Eternal

Feb 2, 2023

The very first verse of the Bible reads, “In the beginning, God….”

Do you typically read right over that? Think about it. He was already in existence at the beginning of recorded time. I don’t know about you, but that is hard to wrap my mind around!

Today we’re looking at God’s attribute of being “eternal”. Eternal means “having no beginning or no end.” In Psalm 90:2, the writer says:

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

- Psalm 90:2

The Hebrew word for everlasting in this passage is “olam” and one of the definitions reads: “continuous existence, perpetual.” As humans, everything we do is measured in time. But God is outside of time.

As my grandmother used to say, “God is older than dirt.” Actually, there is a lot of truth to that statement!

A little later, in Exodus 3, when God appears to Moses in the burning bush and tells him, “I’ve chosen you to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and take them to the Promised Land,’ the questions begin:

Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

- Exodus 3:11-14

I AM is “Haya” in the Hebrew, meaning “to be.” I don’t know how I would’ve responded if I was Moses. First of all, God is talking to him from a burning bush that isn’t being consumed. That’s a little crazy, right? And He wants him to do what? Go to the Egyptians and tell them “I AM” says: “Let my people go!” No wonder it took miraculous plagues to get Pharoah’s attention!

Okay, so God has always been, but what about Jesus? Remember John 1:1?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

- John 1:1

Jesus, the Word made flesh that lived on earth according to verse 14. When the Jews questioned Him about who He was and if He was greater than Abraham in John 8:48-59, He says: