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Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2
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Chapter 4: God’s Incommunicable Attributes (weeks 9-11)
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Even though God is everywhere at once, the Scriptures nonetheless speak of Him as being far from the wicked (Ps. 11:5; 37:9; 50:16; 145:20) but intimately close to the righteous (Ps. 11:7; 51:17-19; Isa. 57:15). We can resolve this seeming contradiction by acknowledging that although God truly is everywhere at the same time, yet He chooses certain people and specific places as the focus of His blessed presence (e.g., the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, the ark, the tabernacle, the temple, etc). In the most vivid example, those who perish apart from Christ will be subjected to eternal damnation—which will be in the full presence of the Lamb and His holy angels (Rev. 14:9-10)—yet in another sense, the damned will also be away from the presence of the Lord (2 Thess. 1:9). In other words, the omnipresence of God means that the wicked will face God’s anger, displeasure, and wrath for all eternity, but will never share of His blessed presence—a terrifying thought indeed! "[God's presence is] in hell as well as in heaven, in the wicked as well as in the devout, in places of impurity and darkness as well as in the palaces of light… God is present in his creatures in different ways" (pp. 168-169; cf. Ps. 18:26).
What separates us from God is not geographical distance (as this would be impossible); rather it is our sin (Is. 59:2). Augustine explained, "It is not by location but by incongruity that a person is far from God… To draw near to him is to become like him; to move away from him is to become unlike him" (p. 170). We can not run away from God. Recognizing God's omnipresence, therefore, should drive us to repentance and to seek refuge in Him: "… no matter where you flee, he is there… There is absolutely no place for you to flee to. Do you want to flee from him? Rather flee to him" (p. 170). Recall that there was only one in whom God dwelled in the fullness of His deity: Jesus Christ (Col 2:9). By union with Him, we can enjoy proximity with God too.
7. Unity of Singularity: God is numerically and quantitatively one (p. 149). Indeed, we affirm that there is but one God (Deut. 6:4; also Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A 5). The unity of singularity teaches us about "God's absolute oneness and uniqueness, his exclusive numerical oneness" (p. 170). All of Scripture is monotheistic. Besides YHWH, there is no other god (Deut. 4:35; 32:39; Ps. 18:31; 83:18; Isa. 43:10; 44:6; 45:off; etc). The false gods that men worship are dead, lies, and mere deceptions (Deut. 32:21; Ps. 96:5-6; Isa. 41:29; 44:9, 20; Jer. 2:5, 11; 10:15; 16:19; 51:17-18; Dan. 5:23; Hab. 2:18-19; etc). God refers to them as elilim (worthless gods) in contrast to Himself, Elohim (note: the play on sounds; p. 172).
8. Unity of Simplicity: Furthermore, God possesses an inner qualitative oneness. He is simple (recall the summary on the simplicity of God from chapter 3, point #7; Article 1 of the Belgic Confession; and Chapter 2.1 from the Westminster Confession of Faith). God's essence is synonymous with His being and His attributes. He is not made up of different parts (pp. 118, 173-174). God is not merely loving, good, wise, just, etc., but He is Love, Goodness, Wisdom, Justice, etc. God's attributes are not superadded to His essence. He is completely and simultaneously everything that He possesses (p. 174). Therefore, "None of his attributes can be suspended, withdrawn, diminished, or altered, since his attributes are identical with his existence" (Horton, Michael Scott. The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. p. 230)
It is important to recognize that "the doctrine of divine simplicity is of great importance for our understanding of God. If God is in any sense composite, then it is impossible to maintain the perfection of his oneness, independence, and immutability… [The doctrine of divine simplicity] is necessary as a way of affirming that God has a distinct and infinite life of his own within himself" (p. 149; cf. pp. 176-177). Finally, it should be noted that the doctrine of divine simplicity is not "inconsistent with the doctrine of the Trinity, for the term 'simple' is not used here as an antonym of 'twofold' or 'threefold' but of 'composite'… Now, the divine being is not composed of three persons… but the one uncompounded (simple) being exists in three person… [each person in the Trinity] is not distinguishable in respect [to] essence but only in respect of reason…" (p. 177). We'll be exploring this trinitarian insight in more detail when we reach chapter 6! :)
1. Incommunicability: As we learned from the previous chapter (point #4), the term communicability refers to the act of passing something on from one person to another (e.g., a communicable disease is a transmittable disease; an idea that is communicated is one that is transferred from one person to the next; etc). In contrast, when something is not passed on, it is incommunicable. We classify God’s attributes according to these terms. Principally, God's incommunicable attributes are conceived negatively; in other words, we describe these attributes as what God is not (by negation). We deny (negate) the existence of creaturely imperfections in God (e.g., His immutability, independence, simplicity, eternity, and omnipresence speak to the absence of change, dependence, complexity, temporality, and locality in God). God is distinctly free from the normal limitations that are placed on the finite creature (p. 150).
2. Independence (Aseity, All-Sufficiency, Self-Existence, Solitariness, Absoluteness): God's personal name YHWH grounds our understanding of His independence (aseity); in it, He declares that "I will be what I will be" (p. 151). As we learned from the previous chapter (point #6), God's independence (aseity) is central to everything we know about Him (pp. 113, 122-123) as our understanding of God's other perfections are derived from it (p. 151). Accordingly, it is called the primary attribute of God’s being (p. 124) because from it, we are able to understand His other attributes more clearly. Furthermore, this incommunicable attribute most sharply distinguishes God from His creation. "By this perfection he is at once essentially and absolutely distinct from all creatures. Creatures, after all, do not derive their existence from themselves but from others and so have nothing from themselves; both in their origin and hence in their further development and life, they are absolutely dependent… [but] God is exclusively from himself… eternally and absolutely independent in his existence, in his perfections in all his works, the first and the last, the sole cause and final goal of all things" (p. 152).
3. Immutability: Closely related to God's independence (aseity) is His immutability. "God is and remains the same. Everything changes, but he remains standing… He is YHWH, he who is and ever remains himself… the incorruptible who alone has immortality, and is ever the same (Rom. 1:23; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16; Heb. 1:11-12). Unchangeable in his existence and being, he is so also in his thought and will, in all his plans and decisions… What he says, he will do (Num. 15:28; 1 Sam. 15:29)… He completes what he has begun (Ps. 138:8; Phil. 1:6). In a word, he, YHWH, does not change (Mal. 3:6)" (p. 153). This attribute of God is essential to His perfection. "His nature and being are infinite, and so, subject to no mutations… God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved…. He cannot change for the better, for he is already perfect; and being perfect, he cannot change for the worse" (Pink, A.W. The Attributes of God. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1975. pp. 46-47).
Affirming God's immutability is important because it has widespread implications on other doctrines. "Those who predicate any change whosoever of God, whether with respect to his essence, knowledge, or will, diminish all his attributes… This robs God of his divine nature, and [the Christian] religion of its firm foundation and assured comfort" (p. 158). For example, by denying the immutability of God's knowledge and will, God becomes dependent upon His creation. This immediately threatens the Reformed doctrine of predestination (particularly that of unconditional election) whereby God shows favour and love without occasion from the creature. We know that His election and love do not change according to the loveliness in the creature. Nothing can change it. Therefore, it is from the doctrine of God's immutability that we can derive great comfort. For this reason, God is often called the Rock (Deut. 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31, 37; 1 Sam. 2:2; 2 Sam. 22:3, 32; Ps. 19:14; 31:3; 62:2, 7; 73:26; etc) because we can rely on Him to always be the same and to be true to His word (p. 156). "There is change around, about, and outside of him, and there is change in people's relations to him, but there is no change in God himself" (p. 158).
4. Understanding Infinity: Next, Bavinck explores the meaning of "infinity" (pp. 159-160) but uses terminology that (I think) can be confusing. He proposes that infinity can be thought of in negative and positive ways. But (to be clear) it should be noted that the way that Bavinck uses the terms "negative" and "positive" in this chapter (i.e., as applied to the concept of infinity) is different than how he used these terms in the previous chapter (i.e., as applied to the knowledge of God; see chapter 3, point #5).
The idea of "infinity" is simply impossible for humans to truly understand. To try to grasp the concept of "infinity", our minds imagine how things would be if normal finite boundaries were removed. For example, we measure time in distinct moments (e.g., seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, millennia, etc). If we want to think about an infinite amount of time we may be tempted to think of a very long period of time—possibly the longest period of time that we can humanly conceive (for example, a billion years)—and then abstractly imagine that eternity is like "a billion times a billion years, and then even more" (i.e., a really big number that, at least to us, seems endless and far surpasses our ability to fathom). This is what Bavinck refers to as a "negative" concept of infinity. It is thinking of infinite in quantitative terms (in magnitudes). By negating (denying) the normal boundaries of the finite, we think that we have arrived at the idea of the infinite (i.e., equating infinity with the lack of finitude).
In contrast, when we think of infinity in qualitative terms (as a perfection), we are appealing to a "positive" view. Infinity is a real thing that is distinct and incomparable to the finite. It is not simply an abundantly large amount of the finite; infinity is altogether different than the finite. Accordingly, Bavinck argues that infinity is not a negative but a positive concept (p. 160). This means that the infinite God is not like the finite or creaturely. "This divine infinity is not an infinity of magnitude… neither is it an infinity of number… [but it is] qualitative and positive… synonymous with perfection" (p. 160). As an example, when we speak of God's infinite love, it does not mean that God simply loves more than us. No, it means that His love is incomparably different because it is perfect in quality, intensity, and measure. This is how we should be think about all of God's infinite perfections: positively.
5. Infinity and Eternity: When applied to time, God's infinity is called eternity. From eternity to eternity, God is not subject to time, having no beginning or end (Ps. 90:2; 93:2). Not only does He have no beginning or end, His eternity also excludes the succession of moments. His existence is not determined by time at all (pp. 160-161). One commonly held, but erroneous view is that eternity is just like time, only without beginning or end (a negative view of eternity [infinity]). However, it needs to be recognized that "between eternity and time there is a distinction not only in quantity and degree but also in quality and essence" (a positive view). Eternity "excludes a beginning, an end, and the succession of moments" (p. 162). The reason that this distinction is important is because "time is the measure of motion in a movable object" but God is not in the process of change for in him there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17). "God's eternity, accordingly, should be thought rather as an eternal present without past or future" (p. 163). As such, "it is God who by his eternal power sustains time, both in its entirety and in each separate moment of it… He makes time subservient to eternity and thus proves himself to be the King of the ages (1 Tim 1:17)" (p. 164).