’s the God scripture describes for us. But God sets up a tremendous paradox: The reason we can draw close to God is because of the death of His Son. Should Jesus not have died in our place, drawing near to God would not be an option. Moses, the man who spoke to God as a man speaks to his friends couldn’t look directly at His glory. No man has ever seen the full display of God’s glory and lived to tell the story. And it’s this radiating glory from this uncreated being that is nothing like us that makes Jesus’ death so incredibly valuable to us. We are now invited in to relationship with this God who should destroy us.
We shouldn’t fear being destroyed by God by drawing near to Him. Rather, we enter into God’s presence with reverence, knowing that the ticket into this relationship was extremely costly. We treasure the access we have with God because we know it is unique and not common. We purify ourselves of our sinful ways out of reverence for the One we stand before. And instead of this separating us from God, it draws us closer.
I know that many would say these thoughts are old-fashioned. The stuff of holiness preachers and legalists. But for those who have spent years drawing near, it’s the stuff of gold that enables people to press on into knowing God. I need this today more than ever. I hope you find encouragement to draw close as well.
So today, ask God to reveal His transcendent nature to you. Ask Him to show you what causes the angels to never stop singing. And ask Him to stir in you a love and fear of the Lord. You won’t be disappointed.
That’s my takeaway today. What’s yours? Leave a comment so we can all grow together!
Day 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God
Day 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God
Day 5: The Self Existence of God
Day 6: The Self Sufficiency of God
Day 9: The Immutability of God
Day 10: The Divine Omniscience
Day 12: The Omnipotence of God
Day 13: The Divine Transcendence
Day 14: God’s Omnipresence
Day 15: The Faithfulness of God
Day 16: The Goodness of God
Day 17: The Justice of God
Day 18: The Mercy of God
Day 19: The Grace of God
Day 20: The Love of God
Day 21: The Holiness of God
Day 22: The Sovereignty of God
Day 23: The Open Secrett
The Knowledge of the Holy: The Omnipotence of God
[Editor’s Note: This is a 23-Day Series exploring different aspects of God’s nature and personality, using Tozer’s “The Knowledge of the Holy” as a discussion starter. You can read the introduction of the series here.]
In my early days of following Jesus, when someone taught you how to talk to someone about Jesus they would teach you how to talk to people about sin, the need for forgiveness, and how forgiveness only comes through Jesus. Basically they would teach you how to walk others through the “Romans Road.” In the years since those early days, it has become harder and harder to convince people about the reality of Jesus by simply explaining those concepts. Instead, people want what works. They want their lives impacted by something and no matter how true something is, if it doesn’t “work” then they’re not interested.
This is why today’s chapter on God’s omnipotence is so important. Tozer clearly points out that God’s sovereignty (or His ability to rule as a king) is directly related to His omnipotence (His power). If God isn’t powerful enough to make what He wants happen, then He can’t be the king of anything. But it’s exactly because God is almighty (all-powerful) that He can be the true King of kings.
Next Tozer looks at the facts: The phrase “almighty” is used 56 times in the Bible. It is only used of God because God alone is the only being with all the power. He alone is supreme in the universe. Also, because God is infinite, there is no end to God’s power. It is never diminished even when He uses His power or gives it to another. Because of this, God is the source of all power in the universe. The very fabric of creation itself is being held together by His power. His power is so constant and perceptible that secular commentators have taken it for granted and called it “the laws of nature.” That God has power isn’t so much the question as much as our willingness to see it.
Finally, Tozer invites us to consider the implications of the omnipotent God inviting us into a relationship. For those of us who have set our hearts to submit to Jesus and follow Him, God’s omnipotence is a great encouragement. We are following the only being in the Universe able to affect everything. Tozer completes the chapter telling the story of A.B. Simpson, who halfway through life and facing an illness, heard the lines of a negro spiritual extolling God’s power and was struck to the heart. He went and sought God and came away healed.
This is the real truth that we must apprehend. The world (and the church) are tired of hearing about our omnipotent God who we say is powerful, but they never see do anything. The power behind this truth is not in the theology. We all believe God is powerful. The power behind this truth is the demonstration. We have a world utterly burnt out on powerless religion and unfulfilled promises. What the world needs are men and women who have experienced God’s power and aren’t afraid to believe for God to show His power on behalf of others.
How do we do this? As with any part of the gospel that we are not experiencing, faith comes by hearing. We first fill our minds and our hearts with the message the Bible has to share with us about God’s power. As we begin to hear the Bible’s message about God’s power, we increasingly begin to believe that God wants to show us His power. And when we believe God is powerful and will show it, then we will begin to see it. And as we see God’s power displayed, it becomes much easier for us to have confidence in God’s power.
Friends, the world is dying. It doesn’t need theories of God’s power. It needs to see demonstrations of God’s power. If we are to see many people born into the Kingdom of God, they must believe Jesus has the power to reign as King in their lives over every evil thing. And they must see that in our lives before they will believe it in their lives. So join me, would you, in asking God to show us His mighty power in our lives and the lives of those around us. The result will be many others who wish to be part of His Kingdom.
Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
As fire causes wood to burn
and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!
When you came down long ago,
you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.
And oh, how the mountains quaked!
For since the world began,
no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!
Those are my takeaways. What are yours? Share them in the comment section so we can all grow together.
It’s not to late for you to join in with us. You can catch up in the posts below:
The Knowledge of the Holy Series
Day 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God
Day 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God
Day 5: The Self Existence of God
Day 6: The Self Sufficiency of God
Day 9: The Immutability of God
Day 10: The Divine Omniscience
Day 12: The Omnipotence of God
Day 13: The Divine Transcendence
Day 14: God’s Omnipresence
Day 15: The Faithfulness of God
Day 16: The Goodness of God
Day 17: The Justice of God
Day 18: The Mercy of God
Day 19: The Grace of God
Day 20: The Love of God
Day 21: The Holiness of God
Day 22: The Sovereignty of God
Day 23: The Open Secret
The Knowledge of the Holy: The Wisdom of God
[Editor’s Note: This is a 23-Day Series exploring different aspects of God’s nature and personality, using Tozer’s “The Knowledge of the Holy” as a discussion starter. You can read the introduction of the series here.]
Trusting the person who knows everything becomes easier when we are convinced of the character of the person who has the knowledge. Yesterday we read and wrote and spoke about God’s omniscience, His ability to know everything. Today we read about God’s wisdom. The two ideas, knowledge and wisdom, are often confused in our day, but they are essentials that build our trust in God. The enemy desires to convince us that God either isn’t knowledgeable or that He is not wise. If he can win either battle, we will be worse off. And so this topic of God’s wisdom must be understood and lived out.
Our natural minds want to come to the conclusion that God is not wise. We look around and see so much wrong that it is difficult to come to another conclusion. Tozer reminds us that this attribute must be understood by faith. We believe it and then we understand. In our understanding, we come to a place where we understand the world is marred by the sin of man and subject to frustration. This world we see, though birthed in the wisdom of God, is tainted by man trying to move in his own wisdom.
Wisdom, according to the Bible, is not just informational, but full of moral qualities: love, purity, and justice. We’ve known smart but impure people: we call them shrewd. But God is full of wisdom, not just all-knowing, but full of the qualities that make us willing to put our trust in Him. Many times it’s easy to look at what God does and conclude that He is not wise. But we have to understand that God is devising a perfect end and achieving through a perfect means. God is doing the most good for the most people for the longest period of time in all of His dealings with us.
Our belief in God’s wisdom–that He is working on our behalf for our good–get’s tested in our daily actions. We so often plan our own strategy, pray some, strive for our best interests…and as Tozer points out, with all of this activity, we still fear we will miss our best good. Tozer points us to a better way–hate our wisdom and fall on the wisdom of God. Believe He operates in wisdom for us, even though some times we may not see it.
I know in my own life, this has been a struggle. It’s easy to doubt God’s wisdom when life takes a turn that is painful. These are the places where I must remind myself that God is more committed to my eternal happiness than I am. This is a powerful reality that I think we rarely feel. Like toddlers who feel their parents must hate them when they are punished for playing with knives, we so often feel God doesn’t have our good at heart. But this is where we must mature- in trusting that our Creator sees better than we do.
Jesus tells us the same thing: If our earthly Fathers are evil and they give good gifts to their children, then how much more will our heavenly Father seek to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11)? It’s this understanding that God knows our needs (omniscience) coupled with His willingness to do us good (wisdom) that satisfies our hearts that he is truly trustworthy. And this is one area I need to grow in immensely. I need to be able to trust God when I cannot see the good God is currently doing for me.
I’ll finish by quoting Tozer:
It is heartening to learn how many of God’s mighty deeds were done in secret, away from the prying eyes of men or angels…When the Eternal Son became flesh, He was carried for a time in the darkness of the sweet virgin’s womb. When He died for the life of the world, it was in the darkness, seen by no one at the last. When he arose from the dead, it was “very early in the morning.” No one saw Him rise. It was as if God were saying, “What I am is all that need matter to you, for there will lie your hope and peace. I will do what I will do, and it will all come to light at last, but how I do it is My secret. Trust me, and be not afraid.”
What was your take away from today’s reading? Let us know in the comment section.
It’s not to late for you to join in with us. You can catch up in the posts below:
The Knowledge of the Holy Series
Day 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God
Day 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God
Day 5: The Self Existence of God
Day 6: The Self Sufficiency of God
Day 9: The Immutability of God
Day 10: The Divine Omniscience
Day 11: The Wisdom of God
Day 12: The Omnipotence of God
Day 13: The Divine Transcendence
Day 14: God’s Omnipresence
Day 15: The Faithfulness of God
Day 16: The Goodness of God
Day 17: The Justice of God
Day 18: The Mercy of God
Day 19: The Grace of God
Day 20: The Love of God
Day 21: The Holiness of God
Day 22: The Sovereignty of God
Day 23: The Open Secret
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 