Has God always existed?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

JaumeJ

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2011
21,237
6,530
113
#21
Eternal by definition>>lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning
I believe it is written somewhere in the Word that our Maker has no beginning and no end, but I do nto find it. Perhaqps the Holy Spirit has told me this. Who knows? All I do know is this, our Father would not be our Father if He had to have a beginning. I would laugh were it not so very sad for anyone to consider such a notion.
 

loveme1

Senior Member
Oct 30, 2011
8,083
190
63
#22
These questions are only ever something to mull about.. for most accept GOD is the Alpha and the Omega…
This came to mind

Isaiah 45:9

King James Bible
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

We mortals are limited.. but the Bible reveals that:

Revelation 10:7
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.


So my tuppence worth… we can’t answer something like that! We can believe it was so… but GOD is above and beyond and I can with humility say… I don’t know, but I’m sure in the everlasting we will know all things.
Glory to the Almighty GOD of Heaven and earth. The mortals learn of His blue prints.. oh, how we did marvel.
 

JaumeJ

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2011
21,237
6,530
113
#23
These questions are only ever something to mull about.. for most accept GOD is the Alpha and the Omega…
This came to mind

Isaiah 45:9

King James Bible
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

We mortals are limited.. but the Bible reveals that:

Revelation 10:7
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.


So my tuppence worth… we can’t answer something like that! We can believe it was so… but GOD is above and beyond and I can with humility say… I don’t know, but I’m sure in the everlasting we will know all things.
Glory to the Almighty GOD of Heaven and earth. The mortals learn of His blue prints.. oh, how we did marvel.
Excellent! I hope all zero in on the mention of God's mystery being revealed, then, perhaps, all will realize there is much mystery yet to be understood, and there will be a lot more harmony in the threads.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
14,732
5,316
113
62
#24
Eternal means forever in the future. I'm asking for forever in the past. Does God have a beginning or has He always existed? Did God exist before creation? Before Time?
See post #8
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,633
7,664
113
#25
Time as we know it is a construct that was created for us, as He created us, for His pleasure, He exists in the Quantum realm where there is no space or time.
We also know from scripture He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
 
Dec 30, 2020
868
226
43
#26
Isaiah 43: 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
"Before me" means that there was a time before Him and no God was formed. The Father has always existed, so it can't be the Father speaking. The Bible says that Christ and the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father. That is when the beginning starts and then comes the creation. Christ sits on the Father's right hand which means that the Father created everything through the Word (Christ) who does the Father's bidding. The Lord and God of the Old Testament is Christ. He is our Lord and Savior, and because it was through Him that all was created, He is also our God. It was the Father who put all things under the feet of Christ (except Himself) and gave Christ authority in Heaven and on earth.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
14,732
5,316
113
62
#27
Isaiah 43: 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
"Before me" means that there was a time before Him and no God was formed. The Father has always existed, so it can't be the Father speaking. The Bible says that Christ and the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father. That is when the beginning starts and then comes the creation. Christ sits on the Father's right hand which means that the Father created everything through the Word (Christ) who does the Father's bidding. The Lord and God of the Old Testament is Christ. He is our Lord and Savior, and because it was through Him that all was created, He is also our God. It was the Father who put all things under the feet of Christ (except Himself) and gave Christ authority in Heaven and on earth.
By that logic there will also be end...neither shall there be after me..
 

arthurfleminger

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2021
1,405
771
113
#29
There is no such thing as 'time' in God's realm. He is 'I AM'.

The statement "I AM" comes from the Hebrew verb "to be or to exist.
" With this statement, God declared that He is self-existent, eternal, self-sufficient, self-directed, and unchanging. But this statement also declared that He is present.

Time, as we know it, is simply a measure of 'change' in the physical universe. Time does not exist for God as He is not of the created physical universe. That's why Scripture states that 'a thousand years is like a day to God.' Time is irrelevant to God.
'
 
Dec 30, 2020
868
226
43
#30
There is no such thing as 'time' in God's realm. He is 'I AM'.

The statement "I AM" comes from the Hebrew verb "to be or to exist." With this statement, God declared that He is self-existent, eternal, self-sufficient, self-directed, and unchanging. But this statement also declared that He is present.

Time, as we know it, is simply a measure of 'change' in the physical universe. Time does not exist for God as He is not of the created physical universe. That's why Scripture states that 'a thousand years is like a day to God.' Time is irrelevant to God.
'
I agree with you 100%. However, the terms before and after involve time so that time was already created.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
14,732
5,316
113
62
#31
How did you arrive at that conclusion? The " after me" means eternity in the future.
The same way you say before me meant a time when there wasn't an existence.
There is a parallelism in writing. If it means one thing in the first statement, it will have the same implication in the next.
Every passage isn't teaching everything. Otherwise, good stewardship would be stealing from your soon to be former employer according to Jesus.
 
Dec 30, 2020
868
226
43
#32
The same way you say before me meant a time when there wasn't an existence.
There is a parallelism in writing. If it means one thing in the first statement, it will have the same implication in the next.
Every passage isn't teaching everything. Otherwise, good stewardship would be stealing from your soon to be former employer according to Jesus.
Before me means a time when only the Father existed. After me means time everlasting. The beginning started when the Word proceedeth from the Father and started creating. No other God was formed before Him or will be formed after Him means that He is the only God formed from the Father.
 
Dec 30, 2020
868
226
43
#34
.
Was the answer given in post No.8 not good enough to wrap this discussion?
_
Not really. The Father is from everlasting to everlasting. Before Him does not exist. The God of Isaiah 43: 10 had a time before Him and therefore a beginning. If you are that impatient to leave this discussion, you are free to do whatever you want. I'm looking for answers. Thank you for referring me to Post No. 8. That was very helpful.
 

Grandpa

Senior Member
Jun 24, 2011
11,551
3,189
113
#35
For there to be a beginning, there has to be a starting time. We know that there is a beginning of creation. Did God exist before time was created? I'm looking for honest and sincere answers. We are in awe of His power and knowledge. We know that He is ubiquitous and all knowing of all our thoughts and feelings. God is awesome. My question is " Is there a time before God? Thanks for your input.
No. There can't be a time before God.

Because then that would indicate that God didn't create all things. And time is one of the things created. "in the beginning". Beginning of what? Beginning of Time.


Hard for us to fathom, but God is not constrained by time or any other of His Creations.

2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
 

Webers.Home

Well-known member
May 28, 2018
5,206
977
113
Oregon
cfbac.org
#36
.
Personally I have no interest in where God's been just so long as nobody
replaces Him because that would mean starting all over again with a new
supreme being and that just might be a cause for concern.

I'm solid with the current deity; and the next one may not be so
accommodating. I mean, the current deity donated His own next of kin to
rescue folks from a terrible future in brimstone. That degree of generosity
may not appeal to the current God's replacement
_
 

JaumeJ

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2011
21,237
6,530
113
#37
I just read , listened to, Psalm 51.
This is one I frequently come back to to pray the words. The narrator is very good.
Persistent, have a listen!
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
12,290
4,965
113
#38
I'm just curious to know. Is there any scripture that lets us know.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, ( present ) and which was, ( past) and which is to come, ( future ) the Almighty.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Thy throne is established of old: Thou art from everlasting.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭93:2‬ ‭

Not only was he in the beginning but the beginning comes from him who was before and is now and will ever be eternally without beginning of days or end of years

Even mans entire concept of time is created by him who spins the world and rotates earth around the sun precisely so
Man could measure what we conceive as time and really have any conception of it at all

The order of the sun moon and stars working with earth is mans concept of the term “ time “

It’s part of the reason we have no real concept of eternity because we measure the rotations and orbits of the universe and think in terms of time

God is who designed and also executed the concept of time for mankind . it came from him who was before has always been and ever will remain the same

So of course he’s always been

awe don’t even know what he was doing billions of years ago he could have done anything and we have no clue what he’s going to be doing billions of years from now

abut he has invited us to join him in eternity beyond the earthly concept of time so we could one day see what he’s doing billions of “years “ from now

God designed the universe at least our own galaxy like a clock designed to keep time
 

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
11,887
8,699
113
#39
Eternal means forever in the future. I'm asking for forever in the past. Does God have a beginning or has He always existed? Did God exist before creation? Before Time?
Yes, forever in the past as well as the future. That is the meaning of the "I Am" statements. God is the Creator, not the created.

John 8:58
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

As @Subhumanoidal has stated, God is not constrained to the time dimension.
Time, itself, is created by God. Therefore God is outside of time.
 

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
11,887
8,699
113
#40
I believe it is written somewhere in the Word that our Maker has no beginning and no end, but I do nto find it. Perhaqps the Holy Spirit has told me this. Who knows? All I do know is this, our Father would not be our Father if He had to have a beginning. I would laugh were it not so very sad for anyone to consider such a notion.
This was spoken of Melchizedek and the Son of God...

Hebrews 7:3 Context
1For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.