transcendence
Definition
Transcendence refers to God’s presence and nature that surpasses creation: he is above and beyond the created order, unapproachable in his absolute Being, unsearchable in his ways. In the theological tradition of this corpus, transcendence functions not as an endpoint but as the problem that the economy of salvation had to solve: how can the inaccessible God dwell within humanity?
Uses per Author
Watchman Nee / Witness Lee
Nee/Lee treat transcendence as the characterization of the Father in his absolute inapproachability — the problem that the Trinitarian economy resolves:
“God the Father is the universal source of all things. He is invisible and unapproachable. How can God the Father, who dwells in unapproachable light (1Tim. 6:16), be in us?”
(Lee, The Economy of God, ch. 1)
“In the past it was impossible for man to approach the Father. He was solely God and His nature was solely divine. There was nothing in the Father to bridge the gap between God and man.”
(ibid., ch. 1)
For Nee/Lee, transcendence is the starting problem: the inaccessible Father becomes accessible through the Son and the Spirit.
George Warnock
Warnock sets God’s transcendence as the tension that the incarnation addressed: God could not remain at a distance forever:
“That great and almighty God of the universe, who created all things, could not forever remain high and exalted in the heavens… with a reputation of being mighty and powerful, but unmoved by the needs of the people He had created. He had to come down and show people what He is really like.”
(The Hyssop that Springeth Out of the Wall, hyssop2.html)
Transcendence and immanence for Warnock are not opposites but two aspects of God’s greatness: his transcendence makes his condescension all the more significant.
Stephen Jones
Jones emphasizes the unsearchableness of God’s ways as an expression of his transcendence:
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33)
(Secrets of Time, Foreword)
God’s transcendence for Jones is epistemological: his ways in history are not fully transparent, but can be approached through Scripture and typological analysis.