God Is Relational

Transcendence vs. Immanence of God

Today we continue our “God Is _____” series. If you have been paying attention, you may have noticed that some of the attributes of God’s character seem almost at odds with each other. If you recall, immediately after we talked about how God is holy, perfect and righteous, we also saw how God is loving, kind, compassionate and merciful. We see God as finite and totally unlike us; and yet in Genesis 2 the Bible tells us we are made in HIS image.

Even though many people try to paint God as a flat, single-dimension character, what we see across the pages of scripture is that God is complex. Understanding Him requires us to live with some tension in our knowledge of Him.

Jeremiah 23:23 –“Am I only a god nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away?”

In this single verse, Jeremiah points out two seemingly contradictory aspects of God’s character. In big-word theological terms, we see God’s transcendence and His immanence.

When we say God is transcendent, we are saying, like Jeremiah, that God is far away – high up in the lofty heavens – and totally superior to us in every way. When we talked about His infinite nature, His holiness and His sovereignty, we were talking about God’s transcendence. This is what makes God so BIG!

However, we also see a different side of God in the Bible – a God who wants to be with His people, who has relationships with all sorts of people, and who gave the life of His own Son to redeem His people. We see a God who wants to be known, who loves us immeasurably, and who connects with people on a personal level. As Jeremiah says, “A God nearby.” This is God’s immanence.

Christianity is unique because we are the only major religion that views God through both lenses: that God is both far above and nearby (and knowable).

• Deism (the belief of many agnostics) teaches that God exists but is not active in our world. Some have the image of a divine clockmaker who created the world and set it in motion like winding up a big clock, and then stepped away to let history unravel however it might. In this view, they recognize the transcendence of God without the immanence.
• Hindus see God as being everywhere. God is in nature and God is in them. They believe God is fully immanent and directly interacts with people, but their beliefs lack any sense of distance and superior status.
• Muslims view their God, Allah, through the opposite lens as Hindus. To them, God is impersonal and unknowable in any way. He is described as distant, immensely powerful and arbitrary. He is to be feared, not loved.

Have you already begun to hear why a God who is both transcendent and immanent is superior to the God these other religious offer?

With all this as our groundwork, I present the truth that God is relational. In His immanence, He wants to have a relationship with and be fully known by each of us.

Relational from the Beginning

Some might believe that God became a relational God when He created Adam and put him in the garden. We are told how God walked in the Garden of Eden talking to His creation.

However, God was a relational God long before then. Remember, the God we worship is not a single, lonely being. Instead, we worship a triune God, who exists in three persons – the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) – in perfect harmony and love. While a full explanation of the existence and workings of the Trinity is outside the scope of today’s message, it is a perfect expression of the eternal relational aspect of our God.

God didn’t need to create humanity to fill a void in His life. He was perfectly content and satisfied in the fulfilling love of His triune being. However, for reasons we may learn about on the other side of Heaven, God chose to unleash His creative expression and create the universe we now reside in. More than that, God created humanity specifically to have personal relationships with Himself and one another. We know that because Genesis 1 tells us we were made in God’s image; so if our God was made for relationships, then so are we.

How God Relates to Us

When we hear that God wants to have a relationship with each of us, it’s natural for us to wonder how on earth a transcendent, infinite being could ever be able to relate to us frail, flawed, and sometimes foolish humans. Better put, how could we ever know Him or relate to Him in any way? I could meet Michael Jordan, but our lives are so vastly different, I don’t know how I could ever relate to him and his billions – or he to me and my budding farm enterprise!

That’s exactly why God had to take some steps to make Himself known to us and to form relationships with us. It all began in the New Testament when Jesus, the Son of God, came to the earth as an infant. One of the key aspects of the Christmas story is one of the names given to Jesus at His arrival.

Matthew 1:22-23 – 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us.’)”

The fact that Jesus even came to this earth was a message that God is with us; but we have to ask (while it seems almost too simplistic) what does WITH mean? When I think of being WITH my wife, it has to do with her presence. She is by my side. Even if she isn’t physically at my side, I know she has my back. She is WITH me through thick and thin.

God came to earth as a baby, but we must acknowledge that this child, as He grew to manhood, had a vastly different experience from that of any other human. You may remember that in the old Superman movies, Clark Kent always knew he was totally different from other people. He had to hide his unusual strength and his ability to fly. But that’s not what we read about Jesus. He didn’t hide His divine power. Instead, He chose to give up His divine power. He eschewed the infinite powers He could have had as the Son of God to live a life more relatable to ours. In the book of Philippians we read that He “made Himself nothing.” The Greek word used here means, literally, “He emptied Himself.”

Philippians 2:6-7 – 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; 7rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Because Jesus emptied Himself of His divine power and lived like us (only in the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer), He became someone we can totally relate to. We see Him as a model we can actually strive to follow with no excuses about His being God and so it’s not the same for us. In fact, the author of Hebrews made sure he took that excuse away by telling us Jesus was tempted just like we are. In the same ways you have evil desires jump up and ask you to look at this or buy that or say something or other . . . Jesus experienced the same thing.

Hebrews 4:15 – For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin.

I love the way that ends – “yet he did not sin.” Praise God! That’s why Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for all our sin – a spotless lamb whose blood covers our mistakes.

John 14:15-17 – 15If you love me, keep my commands. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Here we see that the Holy Spirit is the key way that God is WITH each one of us and has a relationship with each of us. The Spirit of God, living inside those who love Jesus and keep His commands, speaks and brings our prayers into the throne room of Heaven. It is the Spirit who comforts and counsels and guides us each day if we are willing to listen.

How Can You Build Your Relationship with God?

At this point I want to get really practical. I realize that for some of you, thinking about building a relationship with God seem obvious. But for someone not raised in the church, or for someone just coming back to faith, it’s intimidating to think about how to relate to a majestic, transcendent God! I’m going to break it down for you so you know exactly what YOUR next step is.

1. Establish the Relationship.
   • This seems almost like too basic a beginning, but it needs to be said. You can’t build a relationship until you establish the relationship. You could have a huge crush on a Hollywood star, and you could try to learn about them and become the person you think they want to marry; but if you don’t START a relationship, there’s nothing to build on.
   • When it comes to God, I think a lot of people try some small acts to see if God is going to show up, but they never make the first step and actually establish the relationship. First, you have to decide that you are going to be in on this relationship with God. Coming to church or youth group is great, but God wants to know you are IN – that you have put your trust in Jesus.
   • If you haven’t done that, you can take the following steps, but they might not take you anywhere. For some of you, it’s time to make the choice and decide you are ALL IN. Baptism is a great next step to show you’ve made that decision.
     
2. Spend Time Together.
   • When you’re in a dating relationship and you really like someone, you simply want to BE WITH THEM. While God may not have a physical presence, He connects with us and communicates with us in two primary ways: prayer and the Bible.
   • In prayer you can have a back-and-forth relationship with God. You can tell Him your thoughts and concerns. Then, when you sit and wait, God will actually answer if you are patient enough to listen.
   • When you are worried about something big and don’t know what decision to make, ask God. Then wait. See which direction seems to give you peace or which decision might feel like a foolish choice. After you pray and listen, it’s uncanny how God will often make these decision points become totally clear.
   • If you have doubts about God, or you just don’t understand why something is going on in your life – tell Him that. He’s a Big Boy and can hear your complaints. We see David complaining to God in the Psalms. In your honesty with God, wait and hear what He has to say. God won’t leave you high and dry with no answer. In time, He will meet you in your doubt and will confirm His relational presence.
   • In the Bible we have the written words of God telling exactly what He has wanted every person to know about Him. It’s like parents and grandparents writing all sorts of facts about their lives so that people in future generations can know about their ancestors. The Bible is God’s story about Himself and His relationship with His people. In it, He shares everything He wants us to know about who He is and how He works in this world. He tells us how He wants us to live and what pleases Him. If you want to build your relationship, you need to know what’s in the Bible because that’s how you can better know your God.
     
3. Connect with Others Who Know Him.
   • When you were young and wanted to date someone, a great way to get to know more about him or her was to hang out with other people who were already close to your crush. It was a great way to hear more about them, and it also increased the chances that you would be in contact with that person. In the same way, hanging out with other Christians is a great way to hear about how God is working in other people’s lives and to have God show up in your midst. It might be at church or even at a Sunday dinner; Jesus tells us that when two or more are gathered, He is with us.
     
4. Live in a Way that Pleases Him.
   • Remember that Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commands.” Yes, we need to actually care about how God wants us to live, and we need to do what He says. It’s no different than if I knew I had a habit that drove my wife nuts, but I simply didn’t care and never tried to change. In no way does that show love or build the relationship! Instead, it simply drives a wedge. In the same way, if you want a deeper relationship with God, obedience is part of the journey. You can’t grow closer to someone if you purposely do things you know they don’t like.

Conclusion

John 15:15 – I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Here’s the truth that cuts: Lack of a relationship with God is not HIS fault. It’s on You! If you’re sitting there wishing you had a better relationship with God, then go after it! God isn’t hiding from you or holding back. Way back in Genesis 3, when Adam ate the apple and sinned, God didn’t hide from Adam. Adam hid from God, and God had to go calling for Adam.

The God in the Bible – the God we worship – is so much better than the incomplete versions of God depicted by other religions. The God we worship is superior to us in every way. He is infinite in power and sovereign in His rule and reign. And yet that very God wants a daily, personal relationship with you more than anything else. You need to step into that relationship.

For some of you, that means today needs to be the day you decide to go ALL IN with God. You need to make that decision and start this relationship. Stop kicking the tires and simply “coming to church”; instead, start walking with Jesus.

Maybe you need to be baptized to make your decision to follow Jesus public. If so, please let me know.

Perhaps you’ve walked with God for a long time, but right now things feel dry, or God seems distant. Maybe you’ve been living life for yourself and not worrying about living in obedience to God’s instructions in the Bible. May this be a wake-up call. God loves you and wants to be there for you. He is a friend who is just waiting for you to make time for Him again. He is a friend who will make your life much more satisfying if you return to Him.

Finally, if your walk with Jesus is a life-giving fountain for you, please come alongside other Christians and encourage them with everything Jesus pours into you. May you be a life-giving support to someone learning to be in a relationship with God Almighty.

I leave you with this: God is immanent; Jesus is Emmanuel. You can see how those two words come from the same root word. God’s immanence means He is WITH us. God is beside you; He is for you; He is the friend you need now more than ever. Choose today to step further into that relationship.