M-G: 2.21.13 // Going Beyond the Finite

When it comes to things ginormous like extremely large integers, the vastness of space, or the depth of our national debt, what they share in common is involvement with some pretty hefty numbers. Numbers can help us to understand and relate to the size of things, the quantity of something, time, age, value, distances, and so forth. But if you are like me who excelled in aftermath in college, it is hard to relate to really big numbers. I am lost with the powers of 10 that be. 

There is a four syllable word that goes beyond our current largest integer because it has no beginning or end; we call it infinity (represented by the symbol, ∞). Actually, infinity isn’t even a number nor behaves like one; you can’t add, subtract, divide, or multiply by it. We learned about it in math classes and also have used it as an expression of exaggeration. 

Buzz Lightyear, a fictional character who is a space ranger hero as well as an astronaut action figure in the Toy Story franchise, made it a household word with his catchphrase, “To infinity and beyond” in Pixar’s animated film in 1995, Toy Story, Toy Story 2 (1999), and Toy Story 3 (2010). Even though Buzz probably meant infinity in linear terms, we are going to seek to understand it from a biblical point of view, but both views share an incomprehensible challenge; how does the finite grapple with the infinite? Before we attempt to use our finite understanding to look at the infinite, let’s look at some very large numbers that even their sheer size doesn’t even put a dent in the place where size is irrelevant, infinity.

Mathematics: people who work with really large numbers often use scientific notation which helps to avoid errors in computation and far more practical than using the standard form in documenting a bunch of zeroes.  For example, 1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000) is made simpler to work with by using scientific notation: 1 x 10¹² or (10)^(12). Googol, not Google, is an extremely large number 1 x 10¹⁰⁰ or (10)^(100) or 10^googol. The biggest named number is called a googolplex 10(¹⁰¹⁰⁰). The magnitude of this integer is impossible to document in standard form, using a string of "endless" zeros. For an interesting insight into these extremely large integers see the article, “Size,” in wikipedia.org/wiki/Googolplex.

The Universe: UDFy-38135539 is the most distant galaxy detected by the Hubble telescope in 2010 (http://heasarc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/farthest_info.html). It is claimed to be the furthest source of light in the visible universe at 13.1 billion light years away. If you recall light travels at approximately 186,000 miles per second (rounded off). Theoretically, the light will travel 5.865 trillion miles in one year! Multiply that by 13.1 billion light years and that is how far galaxy UDFy-38135539 is from the earth! It boggles the mind with the immensity of the Universe. I can see where people get the feeling of insignificance in the grander scheme of things.

A biblical cosmology declares that the origin of the Universe was the result of a creative act of God (Gen 1:1). An evolutionary cosmology maintains that the origin of the Universe was the result of a cosmic explosion known as the Big Bang. Evolutionists believe that the Universe is infinite and expanding. A biblical cosmology, however, argues that there is a limit to the size of the known and unknown Universe (cf. Psa 147:4; 104:2; Isa 40:22; Eph 4:10) as well as an end to its existence as we know of it (cf. Isa 34:4; Rev 6:14; 2 Pet 3:10, 12, 13).     

  

The National Debt: this is another very large and actually expanding number at the time of this writing representing our current national debt of 16 trillion (rounded off) or 16,000,000,000,000, and it looks something like this in scientific notation 16 x 10¹². There are a lot of analogies offered to help us relate to this mind-boggling number, but imagine counting, if it was possible, at a rate of 1 number per second (no matter how large the number) 24 hours a day. Since there are 86,400 seconds in a day and 31,536,000 seconds in a year (excluding leap year), it would take 507,000 years of doing nothing other than counting at the given rate to reach close to 16 trillion (15,988,752,000,000)! But given the current rate of 3.83 billion per day as of 2.20.13, (http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/), what’s the point? I’m being facetious. Think about being debt free as a nation in these terms, "‘til debt do us part." There’s no divorce in this matter; it’s an “I due” as long as we live, impacting future generations.  

Infinity: with the enormity that googolplex entails or the unimaginable distances of the furthest observed galaxy in the Universe or our insatiable national consumption on spending, each represents a finite number with a genesis and a terminus unlike infinity that has no “bookends.”  Ironically, it has been observed that infinity is simpler to grasp than to define things that have an end, like UDFy-38135539 on the “fringe” of the Universe. Imagine that. Come to think of it that makes sense for the simple like me. How in the world can we relate to such vast distances of space and at the same time accept “endless” as more comprehensible or relatable?! It must be one of those paradoxes in life. 

I figured that the best approach to getting my arms around this huge word of infinity is to understand what it doesn’t mean – limited or finite. Birth with its first breath cries out that we are not infinite. Death grimly reminds us we will have an end. We may say so and so has infinite knowledge or infinite wisdom in a matter, but everyone knows we are using figurative language. Ignorance, a common malady to all, reveals that we are not all-knowing. Mistakes indicate we are not as smart or all-wise as we think we are. So infinite cannot apply to man even though we may refer to people as possessing infinite patience or boundless energy. Man is simply man, finite, limited, bound to a body, bound by time, sinful, with a beginning and an end.

Only God is said to be infinite. Infinity in the Scriptures does not describe God in numerical or linear terms but simply means that He is without limitations, having no boundaries or limits in time or space or extent or magnitude. But what does that mean if He is a person? How can a person be infinite or without a beginning or end? This leads to a more “defined” meaning of infinity from a biblical point of view. Without limitation includes no beginning or end and only God can meet those qualifications. Though we may one day be like God and have unparalleled knowledge, we will still never be God. He and He alone is the One and only true God for time and eternity. 

From a geometrical point of view, we can have a line extending to infinity from a fixed point. This is not the infinity of Scripture. The word “innumerable” is sometimes used as a synonym for infinite, but innumerable can also mean “too many to count” like the stars in the heavens or the sand of the sea. Both the stars and sand had a beginning, and there is a limitation on how many stars comprise the Universe or how many granules of sand are in the sea, immense as that may be. Rather than being literally infinite, these two metaphors are representing infinity symbolically, not literally. Since it is impossible for anyone being able to count the innumerable stars in space (except for God, Psa 147:4) or the innumerable sand of the sea, these are good illustrations of the meaning of infinite in a way that we can get our arms around it. When referring to God, infinite is used in the absolute sense of the word, without limitation, not symbolically but literally. 

Since God transcends the vastness of the Universe, think about outer space once again. One of God’s attributes is omnipresence or all-present. Not only is He all-present, but He is also all-present everywhere. There is no place on earth or in the Universe where God’s presence is absent (cf. Psa 139:7-8). Though David was being hyperbolic in this passage, he revealed a literal truth concerning God – wherever he is “You are there.” God’s omnipresence should not be taken as figurative but literally. 

Consider Jonah crying out to the LORD in the belly of a great fish in the ocean depths, and God heard him (Jonah 2:1, 2, 10). Even the experiences of fellowship, prayer, worship, guidance, protection, and blessings among other believers illustrate God’s ubiquitous presence around the globe (cf. Mt 18:20). The glorious and comforting truth is we love and serve a God who is there with us everywhere we are, at any time of the day (cf. Heb 13:5).

Does God’s attribute of being everywhere present make God ginormous? From a human perspective, I suppose it does, but remember God is not an abstract concept or an idea; the Father is a Person though He is Spirit (Jn 4:24). Also, recall that infinity is not a number nor even behaves like a number. It is a concept of limitlessness; there are no degrees of size, amount, weight, or any measurement applicable to God. In creation, everything is finite since it has a beginning and an end. God is the only One who is infinite without beginning or end, immeasurable, limitless, or boundless. God is neither, as Tozer aptly stated it, “less or more, large or small. He is what He is and what He is not, without qualifying thought or word. He is simply God” (Knowledge of the Holy). 

Here is the rub – He is simply God, and we are simply a man. Because we possess a feeble conceptualization of Him due to our sinful nature and the Divine imposition of limitations placed upon the revelation of Himself in the Scriptures (cf. Deut 29:29; Job 42:2; Isa 40:13, 14; 55:8, 9; Rom 11:34, 35, 36). We still wrestle as students of the Word with what we know about Him! It is one thing to imagine the right thoughts of Him according to the Scripture, but God being simply God exceeds way beyond our imaginations (Isa 55:8, 9; 1 Cor 2:9). He is incomparable.

I think we often fail to fully appreciate the depths both of the wisdom and knowledge of God due to a spirit of independence that courses through our sinful nature. All that we need to know about Him and of Him is found according to what God deemed as necessary in the Scriptures to bring glory and honor to Him and for us to live a godly life in peace and fullness and satisfaction. The fuller truth of His various attributes will only be realized when we become like Him in glorification when we are taking up residence in His very presence in heaven and able to handle the reality of Him being “simply God.” We may struggle with written revelation because of our sin nature, but wait until we shed these bonds of earth, and sin is no more, and we are face to face with God (cf. Psa 17:15; 1 Cor 13:12;1 Jn 3:2, 3)!

Indeed, infinity is far too difficult a concept to grasp; but to accept it we must as any of His other amazing and glorious attributes as revealed in the Holy Writ. There is sense whenever we attempt to define that which is undefinable, such as the infinity of God; we, by our very definition, impose on Him a limitation of our own making. Invariably, we wind up making Him more human in order to make Him more understandable and relatable, but in so doing, we strip Him of being simply God to being a God that is manlike or even worst reducing His glory to a four-footed beast or some other creature; either way, it results in idolatry (cf. Psa 96:4, 5). We are so prone to reduce the nature of God down to a graspable level of being human when He is completely other than us. He is simply God, and you and I are simply man, made in His image now marred by sin even before leaving the womb (Psa 51:5).

The psalmist in our text today declares, “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite (Psa 147:5, “without measure,” ESV; “beyond comprehension,” NLT; “has no limit,” NIV; “inexhaustible and boundless,” AMP; “everything,” CEV) . Two Hebrew words (’ayin mispār) are used together and translated by the English word “infinite,” only here in the NKJV.  “Infinite” is made up of a negative particle (’ayin) used hundreds of times for negation or nonexistence purposes. Its meaning is no, none, or nothing. 

It is used in our text as a prefix translated by the English word “in,” to negate the meaning of its host word, the masculine noun, “finite” (mispār) which simply means a number, a count, or an amount or something fixed or few. Add ’ayin to it and the normal meaning of mispār is negated, becoming without number, innumerable (cf. Gen 41:49) or unlimited (Psa 40:12, 147:5), or infinite (cf. Psa 40:5; 139:17-18; Isa 40:28; Rom 11:33).

The infinity of God is a foundational truth that lends support to all of His limitless attributes, such as omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, omnisapience, as well as His eternality. All of God’s attributes are entwined and boundless transcending our world of the five senses, space, and time. What has been revealed in His Word is all that we need to know and can deal with concerning His revelation on this side of eternity. Read the challenge of conceiving and expressing the greatness of God by A.W Tozer in quoting Novatian, 

“Here, and in all our meditations upon the qualities and content of God,” writes Novatian, ‘we pass beyond our power of fit conception, nor can human eloquence put forth a power commensurate with His greatness. At the contemplation and utterance of His majesty all eloquence is rightly dumb, all mental effort is feeble. For God is greater than mind itself. His greatness cannot be conceived. Nay, could we conceive of His greatness He would be less than the human mind which could form the conception. He is greater than all language, and no statement can express Him. Indeed, if any statement could express Him, He would be less than human speech which could by such statement comprehend and gather up all that He is. All our thoughts about Him will be less than He, and our loftiest utterances will be trivialities in comparison with Him’” (Knowledge of the Holy).

How in the world does a finite man do justice in expressing the Infinite? Who being finite can wrap his or her thoughts and arms around the immeasurable? Does this mean we shouldn’t read our Bibles or meditate on the things of God because of our inabilities? Should we just simply remain silent or abstain from mentioning His name aloud for fear of desecrating His Majesty? Nothing could be further from the truth! We must be diligent on a daily basis in reading, studying, meditating, praying, and sharing the truth of Scripture (cf. Mt 5:14, 15, 16)!

Salvation’s byproduct is the reconstruction of the ruins of what was once made in the image of God in the Garden. We must possess a singular pursuit toward Christlikeness and the willingness to make it so in obedience to His Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a lifetime effort for He is a Role Model without equality; you might just say He is infinite! A God without limitations is something to grab hold of and run with for His glory and our blessings. We are given the privilege and the power to have access to God through Jesus Christ who is an endless Resource with all the omni-attributes going on to help us to be like Him, to be with Him, to live for Him for His glory and honor. “And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (Jn 17:3).  

There may be a “wow” factor over large numbers, the phenomenal light-year distances of the Universe, or our seemingly unstoppable national debt, but the infinity of the Creator God transcends all of that wow. And since He has no beginning or end, God’s infinity is easier to understand than all of that other stuff! How ironic is that Novatian? I agree with his statement quoted by Tozer in part; we will never do God justice in expressing how great He is, but that shouldn’t discourage us or refrain from trying anyway in spite of our finiteness or limitations! Folks, God’s understanding is without limitations and that is great to know in living for Him! It was something special and desperately needed for the Israelites returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls after the Babylonian exile (Psa 147:2-3). 

Rather than living for the finite of today, I like Buzz Lightyear’s attitude, “To infinity and beyond.” Sure he is not real, but that exaggerated statement of going beyond infinity is a positive and vertical outlook. If we as believers would simply go beyond the finite in seeking to understand and know Him whose understanding is without limitation (infinite), we might just mount up with wings like eagles, soaring in the non-dimensional glory of God's understanding, looking down upon the earth from a Higher perspective viewing the spiritual landscape as God sees it. Gliding back down to earth, we experience a wonderful epiphany that exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth is delightful not only to Yahweh but to us as well, going beyond the finite to something greater than ourselves (Prov 3:5, 6). This is what the Israelis did after seventy years of captivity in Babylon; they returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the walls. That was a launch of faith that had a positive and vertical outlook, going beyond the finite or immediate, and stretching toward something with eternal value, obedience to God.

Jer 9:23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

Jer 9:24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.  <><