By 
In our Womenary class this spring on Trinitarianism, the question of the knowabilityof God came up. In light of all those million-dollar descriptors of the character of God—like preeminent or transcendent—who can possibly knowthe Almighty?
Mark Galli, Christianity Today(October 2017), previously caught my attention when he quoted from his newly released book, Karl Barth: A Biography for Evangelicals, about the “Godness of God…God’s absolute unique existence, power and initiative.” For instance, “our notions of power are utterly inadequate to grasp the nature of God’s power, which is beyond human imagination. God, in this respect, is completely unknowable and distinct from creation.” He sums up: “that the God whom human beings thought they had figured out is utterly elusive, that he is not only beyond this world but beyond the beyond.”
How can I not concur? We think we are able to figure out God; but then, listen to His words: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”(Isaiah 55:8, ESV). When I consider all the attributes of God—His omniscience, His omnipresence, His omnipotence, amongst others—I am brought to my knees in awe at the thought of His greatness: Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom(Psalm 145:3).
Yet, the apostle Paul talks openly in his letter to Colosse about having the full riches of complete understanding(Colossians 2:2). Understanding of what? Of the divine mysteries of preexistence—He is before all things…the beginning (Colossians 1:17-18)? Of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge(Colossians 2:3)? Of Christ in you the hope of glory(Colossians 1:27)?
Paul knew what had occurred in his own life. Prior to his meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, he self-identified as: a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the Law a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church(Philippians 3:5-6). Apparently the thought that Christ would be God Himself had not entered his mind—until he saw the light, that is.
Next Paul spent three years between Arabia and Damascus, “to pray, study, and be alone with Jesus” (Holman NT commentary online). Later on he was caught up to the third heaven…paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell(2 Corinthians 12:2-7). Talk about the inside scoop.
We should be awed by Paul’s insight. It took time and intimacy with the Lord to nurture such richness. Fortunately we too are invited into that intimacy. Jesus tells us that knowingGod and Jesus Christ is the divine definition of eternal life (John 17:2-3). To know, ginosko, is to know absolutely—“to understand, to have knowledge of”; but not just information, “experiential knowledge” (Holman online commentary). God may indeed be “beyond” me; still, there are things I can understand if I mine the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in His Word, if I spend the time getting to know Him.
If Paul says the full riches of complete understandingcan be ours, if Jesus prays for our growing knowledge of the Father (John 17:26), how can we resist the pull of divine intrigue? With the help of the Spirit, unravelling deep mysteries of the faith becomes our delight. Undaunted we dig in with Paul and the Colossians, unearthing such eternal jewels as these:
Preexistence:
He is before all things…the beginning(Colossians 1:17-18)
We begin with the beginning, the preexistence of God. In my Womenary class this spring I made most sense out of the cosmological argument of orderly arrangement: every effect, everything that happens, has a cause. That effect may become a cause in itself. Still, there had to be a primary, uncaused cause, and that primary cause had to preexist.
What caused the cause of the first effect ever—the creation of the heavens and the earth out of nothing? While the evolutionists argue unreasonablyfor random chance, we take God at His Word: In the beginning God created(Genesis 1:1). God is the uncaused cause, hence preexistent.
The Triune Nature of the Preexistent God:
That they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.(Colossians 2:2)
A little more mystery—the triune nature of the preexistent God. In the beginning God created(Genesis 1:1), and the Spirit of God was hoveringnearby (Genesis 1:2), and by him(Jesus) all things were created(Colossians 1:15). In the Christ Hymn (Colossians 1:15-20), Paul makes it clear that the fullness of God dwelt in the Son, Jesus. And this from John: He(Jesus) was with God in the beginning, in fact was God(John 1:1-2)—before all things, in the beginning, the uncaused cause.
Christ in You:
God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which Is Christ in you, the hope of glory.(Colossians 1:27)
In his book The Reason for God, p.220, Timothy Keller asks this provocative question: “Why did Jesus die for us? What was Jesus getting out of it? Remember, he already had a community of joy, glory, and love (within His Triune nature). He didn’t need us.” Yet He persisted, inviting us into His circle of love wherein we have a taste of divine glory now—a foretaste of forever.
And so the personal richesof the mystery unfold: Christ in (us), the hope of glory! God can be God, Jesus divine; but if I hadn’t unwrapped the clues of the incarnation, a perfect life, brutal suffering, death on the cross, the resurrection, where would I be?
Now Christ is in me, plus I am in Christ. Jesus Himself took this stance: “I (Jesus)in them (us)”(John 17:23), “just as you (God)are in me (Jesus)and I (Jesus)am in you (God)”(John 17:21). Add to God in us, and Jesus in us, the promised Holy Spirit sent at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) to live in all who have Christ in us (Romans 8:9).
In youis considered a “fixed position”—never to leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). As soon as we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior we are participants in the “divine nature”. Full riches, even glorious richesare ours. In Greek, full riches(Colossians 2:2) and glorious riches(Colossians 1:27) are superlatives!
Beyond the Beyond:
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully(1 Corinthians 13:12).
Ah, sweet mysteries of life, just begging to be solved. It all began before the beginning, before the heavens and the earth, before time. God was. God was before all things—God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. What a puzzle for the mind of finite man; yet, God beckons us in. Indeed, he rewards those who earnestly seek him(Hebrews 11:6).
And when we taste thy love,
Our joys divinely grow
Unspeakable, like those above,
And heaven begins below.
—Isaac Watts, Hymns and Spiritual Songs
Now I dig for and joyfully unearth divine treasure, the windows of my mind cracked open bit by bit towards heaven. But then, in glory, “beyond the beyond”—I honestly can only imagine!
Nancy Paul
Nancy Paul is Canadian born and bred but happily settled in Texas. She is married, mother of two, and grandmother of three busy boys. A long time Womenary student, she loves to read, is a lover of God's word and a wannabe writer. Nancy is a regular contributor to encouraging.com, a collection of blog articles regularly published by the women of Green Acres Baptist Church of Tyler. As well, she is the women's Bible study coordinator at GABC. 
