#6 - God is Eternal
Who is God? Everyone answers this question during their life. We all come to our answer based on what we are taught, what we read, what we watch, and who we believe. Most of the opinions about God come from secondhand sources. We look to other people to tell us who God is. I used to let books, movies, songs, celebrities, friends, and my own understanding tell me who God is. It never occurred to me to seek out what God says about who He is. This is not uncommon. If we want to know anything about anyone these days, we look at their Facebook, twitter, who they follow, who their friends are, and what a google search brings up about them. The person themselves is usually the last place we look to find the answers.
The first place I want to start is in the book that God wrote: the Bible. I have written this several times and all of them have felt incomplete. I don’t want to just write a Bible verse and then give a little snippet of thought about each attribute. God has laid it on my heart to go into my faith, why I believe what I believe. This requires me to go deeper, to be more thorough. I say God is eternal, but what does that have to do with my relationship with the LORD? If I sincerely desire for you to have a living relationship with God, then I need to go beyond an overview. I pray God uses this to flesh out my faith and your understanding of who God is.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” -Genesis 1:1
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” -Psalm 90:2
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” -Colossians 1:17
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord, God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” -Revelation 1:8
I know I already stated this in my post about God, about who and what I mean when I say God. This is about who God is in stating this. This is the first thing written in the Bible. The very first thing God wants you to know about who He is. Nothing existed before God. Let this sink in, think on what this means. There is never a second in time that God was not witness to and Lord over. I will never experience a second in my life that is beyond God; nor will you. God does not start, nor does He stop.
This also means that every aspect and attribute is eternal as well. If God is good, then He is always good. If God is love, then He never ceases loving. If God is just, then His justice is unending. I don’t need to worry about the forgiveness of God in the darkest parts of my life. I am never alone. You are never alone. My patience is fleeting. My kindness comes and goes depending on my mood. I am not always good. The motives and desires of my heart are not always pure and selfless. But God is eternal. Every aspect, motive, and desire of the LORD is the same today as it was yesterday, and it will be the same tomorrow.
“For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him” -Colossians 1:16
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.” -Psalm 145:13
God’s dominion over everything is forever. God will be the same for your grandchildren’s grandchildren as He is for you. God isn’t an absentee landlord as some movies state. His interest in us doesn’t wax and wane. There is no politician, leader, judge, jury, celebrity, social justice warrior etc… that had, has, or will have an authority above God. What about Jesus? Jesus is in a category of His own. His authority is not above and beyond God’s. His is the only authority equal to God, because Jesus is the God-man. This means you shouldn’t be chasing the approval of anyone or anything other than Jesus. Forever. When you die you will not stand before Twitter, BLM, Democrats, Republicans, priests, or pastors. You will come before God alone, Jesus Christ. Forever. Just think how radically different your existence would be if you understood this fact.
God is Omnipotent
“Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” -Genesis 18:14
“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” – Jeremiah 32:17
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. If He comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose Him? Surely He recognizes deceivers; and when He sees evil, does He not take note?” -Job 11:7-11
God is all powerful. This means His strength never fails or grows weak. Mountains can be brought low by volcanos, water, or explosives. These things have no effect on God’s will. All metals can be cut or melted. There is no blade sharp enough to cut God’s power. There is no fire hot enough, no star intense enough, that will melt away any of His strength. This is a power that is hard for me to wrap my mind around. Everything in this universe can be bent and broken, and everything will eventually be destroyed. But not God.
This is a fact you need to keep in mind as we go through the attributes of God. There is nothing that can be done to lessen God’s love. No injustice is so great that can back God into a corner. His holiness and goodness never fade. I take great comfort in this. When my world is crumbling around me, and the sky is falling about my head, my refuge in the LORD will withstand. There is nothing my enemies and haters can say or do that will change God’s love for me. God’s power is beyond my understanding and far greater than I can measure.
God is Omniscient
“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD” -Proverbs 21:30
“And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” -Hebrews 4:13
“O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.” -Psalm 139;1-4
God is never surprised. He knows what each of us are thinking at this same moment all across the world. I will admit that sometimes this is scary. The thoughts of my mind and the whispers of my heart aren’t always the best and nicest of things. God knows all the horrible things you have thought throughout your life; the thoughts you would never dare say out loud. But God still pursues me, loves me, and forgives me. When will all this Covid/Fake News/Riots/War nonsense end? God knows. He knew thousands of years ago if China will invade Taiwan. God doesn’t struggle to remember all of this either. He has perfect recall.
Just think about it, truly ponder the depths of what this means. God knows what my next lie will be and who I will tell it to. God knows each and every time I wish destruction on the person driving in front of me. He is witness to all the stupid things I have said and will say. Nothing anyone could possibly do or has done will ever shock the LORD. How can this be? I honestly don’t know right now, but I will ask Him when I see Him. And yet with all this knowledge, having plumbed the depths of humanity, God still comes down from heaven to seek us out. This means there is nothing I can do or say, or not do and not say, that will affect His love for me. This gives me more comfort and peace than anything this world can offer.
God is omnipresent
“Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” -Psalm 139:7-12
This means no one can hide from God. In the deepest and darkest parts of you God sees as clearly as midday. There are no secrets hidden from Him. He sees everything. God knows what is going on in the depths of the seas. God is found in the farthest reaches of space. God is there when I hated Him. He is beside you when you are screaming that He doesn’t exist. God doesn’t require you to believe in Him or know Him for Him to be present throughout your life. God is inescapable.
This is why I started with the eternality of God. All of God’s attributes are found in these dimensions. So, when I speak of God’s love it is an eternal, all powerful, all knowing, and always present love. I gave examples of how I process these truths. All of my understanding of who God is is couched in this. As I go forward in talking about the attributes of God I hope you keep this in the back of your mind.