In R.E. exams at school, you have questions worth varying marks. The ‘easy’ questions usually involve a definition of a theological word and are worth two marks. Providing you have learnt the definition, these are considered ‘easy marks’.

Two of these words are ‘transcendence’ and ‘immanence’. Transcendence means ‘a state of being or existence above and beyond the limits of material experience’. When referring to God, it means that God is above and beyond the world, independent from the universe as we know it. One of God’s names is ‘God Most High’ (Ps 97:9). He sits enthroned on high (Ps 113:5). You only have to read Isaiah 40 to grasp something of the mightiness and transcendence of God. God is far above us, completely unlike us in holiness, majesty and power. Aristotle believed that God was transcendent, the ‘prime mover’ in the world, but not of the world.

Immanence is the opposite, ‘existing or remaining within’ and from a theological point of view refers to God’s presence and action within the world. According to the World Book Dictionary, the definition of immanence in a theological sense is ‘the pervading presence of God in His creation’ (seen, for example, in Ps 65:9-13).

The two attributes are opposite but complimentary, and need to be kept in the proper balance to understand God. He is both superior to, and absent from, His creation and yet very present and active within the universe. It’s relatively easy to give a definition of these words, much harder to grasp the mystery that is part of the divine revelation of the Godhead!

In exams, the questions worth more marks are those where pupils have to give longer, extended answers, often tackling some of these mysteries and giving their thoughts and understanding of Scripture. In the same way, we can understand definitions of God without really appreciating that these are meant to have a direct impact on our everyday living. Theology is not simply abstract knowledge or philosophical meditation. Our understanding of who God is and what He is like shapes our own thinking, reactions, values and way of life far more than we perhaps understand.

The fact of God’s immanence shows us that He is near to us (see Job 33:4, Phil 4:5), a tremendous encouragement to us when we feel alone and vulnerable. But we also need to know that God is unlike us (Is 55:8-9) and has all power and knowledge and wisdom if we are to live with confidence and without fear in a world where heartache can hit like a hurricane and all that seems secure can crumble in seconds. Eugene Peterson calls angels ‘witnesses to transcendence’. We need to have a balanced view of God’s transcendence and His immanence if we are to live confident, secure, trusting lives… which is of much greater value than any number of exam marks!

We also had birthdays to celebrate last night!

On Sunday evening we looked at Paul’s instruction to Timothy, “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:6-7)

There are times when we feel it’s all down to us to keep our first love ablaze, but we need to understand that God is able to complete the work He has started in our lives (Phil 1:6). There is no need for us to backslide or fall away from God, because God has given us all that we need to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. Paul’s confidence does not come from his own personal circumstances (most of the New Testament was written from prison cells and he certainly endured much hardship for Christ’s sake!), but from the fire of God which burned within him.

That fire of God can burn even in wilderness periods. David found that when he was on the run from Saul and living in caves, he learned to depend on God and found him to be his refuge (see Ps 11:1, for example.) The wilderness can be a wild, dangerous place, but God is present there just as much as He is present in the ordinary. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God to win a battle against the enemy. We may find ourselves in situations where God feels a long way away, but it’s not all about feelings! God remains true, faithful, ever dependable, wherever we are.

Ezekiel, in the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezek 37), saw the miraculous occur as God breathed on the dry bones to bring life from nothing. The dual aspect of fanning into flame the gift of God is similar to rekindling a fire that is about to go out. We have to rake through the ashes, repenting of our sin and desire for independence. But we also need the fuel of God’s Spirit in our lives if we are to see the fire rekindled. Only God can give us the courage, strength and grace that we need, but we can have confidence in Him because He is “able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy,” (Jude 1:24)

God, after all, is the One who will keep the fires burning! Matt Redman, ‘Fires’

Alan spoke this morning on the enlightenment that knowledge brings, specifically looking at the subject of Creation. He talked about how the Bible gives us answers to the fundamental questions in life such as ‘Where did we come from? Why are we here? What’s our place and purpose in the world?’ The Bible explains that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, made in God’s image. God is the Creator of the universe and our Creator. He is omniscient (Ps 139:2-6, Is 40: 13-14), and though men may reject a knowledge of God, God has given us ample evidence of His works so that we are without excuse (Rom 1:18-22).

When we are born, we lack knowledge and possess only instinct. A baby can float in water, for example; it learns that crying attracts attention and brings food and care! But as we grow, we can add learning and knowledge to instinct and can grow in grace and in an understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10)

The word translated ‘handiwork’ or ‘workmanship’ in Ephesians 2:10 in Greek is ‘poiema’, from which the English word poem is derived. Few of us think of ourselves as poems! Our lives mostly seem banal, mundane, ordinary. At best we feel like prose, and usually not even exciting prose at that!

But with the eyes of faith we can see ourselves in a different light. Our lives are like songs, ‘a poem with meaning more than words can say.’ God is shaping us, moulding us, making us into something beautiful. There is significance and purpose even in the ordinariness of our everyday lives.

“Life is a song we must sing with our days,
A poem with meaning more than words can say,
A painting with colours no rainbow can tell,
A lyric that rhymes either heaven or hell.
We are living letters that doubt desecrates,
We’re the notes of the song of the chorus of faith,
God shapes every second of our little lives
And minds every minute as the universe waits by.

So look in the mirror and pray for the grace
To tear off the mask, see the art of your face
Open your ear lids to hear the sweet song
Of each moment that passes and pray to prolong
Your time in the ball of the dance of your days
Your canvas of colors of moments ablaze
With all that is holy
With the joy and the strife
With the rhythm and rhyme of the poem of your life
With the rhythm and rhyme of the poem of your life.” (Michael Card, ‘The Poem of Your Life’)
Michael Card, ‘The Poem of Your Life’

Dave preached from John 20:19-29 last night, looking particularly at Thomas’s responses to the Resurrection. We are privileged to know the ending of the Easter story every day, but the disciples on that first Easter Sunday were broken-hearted and confused, afraid and worried. They had been expecting to find a dead body in the tomb and were not quite sure what to make of the subsequent reports of resurrection. The disciples needed the confirmation of this amazing fact, which Jesus gave to them in this encounter.

Jesus appeared to them in a locked room: no wonder they needed Him to calm their fears as He had calmed the raging seas. Thomas was not there on this occasion, however, and missed that opportunity to meet with Jesus. Christ is present with us every time we meet together in His name, and we need to be there, for we always need His reassurance, His teaching, His revelation and power in our lives.

Thomas wanted proof and reassurance. Although forever labelled ‘doubting Thomas’ from this passage, he teaches us how to move from doubt to declaration. Presumably he found the other disciples’ report of their encounter with Jesus difficult to believe: after all, these were the same disciples who had fled Jesus at the Cross, who had betrayed Him, who had been so afraid and scared just a week beforehand. Maybe he was doubting their word because their walk had not matched their talk. Whatever his reasons, Jesus appeared to him to settle all his doubts, urging him to come and see.

We may not see Jesus physically in the same way that Thomas did. Will we believe the same story? The blessing God has is great for those who not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). We are called to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). We may not be able to prove everything about our faith, but we can still believe and can still declare, as Thomas did, ‘my Lord and my God!’