Systematic Theology Part 9-God Forever Past, Forever Present, Forever Future

So much of our world is based around time. “When will this class end?” “What time does the movie start?” “How much longer in the game?” “What time do I have to get up?” “How long will this take to cook?” “How much time do I have, doc?” “How much longer do I have to wait in this line?” We are so surrounded by time that it’s hard to imagine timelessness. But, that is exactly what God is. He’s timeless. He’s eternal.

Genesis 1:1 tells us that God created everything "in the beginning", before time even existed. In fact he created time. Being eternal, God is not bound by time. He is above and beyond time itself.

What does it mean that God is eternal and why does it matter?

Since God is eternal He is Self-Existent:

If I were to show you 10 objects and ask you where you think those objects were created I doubt that you would answer, "It wasn't created. It has always been."

Our experience understands that everything we see (trees, shirts, video games, books) had an origin in something. They began to exist at a particular point in time. Since this is our experience it takes great effort to even begin to comprehend that something could exist with no starting point. This is what it means to be eternal. God, being eternal, has no starting point. He always has been and always will be. Let this idea stretch your mind beyond your experience for a moment and try to fathom what being eternal really means. It means that nothing made God so his existence has to be found in himself.

What does it mean for God to be self-existent?

1. God has "life in himself." (John 5:26)
God's life does not come from an outside source. He is life.

2. God is unique (1 Thessalonians 1:9; Isaiah 45:5)
There is no other God, and there is none like him. If God came from somewhere then, based on our understanding of where things come from, he would have had to be created. But there is no other God. There is nothing greater than God, so there is nothing from which God came. God has life in himself.

3. God is not dependent on anything else for his existence (Exodus 3:14)
Contrast God's statement of his existence ("I AM") with the oft referred to and loved statement of Rene Descarte ("I think therefore I am).

Descarte is depending on his ability to do something as evidence of existence. God just is. As Millard Erickson says, "His very nature is to exist." (Systematic Theology, p298)

As people we always look toward purpose and beginning as evidence of existence. God is beyond our understanding of everything that we see because he is beyond the need of anything to make him or sustain him.

This leads to our second point about God's eternity:

Since God is eternal he is Self-Sufficient:

This means that God is "lacking nothing." We see this in several places of scripture. Here are two:

Psalm 50:10-12
Acts 17:24-25

1. God doesn't need anything to keep existing
"The continuation of God’s existence does not depend on anything outside himself.” Erickson p297

2. God doesn’t need anyone’s help to accomplish his purposes
“God has chosen to use us to accomplish his purposes, and in that sense he now needs us. he could, however, if he so chose, have bypassed us. he could simply have been--without us; and he can, if he chooses, accomplish his purposes without us. It is to our gain that he permits us to know and serve him, and it is our loss if we reject that opportunity.” p298

Since God is Eternal he is unchanging

Hebrews 13:8; Psalm 33:11; Psalm 102:27; Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; James 1:17; Deut 7:9; Psalm 119:90; Lam 3:22-23; 1 John 1:9 are all very clear that God is an unchanging God. Our experience, though, is that everything changes in some way or another. Even toilet paper changes in substance and form throughout it's "life cycle" from creation to disposal.

God, however, being eternal, has no need or capacity for change. Usually something changes because it lacks something needed to fulfill it's purpose. Remember that God lacks nothing so he has no need to change. If he were to change (increase in something) then he would not have been perfect and therefore not God. If he were to diminish in something then he would no longer be perfect and no longer be God. God does not increase or decrease in any way. He is what He is!

The unchanging nature of God leads us to two conclusions about Him:

1. God is Constant
2. God is Trustworthy

But what about the apparent contradictions in the Bible where God seems to be changing his mind? (Genesis 6:6; Jonah 3:10; Exodus 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:35)

First, a simple but effective note on how to correctly interpret Scripture:
Always remember to interpret the hard to understand passages by appealing to the clear passages. We have already seen that scripture CLEARLY states that God is unchanging. But let's look at 3 other ways to deal with these apparent contradictions:

1. Human terms cannot fully describe God’s actions
ex. God does not actually experience pain or regret, but that’s the best way we can describe, with human language, what is going on. Remember that god cannot be captured fully by human language

2. God sees the big picture
He knows what he’s doing and where he’s going. his timelessness allows him to do this. We can only see his plan play out step-by-step. Did God change his mind or was this just the next step of his master plan?

3. People change in the way they relate to God
Ninevah repents, God spares
Adam sins, God judges and condemns
These are the natural outcome of a change in human relationship toward God

Is the eternity of God essential?

If God was created then there must be something greater than he.
If God was lacking something then whatever had what he needed would have power and authority over him.
If God changed then he was, is or will be imperfect, thus necessitating change.

Ultimately, if God is not eternal then he is not God.

"It is precisely this concept of no-origin which distinguishes That-which-is-God from whatever is not God.” Tozer p39

Stand in awe and amazement today of the eternal nature of God. Worship him with wonder at his incomprehensibility and infinity. May your worship this week be great toward a great God.