“If there is a God, what is he like?” is a question that challenges every person in every age. How we answer the question determines how life is lived in the present and in the life to come. The Bible is Christianity’s answer to this critical question, and it reveals God’s nature by recording his names and what he has done.
It is important to realize God’s names are not simply labels but actual descriptions of his essential character traits. Therefore, the importance of God’s name is a significant theme throughout the biblical narrative. For example, the familiar Lord’s Prayer begins with the statement, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Jesus said to the Father in his John 17 prayer, “I have revealed your name to the men whom you gave me.” The Psalmist wrote, “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name, make known among the nations what he has done.”
In the first three chapters of Genesis, two names of God are introduced: God (Elohim) and LORD (Jehovah). These two names offer a framework for all the other names that come later. In this blog, I want to explore God’s revelation of his nature through his names, expressly as they declare his transcendence and immanence. Although Scripture does not use these two terms, theologians use them to help us understand God as he has revealed himself.
Transcendence means that God is above, beyond, and outside of all he has created. He is not only the creator of matter, space, and time, but he is separate from them. God is “other” than what he has made and not dependent on it in any way. Consequently, he is the sovereign ruler over all he has created (1 Chronicles 29:11). Transcendence does not imply that we cannot know anything about God, but it does imply that we cannot know everything about God, and what we do know is the result of his special revelation.
“God’s immanence refers to His presence within His creation. (It is not to be confused with imminence, which refers to the timing of Jesus’ return to earth.) A belief in God’s immanence holds that God is present in all of creation while remaining distinct from it. In other words, there is no place where God is not. His sovereign control extends everywhere simultaneously.”1
Transcendence does not eliminate the reality of his immanence or ability to be with us/among us. These two concepts appear to be polar to us, but they are not. Opposites would imply that transcendence and immanence exist in a one-dimensional relationship at opposite ends of a straight line. Moving closer to one end (immanence, for example), you move further away from the other (transcendence). Instead of a straight line, it is better to think of them in two dimensions as a binary code representing the nature of God.
Notice in the diagram that the connecting perpendicular and horizontal lines form an x/y axis, which expresses a binary code. When we let the x-axis represent his immanence and the y-axis represent his transcendence, the four quadrants help us understand the four major religious views. For example, Quadrant I affirms God’s transcendence and immanence, which is theism. Deism, in its various forms (Quadrant II), removes God’s immanence and stresses his transcendence. Atheism (Quadrant III) denies both; hence, no God exists. Pantheism, in quadrant IV, denies God’s transcendence and makes God equal to creation with little or no distinction from it.
The names of God in the Bible fit into Quadrant I and focus on God’s transcendence or immanence without denying one or the other. Elohim (God) emphasizes God’s transcendence, while Jehovah (LORD) emphasizes God’s immanence.
In translating the Old Testament, the English Bible delineates Elohim as “God” and Jehovah as “LORD.” In the second account of creation in Genesis 2:4+, the text uses the dual name of LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) twelve times when referring to God. Conclusion: from the beginning, God wanted us to understand that he is a sovereign creator and a personal, present being.
Note that when Satan entices Eve to rebel against the LORD God, he drops the personal LORD and uses only the transcendent Elohim. When Eve responds, she also drops the personal name of God and uses only Elohim. In tempting Eve, Satan certainly could not deny God as Creator, but he could bring into question God’s personal and relational nature: “Is God good?”
Understanding and relating to God as both transcendent and immanent is a challenge. Down through church history, this challenge can be seen in the architecture of our places of worship. The medieval cathedrals, with their high spires and tall arches, put the focus on God above: his transcendence. Walking into these massive structures, one can’t help but look up. Unfortunately, the personal relationship is often missing. Today’s church architecture puts the focus on God’s immanence. Stadium seating auditoriums put our focus down rather than up. Today the focus is more on God among us than on God high above us.
There are names of God in Scripture that emphasize his transcendence:
- Elohim: (God) The Strong Creator God (Gen. 1:1)
- Adonai: (Lord) The God Who Rules (Gen. 15:2
- El-Shaddai: I am God Almighty (Gen 17:1-2; Gen. 49:24)
- The Alpha and The Omega (Rev 1:8)
There are also names of God that emphasize his immanence:
- Jehovah (LORD): specifies immediacy and presence (Exod. 6:2; Exod. 3:13-14)
- Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Our Provider (Gen 22:14)
- Jehovah Tsaba: The Lord Our Warrior (1 Sam. 17:45-47)
- Jehovah Shalom: The Lord Is Peace (Judges 6:24)
- Jehovah Rohi: The Lord My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
- Jehovah Nissi: The Lord My Banner (Exod. 17:15)
- Jehovah Rapha: The Lord Who Heals (Exod. 15:26)
Jesus expanded our understanding of the nature of God and used his names to reveal it. Building on the “I Am” (Jehovah) from the Old Testament, Jesus claims his nature in seven names.
- “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51).
- “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
- “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7,9).
- “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
- “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14).
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
- “I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5).
Along our spiritual journey, there are times we need to lean into (trust in) the names of God that emphasize his transcendence: his creative sovereign authority over us. There are other times when we need to experience more of his immanence: his covenant relational presence with us. The Psalms are helpful because they help us express both. They speak to our hearts to submit to God’s authority while depending on him in a very personal, life-changing way.
Discovering God in the landscapes of our lives focuses on God’s immanence: how he reveals himself by a personal touch. In the next blog, we will look at how people in Scripture experienced God’s name in their particular landscape of life.
1 gotquestions.org
For Reflection:
- What can happen when we lose the balance between the transcendence and immanence of God?
- Describe a time in your life when you were struck by the transcendence of God.