This post is the last in a series dedicated to getting to know the Infinite God who has revealed Himself to us in the pages of Scripture. We’ve discussed the Trinity as a whole, and gotten to know each unique member of the Godhead individually. It is my firm belief that getting to know God, as He has revealed Himself to us, is the absolute foundation to any victory we might seek in this life. It is not until we know the One who made us that we can understand our own purpose and identity as His unique creation! Today, we’ll wrap up this series with a look at His infinite qualities, and how we should respond.
But first, if you want to catch up, here are the first four parts of this series:
Our Infinite God Has Made Himself Known
Psalms 90:1-2 – Lord, through all generations, You have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, You are God.
How incomprehensible the infinite is to us mortals! As finite beings, can we even hope to truly understand our limitless, timeless Creator? He, and each of His attributes, had no beginning and will have no end. (Job 36:26)
On the other hand, there was a time when each and every one of us didn’t exist. We all had a beginning, and we’re all dying. (Although our souls will live on forever.) Beyond that, we’re all bound within the limits of our bodies, and who we are is all wrapped up and confined within our sinfulness. Still, despite our finite humanity, there’s something deep inside each of us that observes creation and knows there is something bigger out there, because our infinite God has made Himself known.
Though our God is the Alpha and the Omega (the first and the last or the beginning and the end), He has written Himself on our finite hearts. Because (and this is the really mind blowing part) He wants to be known! He longs for us to seek out and find Him!
Romans 1:20 – For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
It’s completely unexpected (and frankly unheard of in any other scenario) for One who is so far above us to want to be known by us, and to long for intimacy and relationship with us. Why would a being with inexhaustible power care about an insignificant human race? And yet, He does! His works throughout all of time point back to Him, drawing each new generation to seek Him and know Him and discover His plan of salvation. (1 John 5:20, Isaiah 41:4)
Three Ways God Reveals Himself to Us
It is utterly humbling to know the Infinite God wants to be known by unremarkable me, but how much more wonderful to realize that God has made Himself known, not just in one way, or to one group of people! How exciting to think that He has revealed Himself in countless ways throughout time to people all over the world!
Here are three specific ways God reveals Himself to us today:
- Through His creation
- Through the Holy Spirit and His personal workings in our lives.
- Through the pages of Scripture
init for later!
The Attributes of God
Through each revelation and throughout all of time, our infinite God has made Himself known to be good. He defines Himself to be love. God declares that He is righteous. And our Infinite God reveals that His Word is truth. These are just a few of His inexhaustible attributes.
Just as God Himself is without beginning or end, so each of the attributes of God, too, are infinite. They have no limit. His love is boundless, His goodness immeasurable, His truth complete, and His righteousness absolute. And like our God, they are immutable, which means they cannot change. These attributes have always been His character, and they will continue to be who He is for all of time.
God has made Himself known to be:
- Good – Exodus 33:19, Psalms 34:8, Psalms 119:68, Mark 10:18
- Love – 1 John 4, Psalms 86:15, Deuteronomy 7:9, Romans 8:37-39
- Truth – 2 Samuel 7:28, John 17:17, Psalms 119:160, Ephesians 1:13
- Right (or Righteous) – Psalms 19:9, Psalms 11:7, Romans 3:21, 1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 4:24
- Many more attributes we don’t have the time to cover
Though we all know and, on some level, believe God is good, and love, and all the other things, we have to be careful. I think we often make the mistake of presuming these words define Him. They do not. Rather, He defines each of these attributes.
If we’re not careful we will arrogantly assign our own definitions to goodness, righteousness, love, truth, and the countless other attributes of God; and then begin to question Him when He seems to contradict what we’ve decided He should be.
The fault is not with Him, though. The wrong lies only in us. Our questions and doubts come from our own misunderstanding, pride, and limited perspective.
You see, God IS good. Goodness does not define Him, He defines goodness. Whatever He does, whatever He is, these things don’t make Him good, He makes them good. For instance, God is not good because He sacrificed His life for us, but sacrificial love is good because God did it. In the same way, we can be certain that the things which are harder for us to understand, like allowing people the freedom to reject Him, are also good, because God IS good.
The Reign of God will Last Forever
Jude 1:25 – All glory to Him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen
What a mighty God we serve! I hope we’re beginning to get a small picture of His majesty. Our infinite God has been on His mighty throne always. Even before the creation of the world He ruled from Heaven.
At some point, though, He made an interesting choice: He created us (and apparently the angels as well) with a will of our own. We chose sin, and separation, and death. We chose to reject His Lordship and bend a knee to self instead. In spite of that rejection, the Lord God found a way to satisfy His justice while demonstrating His infinite love.
*If you want to know more about how to be saved according to the Bible, click here!
He sent His Son to relinquish His throne, die in our place, rise again, and conquer sin and death. Jesus will come again as a mighty, conquering warrior and God will restore to Him the everlasting throne in heaven. His reign will last forever and ever.
We have the choice to acknowledge His Lordship now, and respond to it with appropriate reverence, allowing us to be forgiven and covered through the sacrifice of Jesus. If this is what we choose, we’ll spend eternity with Him in heaven and reign at His side forever. Or, we can choose instead to acknowledge it later, after this life has ended. By then it will be too late, and we will spend eternity separated from Him.
Either way, every being that was ever created WILL one day bow before Him and acknowledge that He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Why wait? Let’s do it now! (Revelation 1:4-8, Psalms 45:6, Exodus 15:18, Daniel 4: 3, Revelation 11:16-19, Daniel 7:13-14, Philippians 2:9-11, Revelation 22:12-13)
The Inexhaustible Love of the Infinite God
Hosea 2:19 – I will make you My wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know Me as the Lord.
What an unimaginable love is ours forever! As part of this fallen world, we probably can’t even really grasp a perfect love that endures from everlasting to everlasting. Yet, it’s what we each long for, isn’t it? To be cherished and protected, understood and treated with compassion. Don’t we all desire to be able to rely on the faithfulness of the one we love and to be genuinely, completely loved in return?
*Check out this post that details how deeply and intimately God loves us.
The Bible tells us God’s love for us existed long before we did. It is perfect, complete, and wholly genuine. His love cannot be quenched by anything we do or don’t do. It fights for us. His love leaves the 99 others to find us when we’ve wandered away. It sacrifices itself for us! Friends, there is no love like the love the Infinite God has for us! Though He exists in all His majesty and splendor, needing nothing, He desires relationship with us, and chooses to pursue us. And He will continue His pursuit for all of eternity! (Psalms 100:5, Jeremiah 3:3, Psalm 48:14)
Our Response to a Holy God
John 10:27 – My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
With all we’ve learned about our awesome, powerful, infinite God, surely we’re left with a very important question: How should we respond to this perfect, holy, majestic Lord?
I don’t want to over-simplify, but the answer to that question is pretty straight forward: follow Him!
Luke 9:23 – Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
We’ve already learned all about the salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ. We know all about our sin problem and how it separates us from God. We’ve learned that when we respond to God’s call, repent and turn to Him, He fills us with His Holy Spirit to guide us through this life. Here are a few basic steps we can take to begin to follow Him:
1. Respond to His call, accept His gift of salvation and then follow Him in baptism. (Acts 2:38-39)
2. Live our lives in a way that brings glory to God:
- Be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.
- Be truly united together with other believers both literally by meeting together regularly to worship Him, and figuratively in the attitude of our hearts.
- Forgive, forgive, forgive!
- Live a life of thankfulness, giving praise to God in all circumstances.
- Be humble!
- Fill our lives with the message about Christ – that is, the Word of God – study it and teach it to others.
- Love God, love others, love God, love others, love, love, love! Live a life of love!
Colossians 3:12-17 –Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
3. Never forget that it was by grace we have been saved! Never try and do anything in our own power, but look to God for EVERYTHING!!!! (Galatians 3:1-5)
4. Make disciples! Let’s not keep our salvation to ourselves, friends. We have been given the greatest gift there is, let’s share it! Let’s be obedient and fulfill our purpose. Forever is an awfully long time to live with regrets! Let’s be sure those we know and love know Jesus! (Matthew 28:18-20
5. Look forward to the day when Christ will return and finish the work He started. The day when we will all be made perfect forever! Live this life with eternity always before us, so we work enthusiastically for the Lord God Almighty!
1 Corinthians 15: 54-58 – Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
Final Thoughts on How to Respond to the Infinite God of the Bible
Luke 11:9, 10 & 13 – And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Keep seeking Him friends! Our God is the most magnificent, the most amazing being ever, and God has made Himself known to us! This is such a privilege, don’t ever take it for granted.
Ask Him everything you can think to ask, and seek Him in everything you do. Dig into His Word and study it every day! Immerse yourself in Him! Knock on His door again and again, and when He opens the door, go in and enjoy the fellowship He offers!
He is the best friend you will ever have, the most faithful lover your soul will ever find, and the most loving Father you can possibly imagine! Worship Him! Let your life be an offering to Him. You are His dearly loved daughter (or son)! Live like the you belong to the King!
2 Corinthians 13:14 – May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
*How about you? What have you learned about the infinite God of the Bible that has changed your life forever? How does it make you feel to know God has made Himself known to us?
5 thoughts on “How to Respond to the Infinite God of the Bible ”
All such great reminders, Esther! I really loved this one especially, “Never forget that it was by grace we have been saved! Never try and do anything in our own power, but look to God for EVERYTHING!!!! (Galatians 3:1-5)” I’m the dumb sheep who still tries to carry out my own righteousness at times, but thankfully God is a gracious God in my foolishness. <3
I love how thoroughly you explore this topic. So often we forget that the love of God is central to every aspect of our lives. Everything else is secondary.
Such an amazing post and wow…I never thought of that..we often think the words define God but He defines them!! Thank you for this!!
This is beautiful Esther! Yes God is good! ❤
I just love your tweet. “Goodness does not define Him, He defines goodness.” That is such a powerful statement. Beautiful.