What is Meant by No Greater? Part II

In trying to define God we are trying to define the undefinable. No human definition will ever be sufficient to fully describe God. He is far more than any man can comprehend, or any accumulation of men’s intellect can grasp. We would be better off trying to put up a fence around an unlimited expanse; as soon as you do that it is no longer unlimited no matter how huge it would be.

Therefore another reason for this definition is for the sake of the one who says there is a God, the believer. Whoever would take up the cause of defending the Christian belief in God would have to do so with the humble acknowledgement that his own, not just the unbeliever’s but also the believer’s, understanding of God is very inadequate. He too could well have misconceptions about God, conceptions of God that could turn out to be wrong conceptions when held to account by those who can see the fallacies. So this definition is a humbling definition for the believer who knows that any thought might come up, a light showing something that he has not seen before, and he must be willing immediately to embrace a conception of God that is greater still. For there is nothing that can excel God for any positive attribute.

This definition is an encompassing definition. For both he who says there is a God and he who says there is no God this definition sufficiently covers any and all the particulars about God that could possibly be thrown into the debate. God would have to be greater in any positive attribute; and this definition leaves it wide open as to any positive attribute. Whatever attribute we may contemplate, He who would have it to the greatest and purest extent would be God, the same God about which both sides must be speaking.

It is an eliminating definition, one that disqualifies everything else so that only God is left to fit the definition. Anything that might compete with God for any particular that could be included in the definition is excluded on the basis that only a conception of God could be greater still. The limitlessness and eternity, or unchangeability, of God would be unexcelled and unexcellable. It also eliminates nonsense propositions such as whether God is able to create something so big that He cannot move it.

Another reason, it is a definition appropriate to our place under God that it still allows us to speak in praise of Him. God is a spiritual being, and we only partly understand what that means. When we praise Him for His love, for example, or His knowledge, or His power, we would know what these mean because we too are spiritual creatures; but we only have a vague idea of what these would look like in the unlimited and eternal and unchangeable form suitable to God’s love, God’s knowledge, and God’s power. God would have these in the form that could never be excelled by any other being; so He would have these in a form we could not really define; unless, that is, we defined them by the elimination of anything that is less. Our description and praise of God would then not be acceptable to Him unless we ascribe unto God the glory due His name.

We know that God loves perfectly, and we see in the Bible how He loved us in Jesus Christ. We marvel at His boundless wisdom and love. But the depth of that wisdom and the greatness of that love which was extended to sinners through the Saviour’s death on the cross are still far beyond our comprehension. When we praise Him our praise must be open in such a way that it does not diminish God’s attributes, but still allows us to express what our limited hearts tell us to express; it must be acceptable to God even though it is according to our limitations and not according to His limitless character. So we use the negative form, such as “boundless grace” and “unsearchable greatness” to describe His attributes. Such descriptions do not limit God, and yet allows us to ascribe glory to His name. Even in using positive descriptions we still assume the negative form in them, so that we may speak them without diminishing God’s greatness.

We have many songs of praise to this holy God. Here is an example:

Make known his glory to the nations;

Declare to all their populations

His marvellous works, for he, the LORD,

Is to be worshipped and adored.

Praise him with joyful exclamations.

Notice that this praise does not limit God in any way. To the degree that we acknowledge God’s marvellous works to that degree all praise is extended to Him. But we assume this “glory” and these “marvellous works” in a way that describes them in the negative form, which recognizes their unlimited and unfathomable depth. If we should comprehend even more of His glory or His marvellous works then these same words would still apply. Our conceptions of God remain open to improvement and to a fuller knowledge. We still confess that we ourselves are changeable creatures while we speak of His unchangeable greatness. For after we have changed for the better, in our knowledge of God and our understanding of His nature, even though we know we need to change more yet, still the same words may be sung with all the heart. The words have to be open to any and all improvements in our conception and still be words with concrete meaning.

In the same way, the concept of “no greater” will apply to God at whatever level of greatness our changing conceptions might conceive of God. We humbly acknowledge our lowly and limited conceptions of God, and yet the conception can be wholly worthy unto God. The negative form, “no greater”, gives no suggestion of human limits being put on it, while the positive form, “the greatest” is open to the suggestion of implying human limits. God is not “the greatest” of man’s conceptions, but is greater than man can conceive. Whatever “the greatest” conception man may have, God is greater still. He is the one than which a greater cannot be conceived.

We should not be rashly talking about God’s character in such a way as to reduce it to our level of understanding. Nor may we with or without our knowledge deprive God of His due in our expression or description of Him, in our praise of Him or in our conversation about Him with others.  We need a definition that always opens us up for correction, which holds us to a standard at the same time as we sing His praises.

That is why the negative form is taken. Our conceptions may change, but that to which our conception reaches out cannot be of anything greater than when we think of God. We cannot know what this greatness looks like, but we can know that nothing can be greater. It includes us in the desire to get to know God better, to be better informed as to the holiness of this God.

 

In the cause of a debate about God’s existence, this definition puts the believer in the same category as the one who says there is no God: they both need to confess to God that they do not know Him as well as they should. But it is only faith which is open to correction by God, which is open to understanding God’s holy ways, of growing in understanding.

So here is the difference: faith seeking understanding.