Eternality

A form of the phrase “from everlasting” occurs nine times in the Bible (Psalm 41:13; 90:2; 93:2; 103:17; 106:48; Proverbs 8:23; Isaiah 63:16; Micah 5:2; and Habakkuk 1:12). This phrase is very significant, meaning that God already was from eternity past. God always was. There was never a time when He was not, and even this does not do Him justice. Before there was time, God always was. His eternality is one of the primary attributes that makes Him God, and He does not share this with any other being. We have everlasting life when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but unlike God, we were not from everlasting.

  1. God’s eternality shows He is not limited by anything. Psalm 90:2 reads, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” As creator of space and time, we see that God is not limited by anything in the creation. According to Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8, a thousand years, which is eons to us, is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to time with God.
  2. God’s eternality establishes His authority. In Psalm 93:2 we see that God’s “throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” He always was King over all things, because He created all things. The great powerful waters He created is nothing to Him because He created them (Psalm 93:4).
  3. God’s mercy is from everlasting. People that fear the Lord receive God’s mercy (Psalm 103:17). This fear entails real fear, but also respect, honor, and trust. The idea of mercy throughout the Bible not only means showing compassion and forgiveness, but also is a word that is in the context of God’s covenant with His people. It is an intimate love and loyalty to His people. This quality of mercy was with God before time began, and always will be an attribute of God’s character.
  4. God’s wisdom is from everlasting. Personified as a woman in the book of Proverbs, “Wisdom” tells us that she “was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was” (Proverbs 8:23). His wisdom must be eternal because He possessed wisdom before time was (Proverbs 8:22-26), and also because He created the world by wisdom (Psalm 136:5, Proverbs 3:19). Wisdom could be considered applied righteousness, truth, and godliness, as we see throughout Proverbs 8.
  5. God’s name is from everlasting. “Thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting” (Isaiah 63:16). The word LORD here is God’s name, Jehovah, which means “He is.” In Exodus 3:14, God identifies Himself this way: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14). Every time we see the word “LORD” or “GOD” in all capital letters, it references this name Jehovah, and it is a reminder that God always is. Since this is the covenantal, personal name of God, it should bring great comfort to His people when they think upon His name. If God always is, then He is always a constant and a certain refuge of salvation.
  6. God’s eternality establishes His judgment. When the prophet Habakkuk questioned God about the wickedness of society, God answered him with the news of impending judgment by means of the Chaldean army. Habakkuk then offered a second question to God, asking why God would do this, considering the Babylonians were more wicked than the people of Judah. Habakkuk, puts it this way, “Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction” (Habakkuk 1:12). Habakkuk knew that God’s righteousness in judgment is based on His eternality. The LORD is not only able to pronounce judgment on all things, He must, because He is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13).

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