Theological Term of the Week

transcendence
The term used to describe God’s independence and distinction from creation, and his control over it.

• From scripture: 
  

  For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

  neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

  For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

  so are my ways higher than your ways

  and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)

• From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem:

  The teaching of Scripture about the relationship between God and creation is unique among the religions of the world. The Bible teaches that God is distinct from his creation. He is not part of it, for he has made it and rules over it. The term often used to say that God is much greater than creation is the word transcendent. Very simply,  this means that God is far “above” the creation in the sense that he is greater than the creation and he is independent of it.

• From Salvation Belongs to the Lord by John Frame:

When Scripture uses the “up there” language, theologians call it transcendence….

…[S]ome theologians have misunderstood God’s transcendence. They think it means that God is so far away from us that we cannot really know him, so far that human language can’t describe him accurately, so far that to us he’s just a great heavenly blur without any definite characteristics. This concept of transcendence is unbiblical. If God is transcendent in that way, how can he also be near to us/ Furthermore, according to the Bible we can know definite things about God. Despite the limitations of human language, God is able to use human language to tell us clearly and accurately who he is and what he has done.

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: Transcendence of God
2. Gotquestions.org: What does it mean that God is transcendent?
3. J. Hampton Keathley, III: What God Is Like
4. Bruce Ware: Beholding the God of Merciful Holiness: Transcendence, Immanence, and Ministry (mp3)

Related terms:

• aseity
• immanence
• sovereignty of God

Filed under God’s Nature and His Work.

Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.

Round the Sphere Again: Kid's Lit

Author
“In 1951, E. B. White — the novelist responsible for, most notably, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little — was accused by the ASPCA of not paying his dog tax and, as a result, “harboring” an unlicensed dog.”

He responded with this quirky little letter (Letters of Note).

Illustrator
A few of 19th century children’s book illustrator Peter Newell’s topsy-turvy illustrations (mental_floss Blog). (A topsy-turvy is a design or picture that looks right either right side up or upside-down.)

You can page through Newell’s Topsys and Turvys in Google Books. (That title looks so wrong to me; I would have spelled it the right way: “Topsies and Turvies”.)

The Salutary Tendency of the Doctrine of Election

Sometimes the thought of election leads Paul to issue an invitation to praise: ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who … chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy … in love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons … to the praise of his glorious grace …’ (Eph. 1:3ff., NIV). Sometimes, again, Paul invokes election to bring Christians assurance and encouragement (‘comfort’ in the strong Bible sense of the word): ‘Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? … Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?’ (Romans 8:33ff.). Sometimes, too, Paul makes election a basis for ethical appeal: ‘Put on therefore, as God’s elect … a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering …’ (Col. 3:12, RV). … [W]e can hardly be right in treating the doctrine of election as an unedifying encumbrance when in Paul’s hands it becomes a motive and mainspring of worship and assurance and holy living. A doctrine which has this salutary tendency cannot really be either unedifying or unimportant. 

From the chapter on election in  18 Words: The Most Important Words You Will Ever Know by J. I. Packer.