Does God Have a Beginning?

Q:  Does God Have a Beginning?

A: No, He has always existed; having a beginning means that God had to come from somewhere to be created, but we know He has always been here and will be throughout eternity.

We can simply reference Genesis 1:1 where we’ve read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” for as long as we could remember, and in my childhood, we were made to stand in front of the congregation every Sunday to recite from memory one (or more) Bible verses during children’s hour as proof that God has always existed. Venturing to Verse 2, the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. God was beginning the early stages of the Creation proving that He was always here – even when nothing else existed.

Want another example of God’s existence? Read Psalm 90:1-2 to see (and imagine the booming voice of Moses) in this prayer: 

1.      Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

2.      Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

This is the introduction to a prayer that David likely recited daily as it was passed down from Moses and the multiple generations that separated the two men. Similar to the verbiage our deacons invoke during the praise service prayers as well as during our auxiliary functions (Bible study, choir practice, etc.), David gives thanks to the omnipresent God for being with him and all of the previous generations in his prayer in appreciation of His supremacy. “From everlasting to everlasting” implies that God was here even before Day One.

Moreover, Jesus acknowledges that God is the Father during a particularly poignant diatribe in John 17 immediately following the Last Supper. As He lifted His eyes to heaven, Jesus prays that the twelve disciples who have received His teachings for the past three years throughout Israel are able to stand firm and continue the pedagogy, and asks for a comforter whom we know today as the Holy Ghost to “sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! – Romans 11:33

Remember reading the Book of Revelation last year? Take a look at Revelation 4 to further illustrate the dream of heaven that John shares with us. After finding himself in the Spirit, John notices twenty-four thrones for twenty-four elders all clothed in white robes wearing golden crowns in addition to the proceeded lightnings, thunderings, voices, seven lamps of fire (symbolized by the seven Spirits of God), and four living creatures with eyes in the front and back of their heads. Still amazed, John writes about the twenty-four elders bowing down before God worshipping Him and casting their crowns before the throne, saying: 

“You are worthy, O Lord, to received glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” – Revelation 4:10, 11

The final proof of God’s existence before the beginning traces to Colossians 1:15-16. In a letter from Paul to the church in Colosse, Paul reiterates to this congregation that the Spirit “is the image of the invisible God, the first-born over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Furthermore in verse 17, He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

What does that mean?

God was here before what we call the beginning, and will remain even after the time we consider the ending.