The Incomprehensible of God
God's love is infinite and divine, and our human understanding and knowledge are limited, but the little that we can know of it is the only balm for all sorrow and the only foundation of solid rest and peace.
J.C. Philpot delves into the incomprehensible nature of God, emphasizing that what Christ is to the Church and what the Church is to Christ will only be fully understood in eternity. Even in the glorified state, the love of Christ remains beyond complete human comprehension due to its infinite and divine essence. The Scriptures speak of the saints being transformed to be like Christ, serving Him in eternal glory, yet acknowledging that there are unfathomable depths and heights in God that no creature can fully grasp.
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The incomprehensible of God
by J. C. Philpot
What Christ is to the Church, what the Church is to Christ, can never be really known until time gives place to eternity, faith to sight, and hope to enjoyment. Nor even then, however beyond all present conception the powers and faculties of the glorified souls and bodies of the saints may be expanded, however conformed to the glorious image of Christ, or however ravished with the discoveries of his glory and the sight of him as he is in one unclouded day--no, not even then, will the utmost stretch of creature love, or highest refinement of creature intellect, wholly embrace or fully comprehend that love of Christ, which, as in time so in eternity, "passes knowledge," as being in itself essentially incomprehensible, because infinite and divine.
Who can calculate the amount of light and heat that dwell in, and are given forth by the sun that shines at this moment so gloriously in the noonday sky? We see, we feel, we enjoy its bright beams; but who can number the millions of millions of rays that it casts forth upon all the surface of the earth, diffusing light, heat, and fertility to every part? If the creature be so great, glorious, and incomprehensible--how much more great, glorious, and incomprehensible must be its divine Creator!
The Scripture testimony of the saints in glory is that "when Christ shall appear they shall be like him, for they shall see him as he is;" (1 John 3:2;) that they shall then see the Lord "face to face, and know even as also they are known;" (1 Cor. 13:12;) that their "vile body shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body;" (Phil. 3:21;) that they shall be "conformed to his image," (Rom. 8:29,) and "be satisfied when they awake with his likeness;" (Ps. 17:15;) that they shall be "before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple;" (Rev. 7:15;) that "their sun shall no more go down, for the Lord shall be their everlasting light;" (Isa. 60:20;) that they shall have "an exceeding and eternal weight of glory;" (2 Cor.4:17;) and shall "shine as the brightness of the skies, and as the stars forever and ever." (Dan. 12:3.)
But, with all this unspeakable bliss and glory, there must be in infinite Deity unfathomable depths which no creature, however highly exalted, can ever sound; heights which no finite, dependent being can ever scan. God became man, but man never can become God. He fully knows us, but we never can fully know him, for even in eternity, as in time, it may be said to the creature, "Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of hell--what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." (Job 11:7-9.) But if, as we believe, eternity itself can never fully or entirely reveal the heights and depths of the love of a Triune God, how little can be known of it in our present time state! And yet that little is the only balm for all sorrow, the only foundation of solid rest and peace.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Incomprehensibility of God's Love
- A. It surpasses human understanding and knowledge
- B. Even in eternity, it remains unfathomable
- C. Creature love and intellect cannot fully comprehend it
- II. The Glory of God's Creation
- A. The sun's light and heat are incomprehensible to us
- B. God's greatness and glory far exceed His creation
- III. The Scripture Testimony of the Saints in Glory
- A. They will see Christ as He is and be like Him
- B. They will have an exceeding and eternal weight of glory
- C. They will serve God day and night in His temple
- IV. The Limitations of Human Knowledge
- A. We cannot fully know God, even in eternity
- B. Our knowledge is limited by our finite and dependent nature
- C. We can only glimpse the depths of God's love
Key Quotes
“What Christ is to the Church, what the Church is to Christ, can never be really known until time gives place to eternity, faith to sight, and hope to enjoyment.” — J.C. Philpot
“God became man, but man never can become God.” — J.C. Philpot
“Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.” — J.C. Philpot
Application Points
- We must accept that our knowledge of God is limited and that we can only glimpse the depths of His love.
- The little that we can know of God's love in our present time state is the only balm for all sorrow and the only foundation of solid rest and peace.
- We must trust in God's love and sovereignty, even when we do not fully understand it.