As we seek to study God, we often try to reduce Him to a manageable size. We like God to be small, something we can fully understand. But God far transcends our imagination. Three qualities that demonstrate the mystery of God are His triunity, His self-existence, and His self-efficiency.
The Triunity of God
When it comes to the triunity of God—that God is Father, Son, and Spirit, yet one God—reason cannot comprehend the mystery. This is not to say the Trinity is opposed to reason, but to say it is beyond reason. However, what is beyond reason can be known by faith. Therefore, we need to accept the truth of the Trinity on the basis of God’s Word through faith. The Trinity, after all, is not something we would come up with on our own. It is outside our realm of understanding, and we are immersed in mystery when we consider it.
Every action of the Trinity is done in perfect unity. We see this, for example, in the act of creation. God the Father had a role (Genesis 1:1), God the Son had a role (Colossians 1:16), and God the Spirit had a role (Psalm 104:30). In every one of Their works, all three Persons are in full accord.
The Self-Existence of God
God is utterly unique in His self-existence: He has no origin, no beginning. Because He is self-existent and we are created beings, we cannot fully grasp this quality of God. Our minds are limited and finite; they have a beginning.
As we approach the mystery of God, we need to be humble and realize that the bigger our vision of God, the more security in Him we will have. On the flip side, if we have a small view of God, our problems will seem overwhelming. There comes a point where we are immersed in mystery, and we need to avoid reducing God in our minds. We must deny ourselves and our desire to be in control by submitting to Him and trusting in Him.
The Self-Sufficiency of God
In addition to being triune and self-existent, God is also self-sufficient. He does not need us; we need Him. God can be neither elevated nor degraded, for He is perfect and complete in Himself. His plans will not be thwarted (Job 42:2).
Apart from God, we would be nothing. We have value because He has chosen to give us value, making us in His image. Consider the greatness God has called us to in Him: we gain everything by following Him, even if we have material loss. The One who is self-sufficient can and will provide for us in every way through His love (Romans 8:37–38).
This study is based on J. I. Packer’s Knowing God and A. W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy.
For more on the mystery of the Trinity, read Ken Boa’s God I Don’t Understand.
