We read in Scripture that God is eternal. Many passages teach this. For example, Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, forever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Also 1 Tim 1:17 verifies, “Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” God says of Himself in Deut 32:40, “I lift my hand to heaven and declare; As surely as I live forever.” What does eternal mean? It means God has always existed. There has never been a time when God did not exist. God cannot die. He can’t be killed, harmed, or stopped. He cannot cease to exist. He has no beginning or end. God’s name is a verb: I am (Ex 3:14). His name means that He was, He is, and He will be—forever and ever and ever. Imagine that!
As the eternal God, He has provided a way for us to spend eternity with Him. We can have eternal life! You might ask, “Where do I sign up?” We must recognize that we are all sinners. God cannot fellowship with sin, for he dwells in “inapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16). Though we deserve punishment, God graciously sent Jesus Christ to take upon himself the wrath of God by dying in our place. As it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” The eternal God loves us so much that He sent the eternal Son of God to give us eternal life by the eternal Holy Spirit. God loves us that much!
Douglas Holter, Member