Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Beyond all human understanding


The mystery of the humanity of Christ,

that He sunk Himself into our flesh,

is beyond all human understanding.


- Martin Luther (H/T: T19)


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Matt,

Do you think we will ever fully understand God?

~SP

Matt said...

Hey SP,
I don't think we will ever fully understand Him but I do think we'll understand Him to a much greater degree than we do now. In Isaiah 55:9 God says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts," and I think God, being infinite and transcendent, is One who could never be fully understood by finite creatures who are not God. In fact I think we will be able to live out eternity never ceasing to gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for God - I think this is one of the things that will make heaven what it is and also why it could never be boring. That's my opinion but perhaps someone could argue differently from 1 Cor 13:12 where Paul writes, "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." Paul says "know fully" but I can only imagine that he is saying that we will know God to fullness of the degree to which we are capable of knowing Him and not that we will actually have comprehensive knowledge. What do you think?

Anonymous said...

Hi Matt,

The idea that our understanding will increase in heaven is one that makes sense to me as well. After all, how are we to fully and properly worship a Being whom we do not fully and properly understand? It does not make sense to me that the Father of the Universe would want to be unknowable to His creation. Because of this, I have to believe that God strongly desires for us to know Him better.
How do you feel about this?

Happy New Year! (It looks like 2011 is going to be a very good one for you.)

Love from

SP

Anonymous said...

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

We shall be like him!

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now
I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

If we will know as we are known then what will be missing in our knowledge of him?

I'm still here so I just don’t know. But then the Word says what it says and I’m satisfied with that.

God bless you all
Ron

Matt said...

Thanks Ron for the comment! God bless you too!