Who is Like Our God?: Eternal in Being

It is my opinion that the eternity of God is one of the most supreme, mind bending, and worship inducing attributes.  When we comprehend the Scripture's teaching on it, it leaves us almost breathless. 

This doctrine will not only wow your soul and induce a profound awe within you, it will also prove practical for your personal peace and outlook on life.  

Let's take a quick gander at what it means that God is eternal that we may reap some of these blessed fruits.

When we talk about God's eternal nature, we understand it relates to his being infinite in relation to time and it may be divided into three sub categories.

1.  God exists at every point in time.  That is to say, God has existed from the very beginning up until the present.  There never was a time when he was not.  As Ps 90:2 says, "From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God."  (See also 102:12)

The beasts of the earth and much of the created world has a beginning and an ending.  Men and angels have a beginning, but no ending.  But God is unique in that he never had a beginning and shall exist forever.  He always has been and always shall be.

2.  God transcends time.   It should be recognized that time is a part of creation.  It came into being when God spoke and brought matter into being (Gen. 1.1).  For this reason we must remember that God cannot be confined to time and space.  He exists outside of time and was before time.

[See what we did there?  We said God is "before" and "outside" time.  We are using concepts of time and space to talk about how God is beyond time and space...you're starting to see some of how mind bending this is!]

3.  God sees all of life at once.  Okay, get ready.  This is a tough one to grasp.  Being eternal, God does not exist or think in terms of past, present, or future like we do.  God is and he sees all of eternity at once. 

The best way I can illustrate this is to compare it to being at a store that sells TV's.  Usually there are 10 different TV's on, each with its own show being projected.  It's like you're watching 10 different stations at once.

Crude illustration, I know.  But you can kind of get the point.  God sees every point of history all at once.  

2 Peter 3:8 says that a "day is like a thousand years" to the Lord.  This is not just saying God's time table is different than ours.  It is expressing the idea that the whole of time is essentially all the same moment to God. 

To put it another way, we could say that all time is nothing to God because, in the nature of God, all is eternity.

Whew.  Incredible stuff!  It certainly makes you say, "Who is a god like this?" and encourages within you a spirit of worship.

But, as I said before, there are many other practical blessings that drip from this tree.  Chief among them are the consolations afforded in our own eternal life.  Eternity is forever and we shall enjoy living every day of it because of Christ's saving grace.  This life, even if we had lived from the first creation to its end, would be small in comparison to its wide extents.  

This is why Paul talks of our "light momentary affliction" being nothing in comparison to the "eternal weight of glory."  Many of our troubles will seem light when we remember that at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.

---

Join us for Worth-ship
Hopewell Church meets each Sunday to offer our homage to the God of all glory.  We welcome you to come and find your enjoyment in God with us.

Come & Worship!

Oh What a Fellowship!
We want to invite you and your family to join us at the Lillo Pad for our annual campout June 7-9.  There will be swimming, games, fellowship, food, and much, much more.  Invite your friends, pitch your tents, and have a great time.  

RSVP YES!