Transcendence and Praise!
By Elizabeth Prata
God on His throne knows the thoughts and intentions of everyone- that is 8 BILLION People! And He knows this at every moment of every day.
He is also sustaining the universe, managing millions of angels, knitting new humans in the womb, receiving worship, answering prayer, justifying new saints…
Every moment of every day from eternity past to this very second.
Our God is transcendent. Transcendence is the concept of “the aspect of God’s nature that is wholly independent of and beyond the physical universe, emphasizing divine otherness.”
GotQuestions says, The “LORD God Almighty (in Hebrew, El Shaddai) created all things on the earth, beneath the earth and in the heavens above, yet He exists above and independent from them. All things are upheld by His mighty power (Hebrews 1:3), yet He is upheld by Himself alone. The whole universe exists in Him and for Him that He may receive glory, honor and praise.
One way satan likes to chip away at the Transcendence of God is to drag Jesus down to levels equal with humans. He makes people think Jesus is our Butler, answering named and claimed fleshly things. Or by making Him a romantic partner as in a boyfriend, delivering satisfying emotions women seek in a partner. Or simply by making Him seem just like us.
But Yahweh is not a partner. He is transcendent! Jesus said,
And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.” (John 8:23)
“He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.” (John 3:31)
It is worthwhile, I think, to ponder God’s transcendence, one of his incommunicable qualities. He is very ‘other’. And that is a good thing! We love and resect Him for his other-worldiness. Would we admire Him as much if we could ‘figure Him out?’ No. Isaiah 55:9 says
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Love our God, and love Him for who He is, not who we want Him to be. Praise Him for all His goodness and transcendence!
