Extramundane

“Extramundane” might sound like a word which means “very mundane and boring”, but in fact it is an important term relating to God. It refers to the fact that he is outside the world (mundus = “world”). There was a time when the world did not exist, and there was only God (Father, Son and Spirit). The world does not need to exist. We are only here by God’s permission and ongoing sustaining. Moreover, the present world will not always exist: it will “wear out like a garment” (Psalm 102:26).

God, in contrast, lives forever and ever. He is, of course, intimately involved in his world and present everywhere, but he is over the world, beyond it and in control of it.

The teaching that God is extramundane is the common sense reading of the Bible, which most ordinary believers probably hold without thinking too hard. It contrasts with pantheism, which claims that the world is God. “Process theology” goes a step further by suggesting that world history is all about God figuring himself out.

However, the true God has himself figured out already, and has a perfect plan for his world. Try reflecting on the deep implications of God being extramundane.