The fact that God is eternal means He has no beginning or end. He has always existed and will continue to exist forever. This is a core truth about the nature of God that sets Him apart from His creation and reveals something profound about His character.
The Bible repeatedly affirms the eternal nature of God. He is called the “Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33), the “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9), and the one who remains forever the same (Psalm 102:27). Scriptures also state that God has been God from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2) and exists from eternity to eternity (Psalm 41:13).
From a human perspective, the concept of having no beginning and no end is nearly impossible to fully comprehend. As physical creatures, we experience life within the constraints of time. Everything in our material world has a definite starting point and eventual conclusion. Yet God transcends time and space. He precedes the created order and will continue being God long after this world passes away (Revelation 21:1).
God’s eternality has profound implications for our lives. Here are a few key truths that stem from the eternal nature of God:
God has no limitations
Since God has always existed and will always exist, He has no limitations. There was never a time when God was not nor will there be a future moment when He ceases to exist. Therefore, nothing can threaten God’s existence or bring an end to His purposes. His plans cannot be thwarted, His promises cannot fail, and nothing can diminish His glory. God does as He purposes and fulfills all His good pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10).
God is constant and unchanging
Human beings experience change as a fundamental part of existence in a temporal world. We age and evolve over a lifetime. But God remains ever the same. Since He exists outside of time, the passing of days and years brings no change to His character or purposes. God does not grow tired or weary (Isaiah 40:28). He has no need to learn, develop, or adjust. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
The unchanging nature of God is an anchor for our faith. We can trust His promises and rest in His wise plans because He keeps His word and remains rock solid amid the flux of our fleeting lives.
God is self-existent and self-sustaining
Since God has always been God, He did not derive His existence from any source outside Himself. There was no one before Him who made God who He is. God is self-existent – the source and sustainer of His own eternal being. He also has life in Himself and draws His unending energy, knowledge and capabilities from Himself (John 5:26).
The self-existent quality of God means He is completely independent. He has no needs that must be met and no deficiencies that must be filled. God has no lack within Himself that creation could possibly fulfill. Rather, all of creation depends totally and completely upon Him.
God transcends creation
As the only eternal being, God’s existence transcends the physical universe He spoke into existence. Heaven and earth will perish, but God remains (Psalm 102:25-27). While creation had a definite start date, God simply is. He inhabits eternity, dwelling in perpetual existence beyond the constraints of time (Isaiah 57:15).
Human lives are incredibly brief compared to the existence of God. We are like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). But “the eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). He is an ever-present help in our moments of need (Psalm 46:1).
God is incomparable
No one can be compared to God because no one shares in the eternal nature that sets Him apart as God. Any human, angelic, or demonic attempt to fashion a likeness of God falls infinitely short. He has been God forever and remains so eternally after all pretenders to His throne pass away.
Through His prophets, God warned against idolatry and detailed the folly of trying to fashion false gods from created things (Isaiah 44). Those who foolishly worship idols fashioned by human hands distort the glory of the eternal God and trust in gods unable to save (Jeremiah 10:1-10).
God knows and declares the end from the beginning
Since God stands outside the constraints of time, He can gaze down the corridor of history and see the outcome in advance. The Lord declares, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done…” (Isaiah 46:9-10).
As eternal God, He “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). He providentially directs the course of events toward His desired aims. Even the sinful acts of mankind cannot foil the perfect plan of the one who knows and declares the end from the beginning.
We can trust God with our eternity
God invites us through faith in Christ into an eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken. He secures our eternity through the finished work of the Son of God who conquered sin and death on our behalf and now lives forever as our great high priest (Hebrews 7:23-25).
While human life is fleeting, a vapor that vanishes away, eternity belongs to the children of God. An eternal weight of glory beyond comparison awaits those who belong to Christ (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Romans 8:18). The eternal God who transcends our earthly existence will bring us into “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” where we will experience life eternal in the direct presence of His glory (2 Peter 1:11).
Our unchanging, steadfast God who inhabits eternity invites us to find rest and refuge in Him today and forevermore. As Augustine observed, “You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in You.”
Old Testament depictions of God’s eternality
The Old Testament contains many references to the eternal nature of God:
- Moses wrote about the “eternal God” in his blessing for the people (Deuteronomy 33:27).
- The psalmist described God as eternal from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2).
- Isaiah depicted God as the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth who does not grow weary or tired (Isaiah 40:28).
- In his vision, Daniel saw the Ancient of Days take His eternal throne (Daniel 7:9).
- The song of Moses praised Yahweh as eternal king (Exodus 15:18).
These passages reveal how the authors of Scripture understood God as existing from before time itself. He reigns as eternal king, bringing stability and refuge to generations who pass through time.
New Testament affirmations of God’s eternality
The New Testament loudly echoes the eternality of God first proclaimed in the Old Testament:
- John wrote about the Word who was with God in the beginning and was Himself God (John 1:1).
- Paul described the glory of the eternal God through Christ (Romans 16:26).
- The author of Hebrews affirmed that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
- Jude ascribed glory to the eternal God (Jude 1:25).
- John heard the saints praising the eternal God in his vision of heavenly worship (Revelation 15:3-4).
The New Testament authors clearly understood God as revealed in Christ as sharing the same eternal nature as Yahweh in the Old Testament. The eternality of God binds the message of Scripture together across both testaments.
God exists outside of time
Since God is eternal, He stands outside the dimensions of time. He has no past, present or future. Rather, He simply is. While we experience existence in sequential moments, God inhabits eternity. He sees the end from the beginning because all things are “present” before Him.
Though we cannot fully comprehend the concept of eternity, Scripture gives us glimpses of this profound truth:
- God “inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15).
- He transcends time (2 Peter 3:8).
- A day is like a thousand years to God (Psalm 90:4).
- He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8).
Standing within time and space, we cannot grasp the full meaning of God’s eternality. Yet we can worship Him with awe and wonder, trusting His sovereign purposes in our fleeting lives.
God’s eternality provides comfort and hope
The eternality of God offers great comfort and confidence to followers of Christ. Consider the following ways grasping the eternal nature of God encourages our hearts:
- We have a refuge beyond the limits of time. God is our eternal dwelling place (Psalm 90:1).
- We can depend on His unchanging character. He remains steadfast forever.
- His purposes stand firm. Nothing can prevent God from accomplishing His perfect will.
- God keeps His promises. His eternality guarantees His covenant loyalty.
- We join in Christ’s eternal victory over sin and death.
Like an anchor for the soul, the eternal God and His eternal promises offer lasting stability amid the ups and downs of our temporal lives. Our eternally faithful God redeems our fleeting days for our everlasting good.
Practical applications
Reflecting on the eternality of God yields important practical applications for our lives:
- We should stand in awe of God, worshiping Him for His transcendent nature.
- We can find comfort knowing His purposes stand firm beyond our earthly lives.
- We should live with eternal perspective, investing in the kingdom of God.
- We can cling tightly to the eternal promises of God in times of sorrow or pain.
- We should not fear earthly circumstances since our lives are hidden with the eternal God.
Grasping the wonder of God’s eternal nature equips us to live with boldness, confidence and undivided devotion no matter our earthly circumstances.
God’s eternality contrasts human frailty
Throughout Scripture, the eternality of God contrasts starkly with the frailty and fleetingness of human existence:
- God remains when generations pass away (Psalm 102:27).
- While people suffer loss, God is the eternal rock (Isaiah 26:4).
- Mortals perish but God’s faithfulness persists (Isaiah 51:6-8).
- God inhabits eternity while humans experience mist-like lives (James 4:14, Isaiah 57:15).
Recognizing human frailty alongside God’s eternality leads us to number our days carefully (Psalm 90:12). We embrace our complete dependence on the eternal God who alone can redeem our fleeting existence.
Eternal life through Christ
God grants eternal life to those who trust in Christ for salvation. Though mortal, we gain access to resurrection life through the victory Jesus Christ won over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). By grace we receive the imperishable gift of life eternal in God’s presence:
- Those who believe in Christ will live even though they die (John 11:25-26).
- Followers of Christ pass from death to life (John 5:24).
- Christians experience new birth into a living hope through the eternal God (1 Peter 1:3-5).
The eternal life granted now grows to fulness when we receive eternal bodies fashioned for eternal glory (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Empowered by the eternal Spirit, we eagerly await the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:7, Galatians 6:8).
Conclusion
From Scripture’s opening pages to its climactic finale, we discover a God who transcends time and space. He has no point of origin for He is without beginning or end. While everything around us changes and fades, God remains steadfast. His purposes stand secure. His promises never fail.
Through Christ, God graciously invites us into His story – a story with eternal meaning, eternal impact and eternal rewards for those who belong to Him. He Himself ensures our hope of eternity through the gospel of His eternal Son. We finite creatures can therefore boldly entrust our past, present and future to the eternal God.