You're tuned into Everyday Theology in Plain English, making sense of God's truth for your everyday life. Here's your host, the man who can barely spell incommunicable, but is about to explain it. Charlie Miller.

Hey there, welcome back to Everyday Theology in Plain English. I'm so glad that you're here. Over the last two episodes, we've established that God exists and that we can actually know him. But today, we're going to explore something that might sound a little strange at first. What makes God completely different from us? And why that's actually really good news. Here's what I mean. We naturally tend to think of God as a bigger, better version of ourselves. Kind of like a superhero, right? Same basic qualities that we have, just amplified. Let's say, you know, we're strong, God is super strong, right? We're smart, God is super smart. We love, well, of course, God loves even more. And while there's some truth to that, and this is something really crucial. There are qualities that God has that we don't have at all, not even just a little bit. Now, theologians call these gods incommunicable attributes. And don't worry, we're going to make that term make sense. But the basic idea is this there are ways God is utterly, completely, totally different from any created thing, including us. Now, maybe you've never thought about this before, or maybe you have, and it's left you feeling distant from God. Like, if he's so different from us, how can we even relate to him? Now, I'll be honest, I used to think that these incommunicable attributes were just abstract theological concepts with no real practical relevance. And spoiler alert, I was completely wrong. Understanding what makes God different from us is actually one of the most comforting, stabilizing truths that you can discover. And here's what I want you to know right up front. The ways God is different from you aren't obstacles to your relationship with Him. They're the very things that make Him trustworthy, dependable, and worthy of your worship. Today, we're going to discover together what these unique qualities are and why they change everything about how you relate to God. So let's start with that fancy term, incommunicable attributes. What does that even mean? Well, here's the simple explanation. Incommunicable means unable to be shared or transferred. Now these are qualities that belong to God alone, qualities that he cannot and does not share with any created being. No human, no angel, no anything has these qualities. They are exclusively God's. Now, God does have other attributes that he shares with us in limited ways, things like love, wisdom, and justice. We call these communicable attributes, and we'll explore them in future episodes. But today we're focusing on what makes God absolutely unique. So let me walk us through four of these incommunicable attributes, and I think you'll start to see why they matter so much to your everyday life. So, first of all, God is independent, or what theologians call self-existent. Now, here's what this means: God doesn't need anything or anyone outside of himself to exist. He doesn't depend on anything. He wasn't created. He wasn't caused. He simply is. In Exodus chapter 3, verse 14, when Moses asked God for his name, God replied, I am who I am. Not I was or I will be, but I am. God's existence doesn't depend on anything else. He's the only being in the universe who can say that. Think about how different that is from us. I mean, you and I are dependent creatures. We need air, we need water, we need food, we need sleep, we need other people. We were born, and one day our earthly bodies will die. Our existence depends on countless factors outside of ourselves. But God, He needs nothing. Acts 17 25 says God is not served by human hands as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. Here's what's amazing about this: God didn't create you because he was lonely or bored or needed something from you. You're not filling a gap in God's life. You're receiving the gift of his. So the second thing is God is unchangeable, what theologians call immutable, right? So Malachi 3.6 puts it simply. It says, I, the Lord, do not change. James 1.17 describes God as one who does not change like shifting shadows. Now, this doesn't mean God is static or boring. It means his character, his promises, his love, these never waver. They never fluctuate, they never evolve into something different. The God who loved you yesterday loves you the same today, and he will love you the same way forever. Think about how different that is for us, right? I mean, we change constantly. Our moods shift, our opinions evolve, our commitments waver. Even the most reliable person you know has let you down at some point. But God, he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. His promises don't have expiration dates. His character doesn't depend on circumstances. When he says he loves you, that love isn't subject to change. Third, God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. Psalm 90, verse 2 says, Before the mountains were born, or you brought forth the whole world from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. And we exist in time. We have birthdays, we measure our lives in years. We remember the past, we experience the present, and we anticipate the future. Time is the very fabric of our existence. But God created time, He exists outside of it. He sees all of history, past, present, and future, in a single glance. A thousand years are like a day to him, and a day is like a thousand years. This is absolutely mind-bending, I know. But here's what it means practically. It means God is never in a hurry, and he's never too late. He's not anxiously watching the clock, wondering if his plans will work out. He holds all of time in his hands. Fourth, God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once. Psalm 139, verses 7 through 10 beautifully expresses this. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. We can only be in one place at one time. If I'm here, I'm not there. Our presence is absolutely limited. But God isn't limited by space any more than He's limited by time. He's fully present everywhere, not spread thin across the universe, but completely present in every location simultaneously. This means there's nowhere you can go where God isn't already there. No hospital room, no prison cell, no lonely apartment, no foreign country. Wherever you are right now, God is fully present with you. Now let me be really clear about something else. When we say God has these incommunicable attributes, we're not saying that God is some distant, impersonal force. These attributes don't make God cold or unreachable. They make him the only one worthy of our complete trust. They make him the only stable foundation in an absolutely unstable world. Quick pause. If this is making sense to you so far, drop a comment and let me know. And if you're confused about something, please ask. That's how we all learn together. And honestly, your questions help me explain things better for everyone. Now, you might be thinking, okay, Charlie, this is interesting theology, but how does knowing God is independent, unchangeable, eternal, and omnipresent, how does that actually affect my daily life? Well, you always ask such great questions. Let me give you three practical ways these truths transform how you live. So, first of all, God's independence frees you from performance anxiety in your relationship with Him. Let's picture someone, uh, we'll call her Jennifer, who represents many people I've talked to over the years. Uh, Jennifer loves God, but deep down, deep down, she feels like she has to earn his love through her service, right? Through her worship, through her obedience. If she has a bad week spiritually, she feels like God, well, he must be disappointed. Like she's letting him down. But here's the truth that sets Jennifer free. God doesn't need her. He's not dependent on her prayers or her service or her worship. He was perfectly complete and perfectly happy within the Trinity before she existed, and he'll be perfectly complete and perfectly happy forever. Now, that might sound discouraging at first. You know, great, God doesn't need me, so I'm worthless. No, that it's just the opposite. If God doesn't need you, then his relationship with you isn't about what he can get from you. It's pure gift, it's pure grace. He chose to create you, he chose to love you. Not because he was missing something, but because he's overflowing with goodness. When you truly grasp that God doesn't need you, you're finally free to enjoy him. Your relationship with God stops being about your performance and starts being about his love. Second, God's unchangeability gives you security in an insecure world. Let me paint you another picture. Uh, let's imagine a man, we'll call him Robert. And Robert's experienced a lot of change and disappointment in his life. Relationships have come and gone, jobs have been lost, people he trusted have let him down. He's really learned the hard way that nothing in this world is truly stable. Now, Robert struggles to trust God because everyone else in his life has eventually changed, usually for the worst. What guarantee does he have that God won't change, also? Well, here's the answer. God's unchangeability is the guarantee. Unlike every human relationship Robert has experienced, God will never wake up one day and decide he doesn't love Robert anymore. God's character doesn't shift with the circumstances. His promises don't expire. His love doesn't cool off. In a world where everything changes, where markets crash, where relationships end, where health fails and certainties just crumble around us, God remains the same. You can build your life on him and know the foundation won't shift. So, third, God's omnipresence means you're never truly alone. Now, this one is so practical, so immediate. Think about the loneliest moment that you've ever experienced. Maybe it was at a hospital room at like three in the morning. Maybe it was your first night after a divorce. Maybe it was being in a new city where you didn't know anyone. Maybe it's right now. In that loneliness, here's the truth: God was there. God is there, not watching from a distance, but fully present with you. Not divided attention, full attention, not eventually showing up already there before you even arrived. The psalmist David understood this. In Psalm 23, pretty famous one, he wrote, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. David didn't say God would meet him on the other side of the valley. He said God was with him in the valley. As we wrap up today's episode, here's what I want you to remember: the ways God is different from you aren't barriers to knowing him. They're the reasons you can completely trust him. Because God is independent, his love for you is pure grace, not neediness. And because God is unchangeable, his promises to you are absolutely secure. Because God is eternal, he's never rushed and he's never late. And because God is omnipresent, you are never, ever alone. So here's your assignment for this week. Pick one of these four incommunicable attributes we discussed: independence, unchangeability, eternity, or omnipresence, and meditate on it each day this week. When you wake up, remind yourself of that truth about God. When anxiety rises, apply that truth to your situation. When you pray, thank God for that specific quality. Notice how focusing on what makes God different from you actually draws you closer to Him. And now here's our community question, which I'd appreciate you answering in the comments. Which of these four incommunicable attributes, independence, unchangeability, eternity, or omnipresence, speaks most powerfully to where you are in life right now. Why does that one resonate with you? Maybe you're in a season of change and need his unchangeability. Or maybe you're feeling alone and you need his omnipresence. Share what's going on. Your honesty might help someone else realize that they're not alone in their struggles. And don't forget, we do have a companion guide for this season that goes deeper into each topic. You can check out the link in the show notes, and I appreciate you picking up a copy of that. Next episode, we're going to zoom in on one of these attributes, God's omnipresence. And we're going to explore what it really means that God is everywhere. I'm going to address a question that many people secretly wonder. If God is everywhere, why does he sometimes feel so far away? I think it could really help with how you experience God's presence in your darkest moments. Until then, remember, God is not like you. And that's the best news you could ever hear. His differences aren't distances. They're the very things that make him worthy of your trust, your worship, and your whole life. Thanks for joining me on Everyday Theology in Plain English. I'm Charlie Miller, and I'm so grateful that you're part of this community. I can't wait to continue this journey with you.