"The Nevers" Part 1

"The Nevers"

Part 1

   

    We do well to often consider the innumerable truths about God's nature and doings that will require eternity to discover.

    "From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God… O LORD, how manifold are Thy works!   In wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches" (Psalm  90:2; 104:24).

    We also do well to frequently ponder the "nevers" of God, that is, those qualities of His being that have never been and never will be true, and those behaviors and actions in which we can be sure He will never engage Himself.  

    "The Lord will not… (I Samuel 12:22; Proverbs 10:3; Lamentations 3:31…).

    We begin with the simple, but eternally wondrous fact of God's "from everlasting to everlasting"existence.  Never has He not existed, and never will He not exist.  God dwells alone in His triune being as the only resident of the Kingdom of forever, "the lofty One that inhabiteth eternity" (Isaiah 57:15).  His "I AM" had no beginning and will have no end.  We joyfully answer the child's question, "Where did God come from?", with the exultant explanation that "Someone exists who has always been and who will always be, and He is the God of the Bible!"  The child understands better than the adult, but we must all nevertheless lay hold upon the bedrock of Reality, namely, the eternal existence of One who "was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8).  Heavenly beings "rest not day and night, saying Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty" to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, knowing the wonder of God's eternal being, and the truth of His first never - never has He not existed, and never will He not exist (Revelation 4:9).

    Unfathomable as such truth may be, it nevertheless sings a hymn of blessed assurance to our hearts.  Something - Someone - exists who is fulfills the deep inner cry of our hearts for both foundations and immortality.  Indeed, if nothing or no one existed before creation, all things lie upon an empty void.  The human psyche cannot peacefully exist in such uncertainty.  Nor can it rest without confidence in our ongoing existence.  Since we possess no capacity to ensure such perpetual being, something - Someone - must exist to provide our journey into forever.  Moreover, we must know this to be true.  Thus, the "from everlasting to everlasting" God proclaims His eternal being by His Spirit, His Word, His creation, His church, and His personal working in our hearts to enable us to hear the hymn that has forever sounded, and will forever resound - "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). 

    The First Never: never has God not been, and never will He not be.  Much pondering upon such ineffable glory provides much peace within our hearts, and much provision for our voyage through time.  Yes, we live this moment upon "everlasting arms" and within the Heart that was, is, and is to come.  I cannot imagine more assurance, or more peace, the peace of "Never".

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

(I Timothy 1:17)

Tomorrow: Part 2  Never Alone

Weekly Memory Verse

   Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

 (I Timothy 1:17)