God's Eternaltiy & What It Means To Us

   At the beginning of all things. At the beginning of all we know, God already was and thus can be said to have had no beginning. There was never a time when God was not, because He already was at the beginning.
   There is a strange logic and yet an illogic in the thought. One might consider that this is speaking of the beginning of our existence alone, and that it says nothing beyond that about God's eternality. In the strictest of senses, I suppose that one would have to conclude, on the merits of this verse alone, that it says nothing about whether God had a beginning or not.
   What it does say is that that alleged beginning, if there was one, was "before" our beginning. Thankfully, we are not left with this verse alone, but have the rest of the testimony of the Scripture to rely on for more information.
   The short list of verses in the Bible that speak of the Eternality of God would include: Gen. 21:33; Deut. 32:40; Deut. 33:27; 1 Chron. 16:36; Neh. 9:5; Job 36:26; Ps. 29:10; Ps. 33:11; Ps. 41:13; Ps. 45:6; Ps. 48:14; Ps. 90:1-2, 4; Ps. 93:2; Ps. 102:25-27; Isa. 26:4; Isa. 40:28; Isa. 41:4; Isa. 44:6; Isa. 57:15; Lam. 5:19; Dan. 4:34; Hab. 1:12; Hab. 3:6; Rom. 1:20; Rom. 16:26; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:4; 1 Tim. 1:17; 1 Tim. 6:15; Heb. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 3:8; Rev. 1:8; Rev. 4:8-9.
   That our God is eternal is of little doubt to any real believer in the Scripture. There are some interesting implications to this idea that bear considering. If God is indeed eternal, that the God we know cannot have ever been mortal, and hence, have never been a man as the Mormons claim. Their position is that God as he is now, is as man can some day be. Not if the Bible is true! God is eternal and had no beginning! Every man is mortal and had a beginning.
   That God is eternal also speaks of His essential difference from us. He is eternal and we are immortal. He and we share the fact that we will have no end. Yet, He had no beginning while there was a time when you and I were not thought of, except in the mind and purposes of God Himself. There a real security, in my mind, I knowing that there is a Being Who is greater than I am, in essence. With other men, we share the bottom line that we are all creatures and that we share a common nature, handed down from Adam over the years.
   While we are related to God by faith, there is also that real difference between us. That comforts because I can know that I am in the care of One whose experience and wisdom transcends that of myself and my compatriots. There is indeed a God Who is eternal and Who's knowledge and understanding far outstrips my own! It is good for me to put myself in the place of a small son and take comfort from the knowledge that my Father knows how to fix what is wrong!
   We should also note that the verse indicates that all that the chapter reveals happened at THE beginning, no A beginning. There were not multiple tries at starting things as some would suggest. God did not create and then allow His first creation to be destroyed, and then remake the earth. There was "the beginning" and no other beginning. It is into that frame that we must fit the details of the chapter, not alter the basic frame of reference to fit what we would make of the details of the chapter.
   You might wonder why this is important? Let me suggest a couple reasons.
   First, it is important because it is what the text says. These are clear and simple words, easily understood. We need not stretch to allow them to fit some other understanding that we bring with us to the text. It is folly to pursue the "well, it could be this way or that" method of interpretation.
   Secondly, it is important because of the directness with which it speaks to man and his origins. We are not an evolved creature, a happenstance meeting of amino and other acids in a primordial sea. God set out, a particular moment and He created. The results of that creation came to be in an instant and not over millennia.
   Thirdly, it is important because it lays the foundation, in the very first verse of the Bible, of trustworthiness and clarity of understanding. This phrase, and the greater concepts of the following verses all appear to say one thing. If they do not, indeed, say those things, then we have some problems, do we not?
   Occam's Razor applies here I believe. the simplest explanation is probably the correct one. We need not try and explain these words in any other fashion other than what the clearly intend to say. That is an important precedent to get straight, and God gets it straight in the verse first few words of the Book.
   The reference to the beginning also implies and ending. Not an ending to your and my existence, but an ending to that which gives the verse and the chapter a frame of reference, the creation of the world.

Just How Is The Counsel of God Described in the Bible? (Part 4 - Sovereign & Eternal)

We’ve seen that the Bible uses at least 4 different descriptions of the Counsels of God ^[1] in the Scriptures thus far.  He speaks of them as “Immutable”, as “Faithful”, as “Wonderful” and as “Great”.

He further speaks of these Counsels in His Word as Sovereign .  The Sovereignty of God can be defined as his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Rom. 9:15–23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11)^[2] .  It specifically refers to the unlimited power of God, who has sovereign control over the affairs of men, nature and history (Is. 45:9–19; Rom. 8:18–39).^[3]

The Bible declares that God is working out His sovereign plan of redemption for the world and that the conclusion is certain. Immediately after the Fall He talked about the curse of human sin and specified the cure for it. To the serpent He said,

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15).

The whole redemptive story of the Bible is the fulfillment of this prophecy by the sovereign God, as Paul clearly teaches in Romans 8–11.

The story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation is possible only because the sovereign God loves the created world, fallen though it is, and is able to do something about it. Without the sovereign love of the Father ministered to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit, there would be no real human freedom and no hope of everlasting life.^[4]

Daniel 4:35 says:

34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.

35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

A prime example of human pride in the Scripture is the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar.  When, at the end of his humbling process, he lifted his eyes and saw the God was a sovereign God, and that he (Nebuchadnezzar) was but a tool in God’s hand, he also understood that this understanding was a gracious one.  He clearly recognizes that God is sovereign and that He does as He wills and no man can stop Him.  He confesses that man is answerable to God and that will be held accountable to God. 

All of this speaks of the sovereignty of the counsels of God!  Those counsels are plans that cannot be overturned and are counsels that stand forever!

His Counsels are Eternal

Further, the counsels of God are Eternal counsels.  Commenting on the receiving of His gracious commission to preach the mysteries of Gospel to the Gentiles from God, Paul said in Ephesians 3:8-11:

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

This purpose was an eternal purpose!  It was not a plan cobbled together at the last minute in response to what the Pharisees and Sadducees and other opponents of the Gospel came up with.  Paul was simply fulfilling the plan that God had in His mind from before the world was formed.

What is interesting in that verse in Ephesians is that Paul views that purpose as fully accomplished.  The boldness he now has, he has because the purpose of God is already accomplished, accomplished by means of what Christ has done already.  Now, of course, that points to Calvary and to the finished satisfaction provided there by our Lord’s broken body and shed blood.  Paul added nothing to it by his own work – he looked back and rested on what was already accomplished.  So ought you and I.

If we look to some earthly measure then our purpose is not eternal – it is temporal!  Paul says that the purpose of God is eternal.  He set his purposes back before time began – it was ever His purpose to look to the work of Christ on Calvary and base all there.  It was never, NEVER in His mind to require obedience from men and ask them to adhere to a standard.  It was always His desire to exalt His Son and thus lift up both the Son’s name and His own.

That ought to be our own purpose as well.

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^[1] Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's quick reference topical Bible index. Nelson's Quick reference (156). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

^[2] Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[3] Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.

^[4] Ibid.