Meaningless Imponderables

When I first joined pastoral staff at RiverLakes Community Church, I was commissioned with the task of teaching for our Young Adults. The first book I chose to teach through was 1 Corinthians. It was during this time that I came across a term in a commentary that quickly became a favorite of mine and several others… that term is “Meaningless Imponderables”.

Meaningless imponderables are those things that some of us can spend hours laboring over in conversation. They’re the topics that produce circular conversation with no benefit. It’s the obsession with speculative doctrinal mysteries ranging from “Did Adam have a belly button” to “what language will we speak in heaven?”

Granted, I think there’s a reasonable and healthy curiosity that can be worthwhile to entertain. But there’s a difference between deep and distracting. Especially problematic is when these conversation venture into irreverence.

1 Timothy 6:20–21 (ESV)
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

Not every thought is worth expounding. Not every conversation is worth having. Not every theological hot take is worth your time. Not every opinion dressed up as insight is from the Spirit.

This isn’t a call to avoid thinking deeply. But it is a call to think reverently and humbly. The thoughts we entertain and the conversations we have are deeply important. We move in the direction of our strongest thoughts. We profess the substance of our strongest thoughts… and for some, 1 Timothy 6:21 rings painfully true…


“By professing them, some have swerved from the faith.”
(1 Timothy 6:21)

But… not all mystery is bad.

There are things about God that are too big to fully grasp, and they’re meant to be. These are not meaningless imponderables but meaningful mysteries; truths that expand our minds and humble our hearts.

Speaking of God’s omniscience Psalm 139:6 says,
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”
And again in Romans 11:3
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!

The difference?

These mysteries don’t lead to confusion… they lead to worship.

They don’t pull us into pride… they pull us to our knees.

They don’t demand we master them… they invite us to be mastered by them.

Why this matters for all of us

The way we speak about God matters. The thoughts we dwell on matter. As the people of God, we want to speak in a way that builds up, not just stirs up. That leads people to Christ, not just to content.

So let’s be careful with our words. Let’s be thoughtful with our theology. Let’s resist the pull of spiritual noise. And let’s turn instead to the life-giving truths that have always been worth pondering:

• The mercy of the cross
• The wonder of grace
• The mystery of God’s sovereignty
• The beauty of His holiness
• The promise of resurrection
• The nearness of His Spirit

Not all questions have answers. But some mysteries are meant to be meditated on, not solved.

Ask yourself:

Am I impressed by my capacity or God’s majesty?
Am I proud of my knowledge or humbled by mercy?
Am I concerned with His glory or mine?

Here is a mystery worth pondering…  “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21