Perfect, Unchangeable, Personal, and Good

PROPERTIES OF AN INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS (GOD)—INFINTE

In our past four studies, we’ve explored the question, “Does God Exist or Are We Just Making It Up?” Our starting point was to examine the origin of the universe. Both science (Big Bang Cosmology and the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics), and logic (the absurdity of an Infinite Causal Regress) point to a finite Universe that began to exist on its own.

Since the Universe began to exist, and all things that began to exist were caused to exist, we asked, “Then what caused the Universe to exist since it is finite?” We saw that it is reasonable to posit an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS as the FIRST CAUSE of the Universe, and since this FIRST CAUSE is infinite, there is no cause to this FIRST CAUSE.

It is logical to say that an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, this UNCAUSED CAUSE, God, was the FIRST CAUSE of the Universe. Finite things are caused to come into existence. Finite things have beginnings when they came into existence, and they also have endings when they no longer exist. Finite things have beginnings and endings. In contrast, something that is infinite has neither a beginning nor ending. It does not have a start or stop. It has always existed as an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS.

Positing an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS removes the logical absurdity of something finite creating something finite, creating something finite, creating something finite, ad infinitum. This makes sense out of all the finite stuff that exists in the Universe because an UNCAUSED CAUSE began at all.

Now what does this INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, this UNCAUSED CAUSE, this God, look like? What properties comprie something that is infinite? We can discover this in backwards fashion; that is, we discover its properties by looking at the properties of things that are finite. The obvious first property of an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS (in contrast to something that is finite) is that it is Infinite.

INFINITE

To avoid the logical absurdity of an Infinite Causal Regress, the solution is to posit a FIRST CAUSE, which is uncaused and infinite. As an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, it never came into existence but has always existed infinitely.

Now, let’s suppose that because it was infinite, it was endowed with enough power and intelligence to bring all else into existence. This is what the prophet Jeremiah says this about God,

Jeremiah 10:12— “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.”

PROPERTIES OF AN INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS (GOD)—EVERLASTING

While finite things exist materially, in both time and space, an infinite thing does not. It is not limited in any way. It can’t be. Why? Where would it stop? It has no beginning, and it has no end. There is no starting and no stopping. It is without limit in time and space. It is outside of time. It is everlasting.

EVERLASTING

This is what the Bible says about God. He exists as an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, therefore is outside of time. He is everlasting. He has no starting or stopping. Notice the following Biblical passages that speak of God as everlasting. He has always existed:

1Chr. 29:10— "David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, ‘Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.’”

Neh. 9:5— "And the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah—said: ‘Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.’”

Psa. 41:13— "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.”

Psa. 90:2— "Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Psa. 106:48— "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, ‘Amen! Praise the LORD.”

Is. 40:28— "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.”

Rev. 1:8— “’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

Rev. 21:6— "He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’”

Rev. 22:13— "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

In Genesis 21:33, Abraham “called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.” Eternal means “outside of time.” If we accept the Biblical account as true, we can say he alone is infinite, without limit, and eternal.

PROPERTIES OF AN INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS (GOD)—SPIRIT

This INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS or God is not like any of the time, space, matter, and energy stuff of the universe. It is not in time and space; therefore, it is not matter. It is not made of matter, energy, quantum particles, or anything else that you can count or that occupies time and space, no matter how large the number might be.

An infinite thing cannot occupy time or space or matter because it would be limited. It has no limit; therefore, it cannot exist in that state. If an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS is not matter, made out of stuff that occupies time and space, or limited to the material realm, the only other category we have is something we would call spiritual or Spirit.

SPIRIT

This is what Jesus says about God:

John 4:23-24— "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Moses tells us,

Num. 23:19— "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

These verses explain that God is not like a man. He doesn’t occupy time and space in a material way. The reason God is outside time and space, and everlasting is because He is Spirit. Because He is Spirit, he can occupy time and space spiritually without being part of finiteness.

The Psalmist prays,

Psa. 139:7— "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”

Solomon rightly discerns that God can’t be contained in time and space:

1Kings 8:27— “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”

Why can’t the highest heavens contain God? Because God is not physical. An INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS is not physical but Spirit or spiritual. Finite things have starts and stops and boundaries to their existence. Take for example a table— notice that it has edges. There are boundaries to the table. Notice that the table doesn’t take up a whole room, or the whole house, or the whole earth. It is limited by its dimensions; it occupies a finite time and space. The same is true of your body…of a microphone…of a loaf of bread…and of everything else including the Universe itself.

All physical things are finite with measurable boundaries, beginnings, endings, starts, and stops. A plate is over here, and a croissant is over there. Each lacks properties the other has. Each has unique dimensions because they are finite. They are limited, occupying a particular time and space. An INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS is Spirit so is without limit in terms of time and space.

PROPERTIES OF AN INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS — UNIQUE

An INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, this infinite, eternal, spiritual reality, is totally Unique. There is none like it. Why is that? Because there can only be one infinite. Why can’t you have two infinites? Because anything that is like it, with no time and space limits, would be the same thing.

UNIQUE

This is what the Bible says about God:

Ex. 15:11— “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

Deut. 33:26— “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.”

2 Sam. 7:22— “How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you.”

2 Chr. 6:14— “He said: ‘O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.’”

Psa. 35:10— My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

Psa. 71:19— Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you?

Psa. 89:8— O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

Jer. 10:7— Who should not revere you, O King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

Mic. 7:18— Who is a God like you…?

So, as we look at what the Bible says about God, we see that it is consistent with what we know about an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS. God in totally Unique.

PROPERTIES OF AN INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS — ONE

An INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS is not only Unique, but similarly must also be One. We have already said there can only be one infinite. There can’t be two infinites because anything like it that is without limits, would be the same thing. Think of what infinite is. It has no beginning and no ending. It is fully actualized in all its properties. It is not a dichotomy. It has no divisions. Where would one infinite stop and the other begin?

Finite things can be divided into multiples, but you can’t divide infinite. You can divide a cupcake, but you can’t divide infinite. Finite things can be opposites. You can have darkness and you can have light. But an infinite thing cannot be dichotomous. It can’t be both light and dark, or good and evil, because whatever property infinite holds, it holds infinitely. An INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS can’t have divisions or multiples. It is Without Limit in terms of time and space.

ONE

You can’t say something is infinite and at the same time say there are two of them, as that would be a logical contradiction. To have two things, one must lack properties that the other one has, or visa-versa. It’s like A has properties B doesn’t have, and B has properties A doesn’t have. That’s what makes them different. Finite things can be divided into multiples. You can divide up finite things and they can be opposites. Opposite things can exist as finite things such as darkness and light. But an infinite thing can’t be dichotomous because whatever property it holds, it holds infinitely. That’s why 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

An INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS can’t have divisions. It can’t be multiples. It can’t be divided. For example, if I have an eraser, a finite object, occupying time and space, and you have the exact same eraser, your eraser would occupy a different space with limited boundaries. In contrast, if it is an infinite thing, with no starts or stops, beginnings or endings, there would not be room for another infinite thing. Thus, when we talk about an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, it must be One.

To say there is a multiplicity of INFINITE STATES OF AFFAIRS is a logical contradiction. An INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS can only be One. The Old Testament Shema, the central Jewish prayer and declaration of faith, recited twice daily – morning and evening:

Deuteronomy 6:4— “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

The entire revelation of God in the Bible is that He is One. There is not another like Him. There is nothing like him. He is Unique. He is One, as the Psalmist declares:

Psalm 113:5— “Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high?”

“Who is like the LORD our God?” is a rhetorical question. There’s no one like God. Why? Because if He exists as an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, there can only be One when the Bible speaks of “gods” it is usually a reference to false gods.

Any religious system that that claim God of gods as a multiplicity, that is, more than One, is false. Why? Because, the true God, this Ultimate Reality, this Necessary Being, in order to halt the absurdity of an Infinite Causal Regress, must be uncaused, has always existed, is infinite and One. If he is infinite, there can’t be a multiplicity of gods. There is no division and there cannot be any dichotomy in an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS.

The various forms of polytheism that claim that ultimate reality is comprised of a multiplicity of gods, are false because those gods are limited and finite by their multiplicity. Even if the adherents of polytheism claim that their gods are infinite, they can’t be because there is a multiplicity of them, and there can only be one infinite. There can only one God because there can only be one infinite.

Then what about the Trinity? Do Christians believe in three gods? No, Christians believe in the Infinite, Unique, One God. In the same way that they believe that the INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS can only be One logically, Christians know that there is One God with no division. So how can they have the Father, Son, and Spirit? These are the ways that God has extended (protruded) Himself to humans. He can express Himself in different forms simultaneously and protrude into tje time and space world without dividing Himself up like you and I are divided and separate as persons.

When Christians say “persons of the Trinity” they are not saying Gordon, Tony, and myself; that is, three separate finite persons. It is more akin to my (Linus) relating as a husband, father, and grandfather. I am one person but relate to my wife, children, and grandchildren at different times in different ways. God is One but extends Himself to us at Father, Son, and Spirit.

God is an infinite Tri-Une (Three-One) being without division. In that Triune relationship, Father, Son, and Spirit, all have the same essence and Oneness. God is not three separate persons, in the same way that you and I are separate persons. He is a United, Infinite, Tri-une Being who has always been and will always be, without dimensions, divisions, or partitions. In that sense He is One.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Christian theists hold that this UNCAUSED CAUSE, that never began to exist, holds the property of what is called in(not)-finite. It’s not unlike any other time and space stuff of the physical Universe. To stop the absurdity of an Infinite Causal Regress, which cannot be the answer, Christians have posited an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, God, the infinite UNCAUSED CAUSE, who brought all things into existence. That gives us a starting point without begging the question of what caused that first cause.

Finite things have beginnings, and they have endings, and when they have endings, they don’t exist anymore. Here we are, we came into existence physically, and then we cease to exist physically. While finite things exist materially and have limits, an infinite entity does not. This explains how all things in our Universe came into existence. They were caused into existence. Since the Universe began to exist, then it needs a cause for its beginning. The Universe must have been caused because it came into existence, and all things that came into existence require a cause.

In contrast to the Universe, which had a beginning, there is no cause to the first cause because it has always existed. It is logical to say that at an INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, an UNCAUSED CAUSE, God, was the first cause of the Universe. Because He is Spirit, He is not like any of the other time and space, matter and energy stuff of the Universe. He is Without Limit and Everlasting. This INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, God, is also Unique, and One.

We will see in the next two chapters that this INFINITE STATE OF AFFAIRS, God, is also Perfect, Unchangeable, Personal, Good, Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent. All these qualities counter Polytheism, Pantheism, Monism, Animism, and Spiritualism.

[1] As noted earlier, much of the first few chapters of this material is drawn from Kit Lauer’s apologetic class presented at Hope Chapel, Kihei, Hawaii.

[1] “Essay; A Famous Einstein ‘Fudge’ Returns to Haunt Cosmology”

[2] Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, OM, FRS did his greatest work in astrophysics. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science.

[3] “String Theory Explained in Simple Words,” Posted on August 6, 2018 by astrogeekz.

[4] The accidental discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation is a major development in modern physical cosmology. Although predicted by earlier theories, it was first found accidentally by Penzias and Wilson Their discovery was evidence for an expanding Universe, (Big Bang Theory and was evidence against the Steady State model. For more see, “What is the cosmic microwave background? By Elizabeth Howell , Daisy Dobrijevic published January 28, 2022.

[5] “Bell Labs researchers discover cosmic background radiation”

Next up: Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent