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[0:00] To infinity and beyond. To infinity and beyond. Buzz Lightyear. Of course it's ridiculous, isn't it? If you go to infinity, you can't go beyond infinity.

[0:13] And we are looking this morning at the words, God is infinite. Three words. How do you explain those three words? God is infinite.

[0:26] On Sunday mornings, we're really doing a series looking at God on God. The Bible that you've got on your laps is a revelation. It reveals to you who God is.

[0:38] And as Christians, we want to know who our God is. And in the 17th century, a catechism, the Westminster Shorter Catechism said, what is God? God is infinite. He's eternal. He's unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

[0:54] And this term, we're taking one of those phrases and looking at what the Bible teaches about God. God is infinite. We struggle with language, don't we, on this?

[1:05] How am I going to find the words to describe the infinity of God? The very nature of infinity is that it's boundless. God is limitless.

[1:16] There are no boundaries with God. No limits to God's person. No limits to God's character. No limits to God's presence. How do you describe that? How are you going to find the words that will adequately say what needs to be said of who God is?

[1:35] And when we speak of the infinity of God, where I'm thinking particularly in terms of time and space, he is infinite in regards to time.

[1:46] That's what we're going to look at next week with speaking of his eternal nature, that God is from beginning to ending. He is eternal. But today I want us to look at the infinity of God, that God is infinite as it refers to space.

[2:05] One word that the Bible uses, that theologians use, is omnipresent. That means he is always present. That God is present everywhere. So he's present with us this morning.

[2:18] That God is immense. He's everywhere present in all of his immensity. And that is something, as you begin to think about it this morning, that staggers our mind.

[2:29] It's difficult for us to grasp. And we are thinking this morning of the greatness of God's presence. Of a God without limits. And there is no limit to God when it comes to time.

[2:41] There are no time constraints upon him. And there are no limits upon God in terms of space. When we say, well, where is he? Do you remember what we learned? We learned that God is spirit.

[2:52] He's not like us. And so we don't see him. But that does not mean that he's not present. Think about where is God not?

[3:04] Where is he not? And as we think about that, well, he is present everywhere. There is nowhere where he is not present. We begin to understand something of the affinity of God.

[3:17] Because God is everywhere. There is nowhere that God is not. There is no time when God is not. There is no place where God is not. It's not just that God is everywhere.

[3:29] But he is everywhere in the immense nature of his being. And I think as we think about this this morning, one of the things that's going to happen to us is we realize just how very small we are.

[3:41] How small our mind is. But hopefully more than that, we come to realize how great God is. It's one of the reasons we began our service with our call to worship. I will extol you, O God, my King, and bless your name forever and ever.

[3:54] Every day, I will bless you and praise you forever and ever. Why? Well, because great is the Lord. And greatly do you praise. And God's greatness is unsearchable. And that is the nature of the infinity of God.

[4:07] He's great. He's immense. There's no measuring. There's no searching out the greatness of God. So we're going to go a little bit kind of old school this morning.

[4:18] I'm going to give you the scriptures. I'm going to give you the word of God that teaches this. The kind of proofs. And then I'm going to talk about what it means. And then I'm going to talk about what it means for us. And so let's listen to the word of God.

[4:31] You should have been given a little sheet with a number of texts on it. If you haven't, don't worry about it. You can just listen. But there are several passages in the Bible that reveal to us the character of the being and the nature of God.

[4:42] And so first of all, 1 Kings chapter 8 verse 27. It's on your sheet. It's when Solomon has built a great temple in Jerusalem. And he's dedicating the temple and he's praying to God.

[4:54] Listen to his prayer. Then he says, So here is Solomon in awe of God because he's realizing that God cannot be contained.

[5:14] And when it speaks of the infinity of God, it means that our God cannot be contained. You can't shut him up. He cannot be limited. He cannot be restrained. God cannot be held back in any way.

[5:27] And it's a marvel because Solomon is standing there in awe at the kindness of God. He says, I've built this temple, this great temple to worship you. But I know that highest heavens can't contain you.

[5:42] And yet he also knows that God will make his presence known and felt in that temple. And so while God is everywhere, he chooses in his kindness and in his grace to make his presence especially felt.

[5:58] At times and to certain people. Another text of Job 11, verse 7 to 9. Can you find out the deep things of God, can you? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

[6:10] Ask yourself that question. It's higher than heaven. What can you do? Deeper than shale. What can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

[6:23] So here's a guy. He's suffered terribly. He's lost many of his families. He's listening to people who are giving him terrible advice. And he reflects upon the nature and the character of God.

[6:35] And he says you cannot measure God. You can't put him into a test tube, into a little experiment. And you can't get your tape measure and see the length and the breadth and the height and the depth of the being of the nature of God.

[6:48] He's immeasurable. And yet here's the remarkable thing that the Bible teaches us that God has shown us and revealed to us the length and the breadth and the height and the depth of his love for us in Jesus Christ.

[7:01] And so we as God's people should be in awe of that. Psalm 139, Reuben read it to us. We love this psalm, don't we?

[7:12] Where shall I flee from your spirit? Where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend into the heavens, well, you're there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

[7:24] If I get on a jumbo jet and I go to the ends of the earth and I dwell at the uttermost parts of the sea. If I get on a submarine and I go way underground. If I put the covers over my head in bed, you're there.

[7:35] And your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall uphold me. Proverbs 15, verse 3. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

[7:48] There's no limit to what God sees and what God knows. He's limitless. And so the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, where God speaks and he says, Am I a God at hand?

[8:01] Declares the Lord. And not a God far off. Can a man hide himself in secret? So that I cannot see him, declares the Lord. If I go into in private browsing or incognito, will God not know?

[8:17] Do I not fill the heavens and the earth, declares the Lord? God is saying, I'm close, I'm not far away. Do you think this morning, realistically, that you can hide from him?

[8:30] Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they say this, they say, I heard you, God, walking in the garden. I heard your voice, and so I hid.

[8:44] So stupid. Thinking that they could hide from God. Am I a God at hand and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?

[9:00] In Ezekiel, the prophet says, Then he said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark? Each in his own room of pictures, for they say the Lord doesn't see us.

[9:10] The Lord is forsaken the land. Maybe a great surprise for you this morning that the Bible teaches that there is a God in heaven who knows you and sees you and you cannot escape from.

[9:23] Look at Ezekiel 9. It says, It's God simply saying, not simply I can see everything, but it does matter.

[9:55] Where you are. He's saying in those verses, my hand can reach you. My hand can pull you down from the place where you are. When Paul is preaching in Athens, it's a city lots like London.

[10:08] And he says, I see actually that you're really superstitious. You've got altars and you've got idols all over the place. And he discovers one idol that's to an unknown God. The Athenians were making sure that they had every kind of God they could think of.

[10:23] And he speaks to them. And he says, I see you've got an idol for the unknown God. And he talks about them seeking God in the hope that they might feel their way towards him and find him. And then here's the point.

[10:34] He's not far from each one of us. He's not far from you this morning. For in him we live and move and have our very being. We live in him.

[10:46] We move in him. We breathe. Every breath that you breathe is breathed in the presence of God.

[10:57] He's not far from you this morning. Ephesians 1.24 says, God has put all things under his feet and given Jesus as head over all things to the church and for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

[11:13] The fullness of the glory of God who fills all in all. The fullness of the glory of God. It shines particularly in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom the fullness of deity dwells bodily. They're amazing passages.

[11:26] We could spend all day on them. And they are an example of God's work in creation. And they're an example that God is present in all places everywhere.

[11:36] But there is a special concentration of his presence in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God in flesh. And this truth has a great impact on us in the work of redemption and the work of the Lord Jesus upon the cross.

[11:54] There are loads of passages we could go to that demonstrate this truth that God is infinite. There's an infinity to God in terms of his presence, in terms of his power, in terms of his being, in terms of his sight, in terms of his knowledge, in terms of his actions, and through the Lord Jesus.

[12:14] That's what the word of God reveals to us. God is infinite. So what does that mean? What does it mean when it speaks of God as infinite?

[12:26] I think it means three things. The first thing is this. It means that God is immense. I like the word immense. To speak of the immensity of God is to speak of the greatness of the being of God.

[12:41] The greatness of the existence of God. In one sense, I think it highlights one of the struggles that we have. That we struggle with a vision of God that's too small.

[12:53] Or a view of God that's too small. And it's important for you and I to see something of this. Immensity points us to the greatness of God.

[13:06] And when we speak of God being infinite, we are saying that he is immense. It means that he's not being measured. But it means more than that.

[13:17] It means that he cannot be measured. It's not that someday someone is going to discover a method for measuring God. That AI will figure him out.

[13:29] He is immeasurable. That there's just no way for you and I to get our heads around this morning. Around the length and the breadth and the height and the depth of the love of God.

[13:40] But that's only one aspect of his character. There's no way for us to be able to measure the size of his being. The size of his existence. He is not measurable.

[13:51] No one can do it. And we ought to not even in our folly try it. I think often we think of God just a bit like us.

[14:03] God says to his people at one point, he says, you thought that I was comparable to you. You thought that I was like you. But he often stops in the prophet of Isaiah and he says, well to whom will you compare me?

[14:16] As though to say, remember this, in the immensity of my being, I am incomparable. You cannot compare God to anything because God is immeasurable. There is no being who is comparable to the being of God.

[14:30] There's no character comparable to the character of God. And whenever we try to compare him or just think of him in a particular way in relation to something else, we're using our own yardstick.

[14:44] And your yardstick is too small. Your measuring tape for God is too small. To say that God is infinite is to say that he is immense.

[14:55] It is to be in awe of the greatness of his being. When our children, they study science and they begin to be dazzled by the size of the universe.

[15:10] And when our kids begin to study the size of the universe, they're dazzled, aren't they, by the speed of light? They're able to tell you at what speed light travels. They're dazzled by the distance of the earth from the sun.

[15:24] They'll tell you how long it takes to get from the sun to the earth. They're dazzled by the furthest star. They'll be able to tell you how long it takes you to get to that star.

[15:38] The size of the galaxy. They'll tell you about solar flares and the energy that's released. What that means for the existence of the sun and the planets and the existence of the earth.

[15:49] All kinds of scientific things. I'm in awe of scientific people who are able to work out those sorts of things. Who do the maths and can calculate those distances.

[16:02] They can calculate the measurable quantities of the universe in which we live. And it is infinitely dazzling, isn't it, this universe? But surely the God who made the universe.

[16:15] The God who measured that out. Who measured the distance that the earth would be from the sun with his measuring tape. Who set the speed of light that it would be that speed.

[16:27] And that it's that precise speed. All of that is as nothing to him. It's like a drop in the bucket. How infinite is our God?

[16:39] And so children and young people, I hope you are dazzled by the immensity of the universe. In which you live. But God is infinitely more dazzling.

[16:54] Some of you love to travel. You go to the most amazing places of the earth. You go to the Grand Canyon and your breath is taken away by it. Well what about the God who made the Grand Canyon? How infinite is our God?

[17:06] The second thing I think it means is that he is perfect. Kind of develops this word of immensity. If you look at the word immensity, it means to be marked by greatness.

[17:21] There is no measuring the limits of God. No limits. But when you think of someone, you say, isn't it, if I said, what's Angus Curdahan like as a rugby player? I would say, oh, he's immense.

[17:33] It's probably his own description of himself. He's immense. What do I mean by that? He's an immense character. It means that something is good or excellent, doesn't it?

[17:45] Great, yes. Vast, but good. Perfect. It is to say that something is extremely or incomparably good.

[17:55] And when we think of God as infinite, he is vast, yes. He is immense in his greatness, but he's immense in his perfection.

[18:05] God can never be improved. God can never improve. He has no needs.

[18:18] And so in terms of the infinity of God, there are no limits to his being. And so as our catechism is going to teach us, he is without limits in his wisdom. He cannot get wiser than he is.

[18:29] God is without limit in his power. He's without limit in his holiness. He's without limit in his justice. He's without limit in his goodness. And he's without limit in his truth. And if we're going to say that there is no limit to God's wisdom, his wisdom is obviously perfect.

[18:47] It's immense. And so God's knowledge is perfect according to the Bible. And that's what those texts were saying, weren't they, when I read them earlier. They are saying that he knows all things, that there's nothing that's hidden from him.

[19:01] And so to speak of the infinity of God, that God is infinite, is also to say that God is perfect. He has perfect knowledge of everything instantly and always. And the wisdom of God is without limit.

[19:12] And the power of God is without limit. There's nothing more that can be added to it. Perfect holiness, perfect in his justice, perfect in his goodness, perfect in his truth. Have you ever come across anything that was perfect?

[19:29] Is your husband perfect? Is he? What about your wife? Is your wife perfect? Newborns, parents with, holding their newborn baby, what do they say?

[19:46] They say, ah, he's perfect. No, he's not. Don't say that to them then, but they're not, they. Little Elijah, he's great.

[19:58] He's a lovely little lad. He's not perfect. Your children, are they perfect? Parents, are they?

[20:11] Your house, is it perfect? Your job, is it perfect? Your church, is it perfect? Of course not. But God is, God is perfect. Here's what infinity means.

[20:22] It means God is perfect. And that flows from our understanding of the immensity of God. It means God is immense. It means God is perfect. It means that God is present everywhere. There's not a place where God is not.

[20:35] Mysteriously, there's not a part of God in one place and another part in another place. He's everywhere present in all of his presence.

[20:49] And that just blows our mind, doesn't it? It's absolutely baffling. One of the reasons I think that we find it so baffling is I think we come at it from the wrong way round.

[20:59] It would be better for you and I to come with a different perspective. And instead of trying to say, well, that God is everywhere present in all of his presence, it would be better for us to say that all things are in his presence.

[21:13] I think that's a better way of looking at it. All things are in his presence. Because I think that takes away some of the mind-blowing dimensions. God is above all things.

[21:26] And all things are immediately before him. And present him. And that's true with regards to time. That is baffling, isn't it? But it's true in regards to space.

[21:39] And so there's nowhere where you can go where God is not. He's the creator of the world. He's the possessor of the world. He's the preserver of the world. And he is above all and he fills all. And you can't hide from him.

[21:51] And we live and we move and we have our very being in him. We are present to God and before God. Now, that doesn't mean that there aren't times when God draws near.

[22:02] Where God makes his presence especially felt. That's why we gather to worship on Sundays. But he is everywhere present. He is immense.

[22:13] He is perfect. He is ever out. Now, what does it mean for you and I? What does it mean for us? Probably means billions of things, doesn't it? Three things. First of all, it's a strong warning.

[22:27] It's a strong warning to sinners like me and you. Because you live in his presence.

[22:40] You commit no sin, no rebellion in secret. And therefore, I need to realize and you need to realize how foolish we are. That when we sin, when we rebel against God, when we live without even thought of him.

[22:55] We are like the little children. You know what we do with little children? We play hide and seek, don't we, with them? And we put our hands over our face and it's as if we pretend they can't see us.

[23:09] And the child does that, isn't it? And sometimes they look through their fingers at you. Where's Paul gone? Where's daddy? As if we think they've disappeared.

[23:23] And you play along, don't you? You play along with it. And you play Beepo. Because they're children. But you don't live life like that. It's even more ridiculous to do that with sin.

[23:37] God doesn't see me. He's not there. He sees you. He sees every single sin. Stephen Chaldeck has got this great line.

[23:48] He said, it's commonly forgotten or not believed that God is present everywhere. Many live as if he were present nowhere. Think about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. I heard your voice in the garden and I hid.

[24:04] So crazy. They understood. The ear understood. They understood that God was there. But they thought that trees could shelter them from God.

[24:17] They thought that they would somehow be able to deceive him. They'd hide behind the bushes and God wouldn't realize. He forgets. But more likely he denies.

[24:33] I wonder whether you realize that you're playing today you're playing that game of beeper with God he's really there you're like Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes thinking you'll never find me here and so it is a really solemn thing isn't it it's a really serious thing I don't know what's going on in your life I don't know who you're texting I don't know what you're looking at on the internet I don't know who you're seeing but God knows that doesn't he and do not think for a minute that God doesn't see it secondly it's a really comforting thing firstly it's disturbing but secondly it's really comforting God is present everywhere and so if you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ if you know God as your father if you are indwelt by his Holy Spirit he is everywhere for his people he is for you and he is with you and this doctrine should be a great comfort to you this morning that God is present everywhere in the immensity of his presence to comfort you and to encourage you he fills heaven with his glory he fills people with his people with his grace he is with you to comfort us he is with you in times of temptation he is with you in times of real darkness he is with you in times of real desperate anxiety he is with you in times of grief he is with you in your suffering he is with you in your sorrow he is with us now in our worship and so it is an immense use that word again it is an immense comfort this doctrine that God is infinite he has no limits his love has no limits his grace has no measure his power has no boundary known unto man and so he is with you to comfort you it is an immense comfort and then thirdly and finally this doctrine of the infinity of God that God is infinite it exalts and it glorifies Jesus Christ because what happened when the second person of Trinity when the God man became man when God became man it is a reminder that

[27:14] Jesus took flesh upon himself he entered into this world but when he entered into this world and he became a tiny little baby the Lord Jesus did not give up his immensity while the Lord Jesus took on flesh he became a little baby and was numbered with the transgressors with sinners like you and I he was still everywhere present and perfect and immense when Jesus speaks of this in John 3 verse 13 he says no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven the son of man and then there is a little footnote the ESV is taking it out but they say who is in heaven the Lord Jesus Christ when he is physically on earth is saying I'm also in heaven John Calvin when he writes on this the great commentator he says here's something marvelous the son of God descended from heaven in such a way that without leaving heaven it's mind boggling he willed to be born in the virgin's womb to go about the earth to hang on the cross yet he continually filled the earth even as he had done from the beginning and this brings us again to the point is that my mind cannot understand this

[28:39]  I certainly can't express it I cannot explain it and yet I worship this God so must you to marvel at the very kindness of God in Jesus Christ and what we receive in him the God whom heavens cannot contain dwells in us by the grace of God in Jesus Christ I hope if you've come as a visitor this morning we absolutely love having you come again but I hope you realize that what we're talking about is something supernatural we're talking about a God who has intervened we're talking about a God who is all powerful yes but he is gracious and he is kind and I think that God is an infinite God should lead us to be in awe at who he is and how small we are and how thankful we should be that he's given us such a wonderful saviour in the Lord Jesus let's pray thank you