GOD'S UNWAVERING HAND

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND

                It must have been a movie, or even a kid’s movie, for such a statement could only be made in jest. There can be nothing beyond infinity, for infinity, by its very definition is endless and without measure. So when we talk about infinity, it stands to reason that there can only be one infinity within which all other things, powers or persons must be subsets.

                So when we talk about the infinite GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob we must realize that all other gods must be spelled with a small “g” and their powers, wisdom and existence must be finite.

                Infinity is a very big word. In fact, to describe our God as being infinite; that leaves nothing that is made, empowered, or even exists that is not a part of and a subset of the one infinite GOD.

                All of the words we use to describe GOD are infinite words, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence are words that seek to describe infinite wisdom, infinite power and infinite presence. The entire universe must be finite in scope because it is also said that God dwells outside of time and space. So if there is any sense in which we could say “To infinity and beyond” it would be to describe God, for all space/time is a subset that exists within Him.

                He, by His very nature, must be the life of all that lives, the consciousness of all that is conscious, the very power by which all that exists is held together. Some scientists claim that they do not believe in God and the only thing that they can believe in is that which they can see and test under a microscope. They call it empirical evidence. Well, they need look no further than the atomic bomb, for in it mankind has figured out how to release the power that holds the atom together. It is called “The Strong Nuclear force” and if God is infinitely powerful then science has figured out how to release God’s power, by which God intended to hold things together, not to blow them apart.

                So since GOD is the SOURCE of all that exists, the SOURCE of consciousness, the SOURCE of all power and if He is infinitely present, that is to say, equally present everywhere, then one who denies GOD must have literally unplugged from reality. And even that is a misnomer, because whether plugged or unplugged you still exist, you still live and move and have your being and that makes you a subset of the living GOD.

                The Psalmist describes this in Psalm 139 saying: “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? Ps. 139:7.

                So when we talk about the Trinity, we are not talking about 3 infinite beings sitting on three thrones. There is only one GOD, manifested in 3 Persons. That is to say that the Holy Spirit is the omnipresence of the Father and the Father was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.

                For our sakes GOD localizes Himself in order that we might experience Him in ways other than His invisible omnipresence. He walked and talked with Adam and Even in the Garden. He visited Abraham and Sarah; He manifested Himself to Daniel as one like the son of man and to Nebuchadnezzar as one like the son of man standing with the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace. He manifested as a flame of fire in the burning bush and showed Himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai. He localized Himself and made Himself visible as the Shekinah glory in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle and as the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness. He manifested Himself as the Angel (Or Messenger) of the Lord to Joshua and then in His ultimate manifestation He entered into the human race, Infinite GOD in a finite body so that He could teach us His ways and then to die for our sins.

                Colossians 1:16-20 says “For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created by Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself having made peace through the blood of the cross; through Him, I say, whether on earth or things in heaven…”

                So Jesus is the Head of His Body the church and with this knowledge we then ask ourselves: Is there any way in which His head is detached from His body? Would a head which is infinite in knowledge and power and presence be in some way distant from us? Well, does your head know what your body is doing? You must certainly hope so. After all, you don’t want your hands out there floating around, hitting whatever they want to hit and grabbing whatever they want to grab. In other words your hands do what your head tells them to do.

                Likewise with your feet. What would you look like if each of your feet did whatever it decided to do? What if one foot walked left and the other foot decided to walk right? You would soon do the splits and you would look and feel mighty silly in the process. So your feet and every other part of your body do exactly what your head tells them to do, some of it consciously and some of it unconsciously, but it is all controlled by your head.

                We know that infinite GOD was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. But just as surely we also know that Jesus dwelt among us in a finite or localized body. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, or He couldn’t have died for our sins. And Jesus told His disciples that it was better for them if He left them and went back to heaven, so that He could be glorified with the infinite glory that he ever had with the Father. In turn He could send down His infinite Holy Spirit so that instead of dwelling in just one body, He could dwell in every body that invited Him in.

                As we have already discussed, God is in everything already, whether we believe in Him or not, we still have our being in Him. So why do we need to invite Him in? Well, as the saying goes, He doesn’t love us for our body only, but for our mind as well. That is to say that GOD created us to interact with him on three levels, spirit, soul and body. He made our spirit alive when we were born again. Now He dwells in our spirit and He is drawing our minds to Him in a conscious relationship and we yield our bodies to Him so that our hands and feet are submitted to the Head and not just out doing their own thing.

                But this leads us to one last question: If Christ is so infinitely connected with us as to be the very life of our life, the very consciousness of our conscience, the very breath that we breathe and the very thought of our thoughts, then how aware of us is He and how aware of Him might we be? Why should we wait until meal time or bed time to send off a quick prayer to some distant Person when we could be conversing with Him consciously throughout the day? Why should we not discuss everything with this Person who is infinite in wisdom and power and presence?

                In a sense religion has done us a big disservice by creating the illusion that God dwells in a certain building to which we go once a week to meet Him. This was true in Old Testament times because they had not yet been reconciled to God through the blood and cross of Christ, but in the New Covenant, we have been reconciled to God. His very Spirit dwells in us. We can walk and talk with God in a way that Enoch never could. He is a very part of our consciousness. He is the life of our life… the thought of our thoughts… the reality of our existence.

                Walking and talking with God then should not be a strange thing. Hearing His voice should not be difficult. We simply need to learn how to separate His voice from our own voice and from the noise of this world. We should certainly be able to know the difference between Satan’s voice and His voice. And if we know when Satan is tempting us, should we not also know when the Holy Spirit is drawing us into worship? Are there not times during the day when you suddenly feel your heart being drawn into an awareness of His presence? Do you not feel Him reading over your shoulder as you meditate on His Word? Is He not excited when you finally catch what He is saying? Do you not sometimes find a love greater than your own reaching out to others?

                When we share the love of Christ in our hearts we begin to see people the way God sees them. All of nature seems alive with praise. Every bird whistles a heavenly tune. Every event of our lives seems orchestrated by One greater than ourselves. All things work together for good for those who are called according to His purposes. Little by little we learn to place our feet and our hands under His control. Little by little we learn to be aware of His presence. Even in a war ravaged planet, we see the tears of God as He draws us toward His evacuation zone. He, above all, wants to heal the torn fabric of reality that sin has caused.

                By choice we have become members of a heavenly family. We belong to a different kingdom. We have been born into a different dimension. We are in the world but we are not of the world and as such, we have an intimate connection with God through Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit. We only need to become more aware of His presence. He is in us guiding our hands and feet… thinking our thoughts… loving us and loving through us. It is indeed His Spirit that bears fruit in our lives. Love is not a product of our flesh, but of His Spirit. Why should we try to generate something that we don’t have? He is in us, drawing us to Himself. He is in us and drawing others to Himself.

                He is the head and if we will simply yield to Him, He will guide our hands and feet. As Romans 8:31 says: “If God is for us, then who can stand against us?” His Holy Spirit is our greatest Ally. An ally is described as one who is a friend, a helper, a supporter, an assistant or partner.

                As we face the ever increasing troubles of these last days, we need to stop being a stranger to God as if He is critically watching us from a distance and we need to learn to walk and talk with He who knows us and loves us like no other.