Reading the 1884 novella “Flatland” by Edwin Abbott inspired me many years ago to write a Christmas message called “When God Became 3D.” I no longer have that manuscript, but I recall that the story is about a 2-dimensional world where the inhabitants experience only depth & width, not height. There is forward & backward, but not up & down. So the inhabitants are just geometric shapes–lines, polygons, triangles, circles, etc.–as on a piece of paper.
The narrator who is named A. Square encounters a mysterious visitor which turns out to be a 3-dimensional sphere that can only be comprehended as a circle or disk in Flatland. The “sacred” Sphere comes from Spaceland–like our 3-dimensional world–& exposes Square to higher-dimensional worlds, encouraging him to break free from his limited perspective. Sphere is seeking a new apostle to accept & spread the message of the 3rd Dimension, but Square is reluctant & resistant.
To demonstrate his 3D-ness, Sphere moves up & down on their flat plane, demonstrating how he contracts in size from a great circle to increasingly smaller circles, & then expands back to a great circle. Square still doesn’t understand, so is taken to Spaceland where he learns to see in 3 dimensions. When he returns to Flatland & tries to enlighten & convince his fellow 2-dimensional creatures, they consider him heretical, persecuting & imprisoning him. While in prison, Square writes the book “Flatland” in hopes that perhaps a future generation will be able to see beyond their 2D existence.
The book is a challenge to our understanding of reality as well. We’re 3-dimensional creatures, but what if a mysterious visitor showed up from another dimension? It’s not just the stuff of science fiction. It actually happened. God is pure Spirit & not limited by our understanding of physical dimensions. He entered into our world, confining Himself to the form of a 3D inhabitant when He became incarnate in Jesus Christ. This is the miracle of the virgin conception as this multi-dimensional being limits Himself to space & time so that He could be seen & touched which commenced in the Bethlehem manger.
The people of Jesus’ day struggled to comprehend what His claim to be God in the flesh meant. Since we have no real experience with a 4th dimension, people may dismiss it as unreal or “unscientific.” But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Scientists in the past have often said certain things are impossible because they don’t correspond to our present scientific knowledge. But time has often demonstrated that what was once thought impossible is or may be possible.
Even now scientists are developing new understandings based on rapidly advancing quantum computing, debating theories about parallel universes & multiverses. Quantum physics is challenging our perceptions of reality even as many scientists continue to dismiss the spirit realm as “heretical” while confessing they don’t really know the universe like they thought they did.
The fullness of God cannot be fathomed by 3-dimensional creatures. As A. Square didn’t have adequate words to describe other dimensions, so we have inadequate words to describe the Trinity. The concept of 1 Divine Being in 3 Persons can’t fully be grasped because nothing else is like it in our experience.
God had said that no one can see Him & live, not only because on a moral level He is absolutely holy & we are not, but because on a logistical level our 3D eyes cannot perceive infinite Spirit (Ex. 33:20, 1 Tim. 6:16). So how do we best grasp what God is like? God must enter the time & space of our world to the degree that our 3D capacities can perceive Him. In Jesus, we better understand His nature & character, but still cannot comprehend His full nature which transcends time & space.
God had revealed Himself in many ways, through nature, a voice, & visions, but when the Eternal Son of God came to earth, He changed our perspectives on reality. The “4th Dimension” had broken into our 3D world. Jesus was both fully God & man. Eyewitnesses saw Him & wrote it down in the Scriptures, with Paul actually writing from prison for future generations to be able to understand (1 John 1:1, John 1:1, 14, 14:9, Matt. 1:23, Col. 1:15, 2:9, Heb. 1:2). As we encounter Christ, we’re enlightened & seek to convince others though they often think we’re heretical (aka “anti-scientific”) too.
When a 3D movie is shown in theaters, the audience puts on special glasses in order to see the effect. Otherwise, it’s an unfocused blur. Those who celebrate Christmas without seeing who Jesus really is are invited to put on the glasses of faith so they can finally perceive the meaning of the holiday.