Transcendence & Immanence
God is infinitely above and beyond creation, yet intimately near — "the high and lofty One" who dwells "with the contrite."
Overview
God is transcendent and immanent at once — infinitely above and beyond his creation, yet intimately near within it. He is "the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity," and in the same breath the one who dwells "with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit" (Isa 57:15). Lose either truth and faith distorts: a God only transcendent becomes remote and cold; a God only immanent shrinks into the world and stops being God.
Christianity holds both because of the incarnation. The transcendent God, whom "heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain" (1 Kgs 8:27), drew near in Jesus — "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The God who is utterly beyond us came close enough to touch. He is great enough to be worth trusting and near enough to actually help.
Where it appears
- Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
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