“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?”
(Job 11:7 NASB)
The questions Job poses in this passage are rhetorical, of course. So the answer is a resounding “No!” Only God understands Himself in a perfect manner because He is comprehensively infinite. He is, in every way, without measure, bounds, restrictions, or limits. And we are finite creatures. Being finite in nature, our knowledge of One who is infinite must, by default, be limited.
But in our pursuit to know God and understand more about His nature, His character, and His attributes, we are able to explore the depths of who He is and expand our understanding of Him by contemplating what He has told us about Himself in His Word.
And because we can better grasp any concept that is foreign to us when we define it in terms we already understand, we consider God’s infinite nature in terms we can relate to. Here are just a few:
God is infinite in terms of place – He is everywhere present, existing beyond all spatial limitations. “‘Can any hide himself in secret places, and I shall not see him,’ saith the Lord? ‘Do not I fill both heaven and earth?’” (Jer. 23:24). And I Kings 8:27 further explains that neither the earth, nor the heavens, nor the heaven of heavens can contain Him.
God is infinite in terms of time – He is eternal, existing outside all definitions of time, having no beginning or end. “Now unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory, forever and ever,” (I Tim. 1:17).
God is infinite in His perfection – His being is perfect, and consequently, all His ways are perfect. “His work is perfect… a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He,” (Deut. 32:4). Charles Hodge said, “God is infinite in being because no limit can be assigned to His perfections.”[1]
Indeed, God is infinite in respect to all His attributes. Again, in every way, He is comprehensively infinite, singularly and infinitely perfect.
In contrast, we are limited in every way. At some point we reach our limits of patience, strength, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, grace, love, life, ability, etc. As fallen creatures living in a fallen world, bound by the limitations of time and space, as well as by the chains of sin, the only way we can even catch a glimpse of God’s infinite nature is through the eyes of faith.
Yet the chief end of man is to glorify God for who He is. Before we can glorify Him for who He is, however, we must first grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him.
For this reason, I urge you to present yourself with this challenge: make it a practice to begin your quiet time by adoring God simply and singularly for who He is. Spend time contemplating His infinite nature, His infinite perfection. Ask His Spirit to expand your understanding of your infinite God, that you may better know Him and, in turn, glorify Him.
Contemplations:
- Unsearchable Mysteries. Lord, I am humbled as I consider all Your divine mysteries. Though I believe Your Word implicitly, when I think about such truths as the Trinity and the union of both perfect God and perfect man in Christ, for instance, I quickly find myself overwhelmed. You, mighty Lord, are great and high above all. I adore You for who You are and that Your greatness is completely unsearchable!
- Infinite Greatness. Your majesty is demonstrated in every facet of You – Your essence, presence, duration, wisdom, strength and power, grace and mercy (Ps. 147:5). Help me see this more clearly day by day as I walk in the light of Your greatness that I may be found praising You commensurate with who You are.
- Sovereign Supremacy. You reign supreme over all other powers, whether earthly, such as kings and magistrates, or heavenly. You are above ALL! (2 Chron. 2:5; Ps. 135:5).
- Continual Remembrance. Lord, continually remind me of Your greatness (Ps. 103:1; Luke 1:46). Bring to my remembrance the great things You do, indeed the greatest things, for You alone are infinitely greater than all my thoughts (Eph. 3:20).
- Praiseworthy Reverence. Help me, Lord, to esteem Your presence, favor, promises, worship… every aspect of who You are in such a way that I approach You with an insatiable desire (Ps. 84:1-2). Let Your greatness be in my mouth, such that in the presence of others I celebrate Your infinite greatness (Ps. 103:8) and call others to celebrate You as well (Ps. 103:20-22). Help me do all this with a profound reverence for Your infinite deity, and with reverential fear of offending You, even in the least things, because You are King of kings and Lord of lords!
A Prayer for Knowing the Infinite God:
O Lord, my God, You are beyond all measure, beyond all bounds, beyond all comprehension. You are the Infinite One, without beginning, without end, without limit. No mind can fathom Your depths, no heart can contain the fullness of Your majesty. “Can I by searching find out God? Can I discover the Almighty unto perfection?” (Job 11:7) No, Lord, I cannot. And yet You have made Yourself known! Though You dwell in unapproachable light, though Your ways are past finding out, yet in Christ You have revealed Yourself to us. In mercy You condescended, that the finite may behold the Infinite, that the weak may rest upon the Almighty.
O Lord, my heart is humbled as I consider Your vastness. You are infinite in Your being, filling heaven and earth, beyond all space and time. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” saith the Lord (Jeremiah 23:24). Before the mountains were brought forth, before the earth was formed, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God (Psalm 90:2). You have no beginning, for You are the Beginning. You have no end, for You are the End. All that exists flows from You, and nothing can exist apart from Your sustaining hand.
You are infinite in Your wisdom. Your understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28). The greatest minds of men cannot comprehend even a fraction of Your knowledge, yet You know all things from eternity past to eternity future, for all things are before You in a single, perfect gaze. Your wisdom orders the heavens, upholds the earth, and governs all history. And still You set Your wisdom upon me. You have numbered my days, directed my steps, and determined my end. How can I not trust You? How can I not rest in the wisdom of the One who ordains all things for His glory and my good?
You are infinite in Your power. There is nothing too hard for You, nothing that stands beyond Your might. The nations are as a drop in a bucket, the rulers of the earth as nothing before You (Isaiah 40:15, 17). You speak, and it is done. You command, and none can resist. Yet in Your power, You do not crush the weak nor cast off the helpless. Instead, You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 103:8). You stoop to the lowly, You lift up the brokenhearted, You strengthen the feeble. The arm that holds the stars is the same arm that holds me.
Lord, I confess that my understanding is small and my thoughts feeble. I often fail to consider Your greatness. I have measured You by human limitations, as though You were bound as I am. I have sought to grasp You with my mind, forgetting that You are beyond all thought. Forgive me, Lord, for my small thoughts of You, for my sluggish heart that does not always tremble before Your majesty or rejoice in Your mercy.
Teach me, O God, to adore You rightly. Let my soul be filled with the knowledge of You—a knowledge that kindles love, that stirs reverence, and that moves me to worship. Let me not be content to just know of You, but desire to truly know You. Help me long for Your presence. Keep my mind fixed upon Your truth and my lips filled with Your praise.
Help me glorify You as You deserve. Before I ask for anything, let me first bow before You simply because You are God. Let me be lost in a holy reverence that belongs to You alone. Let me proclaim Your greatness before all men, calling others to adore You with me. “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth” (1 Chronicles 16:31).
O Lord, expand my understanding, deepen my worship, and let my life reflect the glory of the Infinite One. And when my mind fails, when my thoughts falter before the greatness of who You are, let my heart take refuge in this—that You have made Yourself known in Christ, and that one day I will see You face to face. Until then, let me live to the praise of Your infinite majesty.
In the name of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, the fullness of the Father revealed to man, I pray. Amen.
Further References for Job 11:7:
Eccl. 3:11; Rom. 11:33; Job 5:9, 37:23; Ps. 145:3; Isa. 40:28
[1] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 381.
