In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
Q4: What is God?
A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
God is infinite. He is not finite. He cannot be measured. He is not contained within bounds. He is not restricted, confined, or kept within certain limits. Before all things existed God did. Time cannot contain Him. Spatial dimensions cannot box him in. Even the language we use cannot totally portray who He is in His essence.
If God is infinite then all His attributes are infinite. God is not made up of attributes because that would mean they would be measurable and would have to balance each other out. Rather, the attributes describe who He is in His infinite simple essence.
Whenever we describe God’s attributes we must describe them as being infinite. This should cause us to never underestimate God. We can never limit God’s holiness. His standard, His beauty, His set-apart-ness is far greater than we can ever imagine. When you come to a greater understanding of God that is not the fullness of who God is. It is merely you growing in further understanding of His infinitude. When you think about the love of God for you, you might have some incredible experiences and realizations of how He loves you. But, this does not sum up the entirety of His love for you. This is merely God revealing to you more and more of His infinite love.
This should give us a holy zeal to press on to know the Lord more and more. There is always more of God to see. The Christian life is never moving beyond God and His gospel but rather pressing further into the knowledge of Him.
But, let me show you what else His infinitude means. God alone is infinite; All creation is finite. This is what makes our “idolatry” so evil. To dare to treat something or someone in creation like it is God is an infinite offense to the infinite glory of God. Yes, your idolatry will harm you but even when you might not presently see it harming you it is far more sinful than anything you feel. The audacity that we have to reject the infinite God for finite creation! You are far more sinful than you could ever imagine. Even in your greatest realization of guilt, you still don’t understand how guilty you are in totality.
This is where the gospel is needed. The infinite God took on flesh. When the Son of God assumed our nature and when He went to the Cross to atone for our sins, He did not give us a “measurable” atonement. He has atoned for His people with an infinitely valuable atonement.