How Can We Know God Truly While Never Exhausting His Mystery? (Incomprehensibility)
The incomprehensibility of God is one of the most humbling truths in Scripture. To say God is incomprehensible does not mean He is unknowable, but that He is infinitely beyond the capacity of human understanding. A finite mind can grasp real truth about God, but it can never exhaust the fullness of who He is.
God’s incomprehensibility does not cancel His self-revelation. Rather, it magnifies it. He makes Himself known in His Word and supremely in Christ, so that we can know Him truly and certainly, though never fully. As one theologian put it, while incomprehensible, God is not inapprehensible. His mystery is not an obstacle to faith but an invitation into deeper awe and worship.
This attribute belongs alongside others, showing us the greatness and goodness of God. For readers exploring the fuller picture of His character, see the broader series on the Attributes of God.
This article will explore three aspects of God’s incomprehensibility: (1) mystery revealed through divine revelation, (2) the joy of knowing God truly yet never fully, and (3) the eternal wonder of God’s inexhaustible glory.
1. Mystery Revealed Through Divine Revelation
The Bible consistently affirms that God is beyond human comprehension. Job declares, “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7). Isaiah proclaims, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways” (Isaiah 55:9). Yet this same God reveals Himself, making His glory known.
Biblical mystery is not a puzzle to frustrate us but the reality of divine revelation. Paul uses the word “mystery” often, not to mean a riddle, but truths once hidden now made known in Christ (Ephesians 3:3–6). Such mysteries are revealed by God, grasped by faith, and yet remain inexhaustible.
God’s incomprehensibility is therefore positive, not negative. It means that every revelation of God gives us real truth, while also drawing us further into wonder. Just as one can gaze at a masterpiece of art and see new beauty each time, so knowing God leads to continual discovery of His unsearchable greatness (Psalm 145:3).
2. The Joy of Knowing God Truly Yet Never Fully
Though God is infinite, He intends to be known. John 17:3 defines eternal life as knowing “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” To know God is the highest blessing of human existence. But knowing Him does not mean mastering Him.
Human knowledge of God is always creaturely knowledge—limited, partial, yet true. Paul acknowledges this in 1 Corinthians 13:12: “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.” Even in glory, when believers behold Him without sin, they will still never exhaust His infinite being.
This truth brings assurance. Our salvation does not depend on exhaustive knowledge of God, but on true knowledge of Him as He has revealed Himself. A child’s faith in Christ is as secure as a scholar’s, because salvation rests not in the measure of knowledge but in the reality of the God who is known.
At the same time, incomprehensibility should produce joy. Knowing that God cannot be fully grasped means eternity will never be boring. We will always be learning, always growing in wonder, always beholding more of His beauty. The mystery is not meant to frustrate but to delight.
3. The Eternal Wonder of God’s Inexhaustible Glory
God’s incomprehensibility points us to the eternal future. Even in the beatific vision, when believers see God face to face, they will still recognize that He is forever greater. Heaven will not be the end of learning but the beginning of endless discovery.
This truth anchors our eschatological hope. Revelation 22 describes the Lamb as the light of the new creation, and His servants will worship Him forever. His incomprehensible glory will never run dry. Instead of exhausting Him, eternity will only deepen our joy in Him.
God’s incomprehensibility also assures us of the infinite worth of our salvation. The One who saves us is not a small or manageable deity but the infinite, eternal, unsearchable God. Our salvation is therefore secure, because it rests on a God beyond measure.
The Gospel embodies this truth. The incarnation, cross, and resurrection are mysteries in the truest biblical sense—revealed realities that surpass human understanding. As Paul wrote, the message of Christ crucified is the wisdom of God hidden before the ages but now revealed for our glory (1 Corinthians 2:7–8). God’s incomprehensibility draws us deeper into Christ, in whom “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
Conclusion
God’s incomprehensibility means that He is infinite, beyond the full grasp of human minds, and yet truly knowable through His revelation. It is not a barrier but a blessing, not a frustration but an invitation. We can know Him truly while never exhausting His mystery.
For the believer, this attribute inspires humility, awe, and joy. It assures us that our salvation is grounded in the infinite God who has revealed Himself in Christ. It excites us with the hope that eternity will be a never-ending journey into the wonder of His glory.
The incomprehensibility of God reminds us that while the finite cannot fully comprehend the infinite, we can apprehend Him truly, and in that true knowledge lies eternal life.
Bible Verses About God’s Incomprehensibility
Job 11:7 – “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?”
Isaiah 55:9 – “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Psalm 145:3 – “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”
Romans 11:33 – “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”
1 Corinthians 13:12 – “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
Ephesians 3:3–4 – “The mystery was made known to me by revelation… when you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ.”
Colossians 2:3 – “In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
1 Corinthians 2:7–8 – “We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.”
John 17:3 – “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Revelation 22:5 – “They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
