The Otherness of GodSample

The Otherness of God

"To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?" says the Holy One (Isaiah 40:25; ESV).

God is different from us. He is not just a little different in the sense that He has more power, dwells in heaven, knows much more than we do, and finds it easier to forgive and love. He is entirely different in every way. There is no way for us to measure just how different He is.

A.W. Tozer said that we should not think of God as the highest in an ascending order of beings. There is a vast difference between a butterfly and an archangel. However, there is an incomparable difference between an archangel and God. The difference between the butterfly and the archangel is that although they are both creations of God, they are two different forms of life. It is a finite difference. The difference between God, who is eternal and unchanging, and an archangel is infinite. A comparison between God and an archangel cannot be described in the same way as you could draw a comparison between a butterfly and an archangel. The problem is that the difference is incomprehensible, because nothing can define, limit, contain, or explain Him.

So often, we want to speak on behalf of God. A typical example: "God does not like this or that. Let me explain this or that aspect of God to you." No one can explain God's greatness or the way He thinks. No metaphor, human words, or story can do Him justice. We must make very sure before we speak on behalf of God.

Unless we experience awe and godly fear in His presence, there is a 100% chance that we are not standing in the presence of the God of the Bible.

When we listen to the words of the Bible, we are forced to acknowledge the fact that He cannot be defined. He cannot be fully understood or explained. We don't like this because we want to know Him and think we can know Him. We want to have some of His “Godness” for ourselves. Our human instinct is to analyse, philosophise, control, and explain. How do you define the Undefinable? How do you understand the Unfathomable? How do you compare the Incomparable? How do you describe the Indescribable? How do you "tame" the Untamable?