God is Eternal

The idea that God is eternal is a clear teaching of the Bible.  It is an aspect of the character of God that is fundamental to our personal salvation.  For us, it is hard to imagine a situation where time is essentially meaningless.  Thus, the concept of a Being that has always existed and will always continue to do so without change or decay is almost impossible for finite minds to consider.  To help us understand, God compares his eternal character with things in the physical world that seem unchanging from a human perspective.  In Psalm 90:2 (ESV), we read “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”.  Our short lives seem insignificant compared to the seeming permanence of massive mountains and the earth itself.  Yet the vastness of God’s existence in terms of time (both past and future) is infinitely greater than the age of his creation.  A similar example occurs in Psalm 102, where the psalmist again contrasts God’s eternal character to the relative:

“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment.  You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.  The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.” (Psalm 102:25-28; ESV)

This passage tells that there is a permanence to God not only in terms of infinite time ( past and future), but that there is also consistency of character.  This is corroborated by Numbers 23:19 (NIV), “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”  The writer to the Hebrews uses the phrase “the unchangeable character of his purpose” (Hebrews 6:17; ESV).  Therefore, Psalm 102 concludes that believers of all generations are assured that God will perform his promises.

It is this eternal consistency that provides assurance of our personal salvation.  The Bible clearly teaches that the reward to faithful believers is eternal life as glorified Saints of God.  The Apostle John tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16; NIV).  And the Apostle Paul elaborates further to explain that we have been saved from sin by the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:22-23)

So our salvation, including eternal life, is tied up in the sacrifice of Christ.  Those who choose to identify with Jesus through baptism have the assurance of being heirs to the promises of God to Abraham:

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-9)

The promises to Abraham were to inherit the land he saw for eternity (Genesis 3:15), and so we, as heirs to that promise, also hope for eternal life.  This is achieved through God’s grace and our belief.  Titus 3:7 (NIV) sums up our hope as follows: “… having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”  However, this hope would be tenuous if the God who promised everlasting life were not eternal Himself.  We have assurance through the unwavering testimony of the Bible that God is both able and willing to save those who put their trust in him.  May we, along with the Apostle Paul, give praise and thanks to God for His gracious gift of the hope of eternal life, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (I Timothy 1:17; NIV).