We would like to try to create a song with input from any who wish to respond. The theme of the song will be the Eternal attribute of God, expressed in the Holy Trinity. Please state a scripture reference and a phrase or sentence to express your thought. My first thought is from Gen. 1:1, “In the Beginning….God”. Now all I need is a phrase or sentence that expresses this idea.
2 Responses to “The Eternal Nature of God”
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March 4th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Rick - a few musings on time & eternity, for what it’s worth:
- Gen 1:1 the beginning of time; Rev 21:1-5 everything new, 22:5 and they will riegn forever & ever….. (is living forever the same as eternal life?….)
- Deut.33:27 “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…..” His eternal nature is foundational to Him being our refuge…..
-PS 119:89 “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”
- Eccl 3:14 “know that everything God does will endure forever…… God does it so that men will revere Him.”
- most of our lives will be spent in eternity…. we have this one little blip in time, this brief period of training, learning, deciding & accomplishing - and yet our decisions here affect all of our eternal life! Phillipians 2:12 “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
- we are like fish out of water - made for eternity, by our eternal Father, yet trapped and dying in this timed world….. getting old, losing loved ones - these kinds of things seem ‘unnatural’, off, not right (….. as creatures, we are thoroughly enmeshed in time, yet have a sense of being outside of it, have words & concepts of eternity, forever, zero, infinity…. stories, songs & myths of living forever, ’till the end of time’, the ‘fountain of youth’ - man’s heart deeply longs to be free from the chains of time…..
- the ticking hands mechanically measuring time, the natural rythmns & cylces, marking off that which is suddenly, instantaneously behind us…. Eccl 1:3-7; Eccl 3:1 (there is a time….”);
- it’s as if we are walking through a plaster sea, turning hard & unchangeable behind us; the knife edge of the Present….
April 9th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
This is from a doctrinal statement I wrote for a class. I have the scripture and historical references if you want them.
On God’s eternality:
God has eternally existed from eternity past to eternity future, not created or able to be destroyed.5 It is the trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit that have eternally existed. God is self existent and self sufficient completely non-dependent on anything or anyone outside of Himself to perfectly sustain all He is.6 He created time and is not confined by it, but resides outside of it.6 Gen. 1:3-5 shows that God created time when He separated the dark from light and called it a day and Eph. 1:4 explains that God chose the elect before he created the world. In John 1:3 and 1 Cor. 8:6 God is said to be the origin of all things, thus He must be outside of time. God exists outside the dimension of all created existence but is actively involved in it, he is transcendent and immanent. In other words, because God is the source of all creation He cannot be part of the created, but His plan for creation includes His direct involvement in creation including the lives of individuals.
The remained of the statement on the Trinity:
God is one unified God7 who does not and cannot change, He is immutable.8 That is, God’s nature does not change. In addition, nothing can thwart God, He is impassable.9 In other words, “No one can inflict suffering, pain, or any sort of distress”10 on God. God is in complete control, if He feels sorrow or any other emotions that can be compared to human emotion it is entirely and ultimately according to His plan. Further, because He is infinite, it is impossible to completely define Him with human thoughts. Man is restricted to the limits of who God created him to be, but God is uncreated and is only limited by that which He limits Himself. An example of a way in which God limits Himself is the forgiveness of sin. God has limited Himself to only accept the blood of Christ as payment for the forgiveness of sin.
God is omniscient; knowing all11, and omnipotent; sovereign over all.12 He is present everywhere, completely in all of His attributes.13 Further, He is Holy, set apart from creation and perfect in everything.14 Isaiah 6:3 declares that God is Holy, Holy, Holy which has been termed the the “Trishagion”. Because of His Holiness, God displays faultless justice and provides righteousness through Christ in order to have communion with His people15, demonstrating His abounding mercy16. God displays enduring love for Himself, creation, the fallen world, His elect, and in response to man’s obedience. Only God can love unconditionally but His love is displayed differently in varying situations. In 1 John 4:16 and Ps. 13:6 God’s love is described as enduring. John 3:35 depicts the love within the trinity. God is described as having love for creation in Gen. 1:31, for the fallen world in 2 Cor. 5:19, and for the elect in Gal. 2:20.
He is called Elohim 2,570 in the OT, from the Hebrew meaning “the powerful one” or “most high one”. Further, He is called Adonai 449 times in the OT, from the Hebrew meaning master, lord, Lord, my lords or my masters. He is the master and Lord. He is also called YHWH, meaning God is Lord or Jehovah. This term, referred to as the tetragrammaton it is used to refer to God 5,321 times in the OT. He is Judge, Shepherd, Rock, Holy One, King, Ancient of Days, Father, Master, and Almighty.17
The one and only God exist as Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity was first officially defending by the Church in the Nicene Creed, 325 A.D, and has since been upheld by orthodox Christianity. Heb. 9:14 specifically speaks of the eternal Spirit and in 1 John 5:20 Christ is referred to as the, “true God and eternal life.” Isaiah refers to Christ in 9:6 as, “Everlasting Father.” Each member of the Holy Trinity of God is equally God and possesses all aforementioned characteristics of God18. God the Father is the sovereign creator and source of all that is and was created.19 As creator He is Father of all men20, but spiritual Father only to His children21. The Father has chosen from before the foundations of the world which men and women would be His children, redeemed by the blood of The Son.22 God the Father did not create but begot the Son,23 and determined the activities of the Son’s role as savior.24 The Son, the second member of the Trinity is equal with the Father and Spirit.25 The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is also equal with the Father and Son26. In submission to the Son27, all of the Spirit’s roles and works glorify the Father and Son.