Devotions this week are based on Week 3 of “He Shall Be Called: Everlasting Father” (CLICK HERE)
Eternity is one of the key attributes of God. Any god that has a beginning or an end cannot rightly be God. Any god that has a beginning in the origin of man is simply a creation of man. Think of all the gods that had a place in the past but have no relevance in the present. They may have taken on different forms or iterations today, but there can be found a clear beginning and a clear demise of that which was called god.
When we understand that time, creation and humanity is a created reality, God must be outside of that to be God. (sorry a little bit philosophical!)
Then what takes this even a step further is to realize the extraordinary miracle of Christmas that God, who is eternal and outside of time, became subject to becoming human and existing in time.
Isaiah’s prophecy of the Everlasting Father, finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the baby born in the manger of Bethlehem. This baby, who had a human beginning, was the eternal Son of God. His existence was realized in the context of time, but his existence has no beginning and no end. As a proper conclusion, we understand and fully believe that Jesus, the Son of God and the son of Mary is the true God.
The Apostle John writes of this miracle:
- John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made….John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus spoke of it as he identified himself as the “I AM” who appeared to Moses in the burning bush, a clear name of the eternal, always existing in the present, God.
- John 8:57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” 58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
The Apostle John was given the revelation of Jesus’ eternal nature and wrote of it this way:
- Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
So why does it matter that Jesus is truly God? First it is a truth of the Bible and is a distinguishing teaching that separates biblical Christianity from other world religions such as Jehovah’s Witness, Mormonism, Islam and more. Many will acknowledge the greatness of Jesus’ teaching, but only biblical Christianity acknowledges Jesus as true God and the second person of the Trinity.
Second, it is the assurance that Jesus’ work was enough for all people. If just a human being his life and death would have had only value for himself, but as the perfect, Son of God, he could live a perfect life and apply it to our account. As the powerful Son of God, his death was sufficient payment for the sins of the world. As the Everlasting Father Son of God, his resurrection proves that he is eternal as he lives! His resurrection to life assures us we will rise to eternal life.
Apply: If someone asked you to define or describe eternity, how would you do it? What do you think the experience of eternity would be like?
Prayer: Everlasting Father, thank you for stepping into time to carry out the work of our salvation! AMEN