In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke (Isa 6:1-4).His transcendence is there in the language -- "high and lifted up". It's there in the scene -- surrounded by seraphim. It's there in the words -- "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Note that the repetition of the term "holy" is simply a way to emphasize it, like "holy, holier, holiest" or like we would do if we capitalized it, bolded it, and italicized it in print.) It's there in the simple fact that sinless angels themselves could not bring themselves to look on Him. Transcendent -- above, over, HOLY. (Yeah, like that.)
There is also His immanence. This concept is simply that He is here, present, immediate. He spoke to Moses in the burning bush. He visited Abraham and ate a meal. He is always and immediately present. David captured this beautifully in Psalm 139.
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you (Psa 139:7-12).Heaven, hell, darkness or light, God was ever-present. Oh, yeah, that's the term we all know, isn't it? "Omnipresent."
Quite often we Christians seem to err on one side of these two characteristics or the other. We tend to emphasize one and miss the other. For instance, the very popular perspective today about God is "the God who is my buddy". You know the one. It feels so good. The hymn said, "He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own." It's a glorious sense to know that the One who loves you is there with you. And that's all good. The error occurs when we diminish Him to "my buddy". That god (the lowercase "g" isn't a typo) is like your human friends. He'll wink at your indiscretions and not bother you about your faults. He's your pal; He won't be unkind or cause any discomfort or call you to task for your sins. No, no, He's a friend!
The other side, of course, is the transcendent. That one is glorious to behold. He's the unseen Hand that formed the glorious landscapes we all enjoy. He's the Sovereign who controls all, who works all things after His counsel, who causes all things to work together for your good. Great stuff! The error on this side occurs when we forget that He's present. This god is, well, distant. He's some old guy with a beard managing the universe without actually paying attention to you. He doesn't see your indiscretions or bother you about your faults. He doesn't make demands on you to be holy yourself because, well, He's too far removed. Frankly, He's almost the definition of "out of sight, out of mind".
There are a few things we can see in these twin errors. First, we learn that humans are prone to errors, especially in their views of God. It's something we need to keep in mind constantly. You know, deceitful heart and all. Second, what we really want, as sinful humans, is to enjoy the love and power of the Lord without actually submitting to the Lord. We want someone who will give us what we want and let us do what we want. Unfortunately, that god doesn't exist. Then there is the other lesson. A right view of God brings about all the good that God intended as well as avoiding the errors He did not. A right view of God makes demands on us that the transcendent God has the right to make and the immanent God has the presence to enforce. A transcendent God is majestic; an immanent God is present. We need both. It would be wise of us to keep both ever pressing in our thoughts. A God who is one or the other loses necessary attributes that we desperately need. A God who is one or the other is not God. We need to keep the transcendent and the immanent aspects of God in balance and ever present.
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