God never had a beginning and will never have an ending. To know God (who is Eternal) is to have eternal spiritual life. [Note that in some English translations ‘LORD’ is used to translate ‘Jehovah’ (‘Yahweh’) – ‘I AM’.]. Understanding the Bible’s message requires an appreciation of who God is and who He is not. They are seeking to explain the totally uncaused and independent from the perspective of the caused and dependent. He sees the whole thing at one time, from the eternal now. Since God is eternal, it is essential to keep an eternal outlook in our everyday lives. Studd – English Missionary to China If God had a beginning, then what or who was before Him? Knowing God (eternal life) is something we can have right now (John 3:36). Dr. David Jeremiah is one of America's most trusted Bible teachers. In this study on God as the eternal One it is necessary to point out that both the Son and the Spirit are referred to as eternal. That also means His qualities and attributes are infiniteâHis love will never end; His mercy will never cease; His truth will never expire; His holiness is as eternal as He Himself is. Knowing God: The Eternal Self-Existence of God: Part 3. Governance Information |
Employment & Volunteer Opportunities. Today’s big idea: Jesus Christ is the all-powerful and eternal God. Itâs often said that time is what keeps everything from happening at once. That God existed before the beginning of the time-space world is obvious from the Bible. Ah, sad it is that such a question needs to be asked and answered. [2] What human confidence is generated by the fact that God is eternal or everlasting? Now is the same as then. “Only one life, will soon be past. This eternality and infinity of God is expressed in the name ‘I AM’ by which God identified himself in response to Moses’ question in Exodus 3:12-15. And so on. There are so many events we canât keep track of them all. The alternative offered by atheism is absurd. Thus it has proven. Though the concept of eternity is beyond imagining, we can attempt a definition. That the ‘notion that everything began with an impersonal something, is the consensus of the Western world … it is also the consensus of almost all Eastern thinking.’ He points to two fundamental difficulties with the concept of impersonal beginning: the fact that everything that exists has specific form, and the problem of how to explain the personality of man from an impersonal beginning. This site affirms that God has provided in and through Jesus Christ his eternal Son, a way of forgiveness in which we can live in his presence guilt free, acquitted and at peace. It is not without reason that Moses anticipated the scepticism of the Israelites: ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them?’. God, by definition, must be infinitely great. Before there was a clock or a calendar or a watch or a date book, there was God. They pass by you, one by one, each in its turn. How wonderful to be able to pray to and worship a God who exceeds our understanding, to say: âGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchableâ (Psalm 145:3). What a great word for God: Based on the fact He is unsearchable and even meant to be unknowable by our finite human minds and hearts, I want to present to you two different aspects of His eternity. There never was a time when He was not, and there will never be a time when He ceases to be. Expand that idea beyond just the Rose Bowl Parade to include everything happening in the universe at this very moment and in every moment, and you have an idea of what it means for God to dwell in eternity. According to Philippians 3:10, Paul’s deepest aspiration was to know God. But God dwells in eternity. He watches the parade from above, from the top of a building. What do they teach or infer about his eternality?Isaiah 9:6, Verses in which Jesus refers to himself as the ‘I AM’:John 8:24,28,58, Verses in which Jesus claims to have come down from heaven or from God the Father: John 3:13; 6:38-58; 8:42; 16:27,28; 17:8. Consider writing down the following statement and saying it out loud every morning for the next 7 days. He exists as much in this present moment as in the days of Abraham or at the moment of the return of Christ. More than just acknowledging the existence of God, though this is a good beginning, to know God means to understand and comprehend who He is and what He does. Letâs take it a step further. You can even see them for a few moments before they arrive and after they pass. … [p40, Majesty, the God You Should Know, Here’s Life Publishers, San Bernardino, 1984]. Jesus Christ did not begin with his human conception and birth. His eternal nature is also unsearchable, yet the Bible lets us glimpse this glorious truth. (John 17:3) Knowing God is strongly connected with the idea of spiritual life. Discuss and comment on the quotes from Schaeffer, Baxter and Pink. I believe the Bible teaches God exists in the past, present, and future at the same moment. – and who created him? Such was the Devil’s lie at the beginning—“Ye shall be as God” (Gen. 3:5)’ [From: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pink/godhood.ii.html ]. [Note: the current interest in intelligent design focuses on this aspect of form to which Schaeffer referred several decades earlier.]. They are fundamentally non-questions, for they are seeking to explain the existence of the eternal and infinite God in categories of time and finitude. Do not simply re-write the verses. Now imagine plastering it like a giant curtain to the side of a large skyscraper. ‘The most baffling mystery is the eternality of God. One event triggers another, and we canât foresee whatâs to come. Take all the doctrines you choose to embrace, all the things you like in the Bible, and then tell me in the same breath you donât believe in eternity. Without a God who possesses an eternal nature, we would be condemned to true fear and forlorn despair. But God sees the whole parade at once as if He were hovering in a helicopter high above. We will be looking at the concept of trinity in the next study. Turning Point is the Broadcast Ministry of Dr. David Jeremiah, The Attributes of God and the Power They Hold in Your Life, God's greatness is unsearchableâPsalm 145:3, His understanding is unsearchableâIsaiah 40:28, His judgments are unsearchableâRomans 11:33, His riches are unsearchableâEphesians 3:8. Knowing God Eric Rank | February 22, 2015 ... February 22, 2015. God knows instantly with fullness of perfection and he knows every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or that could exist anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may ever exist in the ages to come. If we don’t believe this – that God was there before the beginning, and that everything else that exists exists because of his decision and his action – then we need to honestly consider the alternatives. Yet if someone created Him, where did that earlier creator come from? Eternal God. Does God know you? He is, and he can be, whatever he needs to be in order to address our need and our situation. If we could unravel the mysteries of His Person, we would elevate ourselves to His level, which we cannot. Verses in which Jesus refers to God sending him: John 4:34; 5:34-37; 6:38-44; 7:28-33; 12:44,45. We did not create ‘god’; rather, God created us. BEFORE THE BEGINNING - THE ETERNAL EXISTENCE OF GOD. 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