It deals with a treaty or comes in the context of a treaty that Abraham made with some men. It says, after the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phycol, the commander of his forces, returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. Tonight we want to think about this aspect of God's being that we call his eternity, or some say his eterneness.
That is, his nature is that he had no beginning and he has no ending. We are creatures of time. I think all of us are quite aware of that. We measure our years of life in terms of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years. We carry around on our wrists or in our pockets little slave drivers that we call watches because we have schedules to keep. We schedule our days with a time to get up. The alarm clock incessantly rings at that early morning hour when you would rather sleep a little longer.
You get up and you go through a routine. You have a time that you normally eat breakfast and then you have a time you have to show up for work. You have a time for your break. You have a time for lunch. You have a time for dinner together as a family. You have a time when it's bedtime. All of our days are built around routines. Of course, each one of us has a little bit of a different routine. Life itself comes in some kind of a schedule.
We are born and we enjoy childhood with its fun and its lack of responsibility. Then we enter into that period of time we call youth when we begin to grow up and we understand what responsibility is about. Then adulthood, a period of time when we beget children and when we aim toward retirement and then after retirement arrives and is gone, we face death, which is certain. Life itself is built around times. Sometimes we even worry over time. God you see is beyond time. He is a timeless being.
That's difficult for us to understand because this aspect of God reveals His infinity and we are locked into finitude. It's difficult for us to grasp what this is all about. The words of Dr. Ryrie though in his book, A Survey of Bible Doctrine, put it down in the language that I can get a hold of and if I can grasp it any of you can.
He says, since there is nothing in our human natures which corresponds to infinity, it is difficult if not impossible for us to comprehend the term eternal or the term infinity. Indeed, most dictionaries resort to defining it by negatives without termination or without finitude. Infinity is usually defined as infinity related to time.
Whatever is involved in these concepts, we can see that they must mean God is not bound by the limitations of finitude and He is not bound by the succession of events which is a necessary part of time. Also His eternality extends backward from our viewpoint of time as well as forward forever. Nevertheless, this concept does not mean that time is unreal to God.
Although He sees the past and future as clearly as the present, He sees them as including succession of events without being Himself bound by that succession. I would like for you to turn to a number of passages in the Bible with me as we think about this aspect of God's infinity that we call His eternality. Turn to Exodus chapter 3, this is a familiar context dealing with the call of Moses to return to Egypt to be the deliverer of God's people Israel. Moses meets God on the top of the mountain.
God speaks to Moses and Moses responds. In verse 13, in the middle of the conversation, 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. This name of God signifies His self-existence, His perpetual existence. At any point God can say I am, you and I can't do that.
There was a point when I could not say I was because I hadn't been born yet. But God can say I am that I am because He is self-existent apart from the process of time. Now turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 33, we see here a wonderful promise which God gives to His people. Moses is in this chapter giving a blessing to the tribes of Israel. He is very near death. In verse 26, he says there is no one like the God of Jeshurun, this is Deuteronomy 33 verse 26. Jeshurun is another name for Israel.
There is no God like the God of Jeshurun who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in His majesty. And then verse 27, the eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. What tremendous words of comfort these are to the people of the Lord. Our refuge is not in a God who is made of wood which decays and rots. Our hope is not in a God of gold or some other metal that can be melted down.
But our hope is in the true God who is spirit and who is described here as eternal and who is able to uphold us not with arms that grow weary with time or weak with age, but arms that are called everlasting. God's power does not diminish with time. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Moses who said this also wrote a psalm. Can anybody tell me which psalm he authored? Psalm 90 was written by Moses the man of God. And here again Moses returns to a similar theme.
It is the frailty of man as contrasted with the eternality of God. In Psalm 90, in the first two verses, he says this, Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born, or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. He tells us three things about God in those two verses. The first is that God is trustworthy. He says you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
If we keep in mind the context of this psalm, it helps us appreciate what Moses is saying. It was written, apparently, toward the end of the 38 years of wandering around in the wilderness. The first couple of years were spent being delivered from Egypt and then going to Mount Sinai and receiving the law of God. And then for the remainder of the 40 years, they wandered around in the wilderness while that unbelieving generation of Israelites died off.
Everyone from 20 years of age and up died in the wilderness, except for two men, Joshua and Caleb, because they had believed God. But everyone else in that generation died. You could follow the trekking of those people because of the carcasses that were strewn through the wilderness where they journeyed. Hundreds of thousands of people had to die before God would bring his people to the Jordan where they would then enter into the land.
Now I was in the midst of that situation, this long funeral procession, if you please, that he says you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. God is trustworthy. Then he points to that which is most enduring to man, the mountains. And he says, before the mountains were born, or you brought forth the earth and the world. And here he speaks of God's power. God is not only trustworthy, but God is powerful because he brought forth the mountains and the earth and the world.
He is the creator. And finally he says that God is eternal, from everlasting, that is in reverse in the past, from everlasting. He looks in the other direction, the future, to everlasting. You are God, his eternity. And turn over a few pages again to Psalm 102 where we see similar words. Starting in verse 24, let's back up to verse 23 to get the whole paragraph. This is the Psalm of a man who has been through trouble. And he pours out his lament before the Lord.
He says, in the course of my life he broke my strength. He cut short my days. So I said, do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days. Your years go on through all generations. In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like a garment, like clothing, you will change them, and they will be discarded.
He is talking here about the heavens, the stars, the galaxies that we gaze at with such amazement. He says they are going to grow old, they are like a garment, and God is going to change them. But verse 27, you remain the same, and your years will never end. God is without beginning and ending. He cannot be limited by space or by time, and yet he is able to act in relation to both space and time.
In his book, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, William Evans has this good statement regarding God's eternity. It is duration without beginning or end, existence without bounds or dimension, present without past or future. His eternity is youth without infancy or old age, life without birth or death, today without yesterday or tomorrow. So we see in the Bible clearly revealed to us that God is eternal. But there is a related question to this doctrine, and that is, what about Jesus Christ?
For there are a number of false teachings which diminish his position to one of a created being. They say that he had a beginning. They take that phrase that he was the beginning of the creation of God, and they say that means that he was the very first thing created. But that is not the meaning of that phrase. What about Jesus Christ? Is he eternal? The answer of course is yes.
And I am going to share just three scriptures with you out of many that we could look at tonight to talk about his eternality as God the Son. Just think with me of Isaiah's prophecy for a moment. And his name shall be called, speaking about the Messiah, wonderful counselor, the mighty God, and what is the next one? The everlasting Father, or that can be put, the Father of eternity.
The Father of eternity, speaking about the anointed one, the Messiah, the servant of the Lord who would come and who would then rule and reign upon the earth. Turn over to a familiar prophecy in the book of Micah. Micah chapter 5. This is a verse that we often look at at Christmas time because Micah the prophet names Bethlehem, and not just Bethlehem, but the specific Bethlehem of Ephrathah where the Messiah would be born.
This was a prophecy given hundreds of years before Jesus was born in that city. In verse 1 of chapter 5 of Micah, it says, Marshall your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. That of course is a reference fulfilled in Christ too.
But in verse 2 are these words, but you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Now we have here both the humanity and deity of Christ treated. When it says out of you will come for me one who will be ruler, it speaks of his humanity, of his incarnation and his birth in that place.
But then it deals with his deity when it says that his origins are from of old, and then that last phrase could be translated this way, from days of eternity. In other words, this one who would be born, who would come out from Bethlehem to be the ruler would have origins that go back into eternity itself, the days of eternity from ancient times. And so these are two Old Testament prophecies that deal with this one who would come as God and man, the Messiah, and it emphasizes his eternity.
And then we go to John 1, where we have perhaps the most familiar New Testament verses dealing with this truth about Jesus Christ. In John 1, his name is the word, the logos. And again we have emphasis upon the fact that he had no beginning. John 1, 1 begins as Genesis 1, 1 does with the words in the beginning. The beginning is that period when God created. It's that time when time itself and space, matter, energy, all of that began. That's what the beginning is all about.
Now it says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God showing his distinction. And yet it says the word was God. Now the phrase I want to pick out is the very first one, or the clause rather. In the beginning, the word was. In other words, when creation took place, when time began, when energy and matter were brought into existence by God's creative power, at that time the word already was. He is not a part of creation.
He is apart from it, distinct from it, and it is through him that God created. And since we're in John, look at another passage here in John chapter 8, verse 58. We're coming here into the middle of an argument really between Jesus and the religious leaders of Jerusalem. They challenge him as to who he is. And in verse 58, we'll get the most significant statement for our purpose. Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am.
A clearer statement could not be made to his pre-existence. Before Abraham was born, I am. And when Jesus used that key phrase, I am, it did not take a brilliant Jew to understand what he was referring to. Because God had revealed himself by that very name. Clearly, Jesus is claiming here to be the one who called himself I am in the Old Testament. They knew this, and in verse 59 it says, at this they picked up stones to stone him. Why?
Because from their viewpoint he had blasphemed, calling himself God. John chapter 10 contains another reference similar to this, but we'll not look at it. I would like to look at one more verse dealing with Jesus Christ in Hebrews chapter 7. I think Hebrews is one of my favorite books. Someday I'm going to preach through Hebrews. The Lord willing. Hebrews chapter 7. Beginning in chapter 5 of Hebrews, the writer of this book wants to show the superiority of Christ's priesthood over that of Aaron.
Now from the title of the book, you know to whom the book was written, to the Jews, to Hebrew believers. And of course, they were very close to the concept of the priesthood that descended from Aaron. That was a part of their past, their Jewish religion. And in chapters 5, 6, and 7, he is showing the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus Christ over that of Aaron. The priests that served Israel in that day were descendants of Aaron. They were after the order of Aaron and were respected.
But the writer says Jesus Christ is not after the order of Aaron. He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Now Melchizedek is a strange figure. Some of you may have never heard of him. He's only mentioned in three contexts in the Bible. Once back in the historical book of Genesis where he comes on the scene and off very quickly. Again in the Psalms and one other time here in Hebrews. But though he is mentioned seldom, he is very significant because of what he does and who he is.
Now in chapter 7 verse 1, he says this Melchizedek that he's talking about was king of Salem and priest of God most high. If you want to learn more about this guy, go back to Genesis chapter 14 on your own and read about him. He says he met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him. And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. Abraham tithed at that point and I would like just to say in passing that's the only time it's recorded he tithed.
First his name means king of righteousness. That is the very name Melchizedek. It means king of righteousness. Then also king of Salem means king of peace. And so this individual from the Old Testament is called the king of righteousness, the king of peace. And then in verse 3 it further relates how he is like Jesus Christ who is a priest after his order. Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of time like the son of God he remains a priest forever.
Now there are some people who believe that Melchizedek was Jesus Christ himself appearing of course long before Bethlehem. I personally lean to the position that he was not Jesus Christ come in the flesh but rather was a godly man. And certainly he was a priest of King of Salem and a priest of God, the most high God. When it says that he was without father or mother it's talking about as far as scriptures are concerned.
In other words the record of scripture does not talk about the father or mother of Melchizedek. It does not record his genealogy. And so in that sense he is without beginning of days or end of time and is a picture of the son of God, a priest forever. And so the Lord Jesus Christ here in this context is said to be without time. He doesn't have a father or mother in his deity. In his humanity he had a beginning of course with Mary but in his deity no beginning, no ending, a priest forever.
If you read the verses around this you understand what he is getting at about Jesus Christ being our eternal high priest after the order of Melchizedek. And so through these scriptures that we look at we see that not only does God reveal himself as eternal but as he reveals himself in Jesus Christ he is also the eternal God. Now this idea of his eternality is closely linked to his changelessness. Now we are here in Hebrews, look over here in chapter 6 and verse 17 and notice what it says.
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised he confirmed it with an oath. Now without going into the whole context here because our time is short I want you to simply notice that phrase the unchanging nature of his purpose. Some of you will remember the words of the Lord from Malachi chapter 3 where he says I am the Lord I what? Change not. God in his person and in his purposes does not change.
Now there are people who say well it says that God repented doesn't that mean that God changes? No God himself does not change. He changes his action toward man on the basis of man's response to him. But God himself does not change nor do his purposes change. Now this is a blessed truth for us in a changing world that is in a constant state of flux our God does not change.
Richard Dehaan in his book The Living God says God's character and purposes cannot be altered any variation would either be for better or for worse. Since God is perfect he cannot change for the better and since he is God he cannot change for the worse. Henry Light wrote the words that we sometimes sing swift to its close ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim its glories pass away change and decay in all around I see. O thou who changest not abide with me.
Now what does all this mean to us? Well let's just mention a couple things and we'll be through. In the first place because I am made in God's image I as a person possess eternal existence. Now I'd like to draw for a moment a difference a distinction between eternal existence and eternal life. Eternal life belongs to those who are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ but whether one is saved or lost he has eternal existence. In other words every one of us will be somewhere forever.
Long after we pass the stage of this world and we leave this life every one of us in this room as a distinct person will be somewhere forever. Men like to deny that or ignore it or they attempt to drown it in some way in their life but it's a truth that cannot be escaped. And of course the question is where will you spend eternity? Because spend it you will. By trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you may spend eternity with God in heaven.
Ignoring him, putting him off, rejecting him dooms you to spend eternity separated from God in a place of endless agony which the Bible calls the lake of fire. Where will you spend eternity? That's an important question. I hope you can answer it tonight in a positive way. That is that you know you're going to spend eternity with Christ. A second way that this relates to me that is this truth of God's eternity is that it assures me of his ability to fulfill his promises.
God's eternity and his changelessness is the foundation of all his covenants. That's why in the context here of Hebrews 6 it says not only has God promised but God has sealed his promise with an oath. So by those two unchangeable things he may show us the unchangeable nature of his promises. Every promise that God has made to you and me he will fulfill. His purposes do not change. He can be counted on to always respond the same way based upon his word. God is a safe refuge for each generation.
He was the refuge for Abraham. He was the refuge for David. He was the refuge for Paul. The refuge for Augustine and Luther and Calvin of Wesley of Moody of you. Do you ever look up at the moon or the stars at night and think that is the same moon and the same stars that David saw? He slept out under those stars. He saw that moon and they inspired him to write some of the words that he wrote which we have recorded in the Bible. That was 3,000 years ago yet the same moon and the same stars.
But they grow old and like a garment they are going to be changed. But the very same God that David trusted in is the God that you and I trust in. As the psalm said this God is our God forever and ever. I would like to read to you some brief words by a man that I have mentioned to you before the name of Charnock, a writer of a different generation but who writes in such splendid ways about the nature of our God.
As I read these words I wanted to illustrate to us a third way in which this truth relates to us. It means that we are going to be somewhere forever. Secondly it means that I can count on the promises of God because He doesn't change from generation to generation. Thirdly it teaches me something of His majesty and His greatness. You are going to have to exercise the discipline of listening. I encourage you to do that.
The first notion of eternity is to be without beginning and end, which notes to us the duration of a being in regard of its existence. But to have no succession, nothing first or last, notes rather the perfection of a being in regard of its essence. He goes on to say, the creatures are in a perpetual flux. Something is acquired or something lost every day.
A man is the same in regard of existence when he is a man as when he was a child, but there is a new succession of quantities and qualities in him. Every day he acquires something until he comes to his maturity. Every day he loses something until he comes to his period. A man is not the same at night that he was in the morning. Something is expired and something is added. Every day there is a change in his age, a change in his substance, a change in his accidents.
But God hath his whole being in one and the same point a moment of eternity. He receives nothing as an addition to what he was before. These are great words. He receives nothing as an addition to what he was before. He loses nothing of what he was before. He is always the same excellency and perfection in the same infiniteness as ever. His years do not fail. His years do not come and go as others do. There is not this day, tomorrow, or yesterday with him.
As nothing is past or future with him in regard of knowledge, but all things are present, so nothing is past or future in regard of his essence. He is not in his essence this day what he was not before, or will be the next day and year what he is not now. All his perfections are most perfect in him every moment, before all ages and after all ages. Now, those are kind of heavy words.
Just to boil it all down to the language that I can speak and understand more clearly, it simply means that God is always the same. He does not weaken. Nothing can be added to him. He is perfect in his eternity and his immutability, that is, his changelessness. And so as I contemplate this fact of God's eternity, it teaches me something about his greatness.
When was the last time you bowed your knees and you praised God for his eternity, and you meditated on that truth and allowed it to fill your mind and your soul? I tell you, it makes you feel very, very, very small and insignificant. It is so difficult to try to illustrate eternity. I think the first time I heard it illustrated was probably the best illustration I have ever heard. Maybe you have heard this.
But let's suppose that there was a little sparrow, and that that sparrow flew out to the shore of the sea and picked up one little grain of sand in his beak, and then took off flying and flew all the way to the moon, and then turned around and came back to the earth at the speed of sparrows.
Went back to the seashore, picked up another grain of sand, repeated the journey, and did that again and again and again until he had picked up every grain of sand from every shore in all the world and had transported it to the moon. That would only be the first second of eternity. Even that illustration falls short, finally, in trying to illustrate to our minds what eternity is all about. It is awesome. It is awesome.
But I tell you, it's wonderful to be related to the eternal God and to know you're going to be with him. You don't have to be afraid of eternity. Mysterious though it be, we need not fear it because he is the father of eternity. And I hope he's your savior tonight. Let's pray. God, because we are creatures of time, because we constantly change, it is so very difficult for us to understand this aspect of your infinity.
Yet it causes us to be in awesome worship of you, and we do lift our hearts tonight as your people in praise of your eternity and the fact that you love us so much that you've made it possible for us to spend that eternity with yourself as your children. We praise you for that.
God, if there be some friend here tonight who is not sure of his or her destiny in eternity, before that dear friend leaves this place, I pray that there will be a decision of the will that would receive Jesus Christ into the life so that eternal destiny might be made sure as heaven.
I pray that the thoughts of eternity would cause each one of us who are your children to contemplate this aspect of your being and to enter into worship either later tonight or tomorrow morning, tomorrow in the day sometime, as we meditate and reflect upon this marvelous attribute that is yours. In Jesus' name, amen.