Melvin J. Wise
“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27).
Belief in the eternal God is the primary foundation of Christian faith. The writer of the Hebrew letter said, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). Hence we should earnestly seek to know God as he is revealed in the Bible. God is gradually made known to us in the holy scriptures. From the first verse to the last one, there is revealed step by step, a gradual unfolding of the nature, power, wisdom and mercy of God.
God is Self-Existent
The child’s question, “Who made God?”, is a perfectly natural and proper question, but the true answer is perhaps not such as the child would expect. Jesus said, “The Father hath life in himself” (John 5:26). Therefore God is Creator, and is not a created being; He owes His life to no other being or cause; He is not dependent on anything outside Himself for His own existence. God is uncreated, unoriginated, having no beginning nor ending. He is the great Original with an existence all his own. Hence God has said, “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof” (Psa. 50:12).
God is the source of all that lives; He is the fountain of all life. “He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). To his brethren at Rome, Paul said, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever” (Rom. 11:36).
Just as the sun is the source of all true light, so God is the source of all good gifts. Every grateful person knows that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (Jas. 1:17.)
Our impulse to assign to everything a cause is so strong and so necessary to our ordinary thinking that it is accounted impossible among some people for our minds to hold to the idea of independent and uncaused existence. If we do not entertain the idea of a cause for the existence of God, we shall find ourselves entertaining it concerning the universe. We cannot conceive the idea of a self-existent universe. God we do not see, but we do see the world about us. The universe was here before we came, before our fathers and grandfathers lived. No sign of its origin is apparent as we look, and the more we know of it, although we may trace many things to their beginning, yet the less does a date of absolute origination appear.
We may refer the existence of the universe back to God and say that it owes itself to a power and will that lie back of it, and then we may say that this power is God. Or we may profess agnosticism on the subject and declare that we do not know from whence the universe came; but this is only another way of saying that so far as we can see, the universe exists independently of any causation, which is practically to call it self-existent. Hence we are forced to believe either in a self-existing God, adequate to the causing of the universe, or in a universe apparently existing of itself.
That which an unbiased mind can most easily believe is that the only self-existence which is consistent with reason is the self-existence of a sufficient God. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” is the most logical and sound reason we can accept for the creation of the universe.
God is Eternal
Since God’s existence had no beginning it will have no ending. He always was, always is, and always will be. By the eternal God is meant in common speech that the God whose existence has neither beginning nor ending, is a God, who by His nature, has ever been and must forever be.
To be self-existent is to be eternal. To be self-existent is to be without beginning, and by natural implication it is to be without end. Self-existence is simply existence wholly independent. As nothing initiated it, so nothing can terminate it. It is essentially eternal without limits upon its duration.
It is not possible for us to properly portray the eternity of God. As Paul said, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33.) It is not possible for us to grasp it in our thoughts. It is so vast that the narrow mind of man is utterly unable to comprehend it. But that is no reason against our affirming it. Existence without a beginning or an ending is beyond our power to comprehend, but notwithstanding this it stands as a necessary element in our faith. Even though eternity of being is beyond our range of thought, it contains no element of absurdity. It is rational to believe in the eternal God.
One reason that we cannot comprehend the eternity of God is because our minds are controlled and limited by time. Time influences us to set one thing before and another after. We speak of yesterday, today and tomorrow. We live exclusively in the duration of time, with the past behind us, the present with us and the future ahead of us; but “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). God created time, but we cannot say that He created eternity any more than he created himself.
What is time? The common definition is that it is duration measured by succession. Webster says that it is “that in which events are distinguished with reference to before and after.” Ingersoll said that time is “The short barren space between two cold bleak points of eternity.” In speaking of time as something distinct and different from eternity, it seems best to say that time is only a mode in which God has caused finite beings to exist, and eternity is the unlimited mode in which He himself exists. When God shall cause embodied spirits to cease to exist in this present mode, and to exist under another, men with them “time shall be no more.”
The scriptures often refer to God as eternal. Moses said, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27). Elihu, Job’s friend, magnified the eternal God in these words, “Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out” (Job 36:26). David praised God with these words, “But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment” (Psa. 9:7). The Psalmist again lauded the eternity of God in these immortal words, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psa. 90:1-2). Isaiah declared that God “inhabited eternity.” (Isa. 57:15). Jeremiah said, “But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king”(Jer. 10:10). Again the weeping prophet said, “Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; my throne from generation to generation” (Lam. 5:19). Daniel said of the eternity of God, “For he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 6:26).
Since God is eternal and since all life comes from Him, it follows that He is the author of eternal life. Throughout the Old Testament, Jehovah is spoken of as the eternal God. Hence in the New Testament the expression “eternal life” is often used and becomes the standing expression for the highest good that the religion of Jesus Christ can bring to the world. The “eternal life” promised by the Lord is an unending life that partakes of the eternity of God above time and changes; life whose everlastingness is precious by reason of the fellowship it affords us with the eternal God.
God is Infinite
The word infinite has long been a familiar and favorite word in the Christian doctrine of God. The word itself simply means without bounds, or unlimited. When God is called the Infinite Being, it is meant that upon his powers and qualities there are no limitations. The true Christian religion impels the soul to stand in awe before a being who impresses it as infinite. Doubtless the thought of God has done far more to enrich the word infinite than the word has done to define or exalt the thought of God.
God is infinite in his presence—he is omnipresent. As eternity affirms that God is not limited to time, so omnipresence affirms that God is not limited to space. Furthermore, as God is not temporal, so also He is not local in the sense of being confined to any particular place. His activity extends to every point of space just as He spans all time. Inasmuch as He can and does put Himself into relation with all space, which He created Himself, we may also say of Him that He is here, there, everywhere, simultaneously. This is what is meant by His omnipresence.
“Though God extends beyond creation’s rim;
The smallest atom holds the whole of Him.”
The scriptures abound in proof of the omnipresence of God. Solomon said, “But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to bum sacrifice before him?” (2 Chron. 2:6).David praised God for His all-seeing providence in these words:
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me (Psa. 139:7-10).
Again Israel’s sweet singer said, “The Lord looketh down from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men” (Psa. 33:13).
Solomon said, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Prov. 13:3). The Lord said through one of his prophets, “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jer. 23:24). In Stephen’s memorable speech which he made just before he was martyred for Christ, he said, “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? said the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?” (Acts 7:48-49.) The meaning here is that the ancient temple of Solomon, as grand and exquisite as it was, was infinitely too small to contain and conceal the living God. In Paul’s great speech that he made on Mars’ Hill, he said,
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation (Acts 17:24-26).
Hence, instead of God being the god of some single nation over which He presides and defends against all others, actually He created every nation of people, made them all from one man, to dwell on the face of the whole earth.
God is infinite in His knowledge—He is omniscient. By the omniscience of God is meant His perfect knowledge. God knows everything that is an object of knowledge. His knowledge is eternal. There never was a period of time when God knew more or less than He knows now, nor will there ever be such a period. He never learns; He never forgets. The expression “I will remember their sin no more,” is used metaphorically. God will remember a forgiven sin no more in that He will not hold the forgiven sinner accountable for it.
Since God is eternal He shall, therefore, forever exist to possess His perfect knowledge; His knowledge is not limited by time. Also since God is omnipresent, He is, therefore, everywhere present with all His power of knowing; His knowledge is not limited by space. Inasmuch as God made all things, He knows all about all that He has made. God needs to know all that is involved in the task of caring for his creatures, hence Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matt. 10:30). God needs to know all men, good and evil, that He may judge them aright. Therefore “The Lord looketh down from leaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men” (Psa. 33:13). Paul also said, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).
God foreknows the free acts of men, for Solomon said to the Lord, “For thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men” (1 Kings 8:39). But we cannot conceive that knowledge of events has any power to determine those events. Not even God’s knowledge has that effect. The inspired writers of the Bible everywhere assumed that an event can be foreknown and be free.
Many scriptures emphasize the omniscience of God. We read in the Old Testament that “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chron. 16:9). David bore testimony to the infinite knowledge of God in these words, “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psa. 139:1-2). Daniel affirmed that God’s knowledge is infinite, for said he: “He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him” (Dan. 2:22). James said, “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18). John declared that God “knoweth all things” (1 John 3:20).
God is infinite in his power—he is omnipotent. A companion to the omnipresence and omniscience of God is His omnipotence. Since God is eternal, not limited to time; since he is omnipresent, not limited in space; since He is omniscient, not limited in knowledge; it naturally follows that he is omnipotent, not limited in power. Furthermore, inasmuch as God is self-existent, He is able to maintain His own existence.
Throughout the Old Testament scriptures there is emphasized the omnipotence of God. The Hebrew word for God, El or Elohim, was probably derived from the root word meaning, “to be strong,” and according to a popular etymology current in ancient Israel, the name Jehovah, or Yahweh, expressed originally the idea of independent power, or self-existence. “I AM THAT I AM,” is the idea.
This idea of the divine omnipotence of God was carried over into the New Testament, and forms the background of its teaching. It was faith, not mere reason, that led Jesus to say, “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26), and that led Paul to say, “Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20).
What exactly is implied in the idea of omnipotence? Are there limits to God’s divine power? If so what are they? Some have contended that He must be able to draw a triangular which has but two angles; that He must be able to make two plus two equal five; that He must be able to make a straight stick with only one end; and that if He is not able to do such irrational and self-contradictory things as these, then He is not omnipotent. Certainly there are limitations to God’s moral omnipotence. All that sane advocates of divine omnipotence have ever meant is that God can do all things that He wills to do. To say that God, if omnipotent, must be able to do everything, whether conceivable or inconceivable, is not only to go beyond the demands of faith and reason, but to contradict them both. Reason and faith both imply that God has a nature, and without it His will would have no content or direction; without it His activity would be like the fable of the man that leaped upon a horse and rode off in all directions. Hence by the omnipotence of God we do not mean that He can do just anything, but that He can do anything that He wills to do, anything and everything that His own nature and character dictate should be done. Omnipotence can do anything that ought and needs to be done.
Let us note some passages of Holy Writ that emphasize God’s omnipotence. Elihu, Job’s friend, testified of the infinite power of the Lord when he said, “Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom” (Job 36:5). Job said to the Lord, “I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee” (Job 42:2). Concerning God’s infinite power, David said, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psa. 147:5). Jeremiah prayed these words unto Jehovah, “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jer. 32:17). Daniel very appropriately said,
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? (Dan. 4:35).
God is Immutable
The immutability of God certainly needs no proof after we recognize His self-existence, infinity and eternity. The One who is self-existent, infinite and eternal, cannot change; neither can He err, but eternally He is the same. The universe in itself is mutable, for it has no independent existence, but hangs upon a will that is not its own. But God is independent and self-existent, and is beyond the reach of alteration, and from eternity to eternity He is the same.
God cannot change and cannot err because of His moral attributes. He has always been and always will be the holy, righteous, gracious and infallible God that He now is, who is absolutely worthy of all confidence and love. His goodness has not been developed and will never be altered; hence from everlasting to everlasting He remains the same with character infallible and immutable.
The scriptures abound in testimony to God’s immutability. Balaam said, “God is not a man, that should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall not make it good?” (Num. 23:19). In praise to God for his immutability, David said, “The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations” (Psa. 33:11). To Jehovah, David said,
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed (Psa. 102:25-26).
Again the Psalmist said, “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psa. 119:89). In defense of His own immutability, the Lord said, “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal. 3:6). In exhorting his brethren to be steadfast in the faith, Paul said, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to He, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” (Heb. 6:19). To show that God is unchangeable and eternally the same, James said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17). Such immutability, indeed, is the hope of the world.
The Role of Man
The works of God magnify His glory. This is seen in his creation and consideration of man. David said,
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou has put all things under his feet (Psa. 8:4-6).
David again said, “Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him: or the son of man, that thou makest account of him: Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away” (Psa. 144:3-4). Here the Psalmist considers man as a cipher, a vapor, a brief moment, as nothing, compared to eternity. How can Jehovah, the mighty Creator of heaven and earth, take knowledge of such an atom as man? How can He “that inhabiteth eternity” stoop to regard the creation of a day—one that passeth away as a shadow? But the mighty God thought enough of man to create Him in His own image (Gen. 1:26); and to provide a means of redemption for man after he had sinned (Eph. 1:10); and to give His only begotten Son to die for man’s sins. (John 3:16.)
Why, then, should we allow our minds to be absorbed in the things of time and space, and to neglect the eternal things? Let us realize that “the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Let us, then, set our “affections on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2).
Perhaps you stand now on the brink of either a happy or miserable eternity. Your Creator bids you come to Him in gospel obedience in preparation for eternal happiness. One would imagine that no rational creature could think of anything else but to prepare himself for a never-ending eternity of joy and peace. One would think that this single thought would engross his whole attention. Certainly it ought so to do; certainly if these things be so, there can be but one thing needful. Then let us, at least, whatever others may do, choose that better part which shall never be taken from us.
O God, Our Help
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Beneath the shadow of Thy throne,
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou are God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight,
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night,
Before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
Then fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
Our God, our help in ages past;
Our hope for years to come;
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home!
—Isaac Watts—
