The Incomprehensibility of God

The Incomprehensibility of God

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.”

Psalm 145:3

When attempting to answer the question, “What is God like?” we must acknowledge the fact that God is unlike anything or anyone we have ever seen, experienced or known. The chasm is as wide as the east is from the west that separates the created from the Uncreated, creature from Creator. Our finite minds cannot wrap themselves around our infinite God. Inasmuch as God is incomprehensible, He desires to reveal Himself to our hearts and minds by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who searches the deep things of God’s heart and reveals them to us (1 Corinthians 1:10-12; Job 11:7-11; 38-42:6; Isaiah 40:27-28). 

The incomprehensibility of God is an invitation to search Him out. In Proverbs 25:2 it says that, “it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” It is the glory of God to hide Himself, and it is our glory to find Him:  a divine game of Hide-and-Seek. The incomprehensibility of God stirs our minds and emotions with reverence and fascination. Our emotions are strengthened, and our minds are renewed in truth as we get glimpses of God and grow in our understanding of who He is. The incomprehensibility of God fills us with hope because we can be confident that the longing in our heart to be fascinated will be met for all of eternity!  We will never grow weary or get bored with God. The beauty and depth of His nature, as well as His merciful and kind dealings with His creation, will forever fascinate us. All that we understand of His love, His justice, His grace and His mercy is the proverbial tip of the iceberg; it’s just the beginning point. We have all of eternity to search God out!

Practically, we can grow in our understanding of our Incomprehensible God by reading His Word, meditating on the life of Christ, and asking the Holy Spirit to give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who God is (Ephesians 1:17-19; 1 John 5:20). Understanding that God is incomprehensible and yet knowable, stirs awe, reverence and hunger in our hearts to search Him out.  

Questions for further study and meditation:

1)    How does the Holy Spirit escort us into the knowledge of God?

2)    What emotions do you feel when you meditate on the incomprehensibility of God?  Write down the emotions that come up and describe why you think you are feeling these emotions. They can be either positive or negative.

3)    Meditate on Proverbs 25:2.  What do you think it means that it is the "glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search a matter out"?

4)    How does the incomprehensibility of God effect the way you pray Ephesians 1:17-19?