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God is Eternal – What does that mean?
The Bible consistently states that God is eternal. Before earth and time began, God existed. The concept of “eternal” makes us wonder. God was not created. It is difficult to comprehend because everything that we experience through our senses was made at one time by something or someone. But the Bible does not say that our universe started with nothing; it states that, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This is not the beginning of all existence; it is merely one beginning—the material universe—God’s creation of life and mankind. God’s presence permeates eternity.
“The attribute of eternity means that God exists endlessly. His existence extends endlessly backward and forward (from our viewpoint of time) without any interruption or limitation caused by succession of events.” – Charles Ryrie1
God is Eternal – His Nature
God is Eternal. This is His signature; it is Who He is. Eternity with regards to God encompasses much more than is commonly thought. It reveals the very nature and character of God.
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God’s nature is without beginning or end.
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God is unrestricted by all succession of time.
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God extends Himself throughout eternity to mankind.
Since God is eternal, time and space are not forerunners to God. They are among “all things” which were created by Him and “through whom everything exists” (Revelation 4:11; Hebrews 2:10). Eternity is far more than endless time. Eternity without an end or eternity without a beginning, is still not the eternity of God. The eternity of God, as the Eternal I AM, is a part of His self-existence. For God, there is no past, present, or future. God does not live in time, but exists beyond it in eternity. He is the “High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity,” transcending time itself, yet giving all His time to each of His people (Isaiah 57:15).
Footnote:
1 Ryrie, Charles. Basic Theology: Wheaton: Victor Books, 36.
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