The question “Where did God originate?” touches on one of the most profound aspects of theology: the eternality of God. According to Christian theology, God did not have an origin or a beginning. God is eternal, meaning He has always existed and will always exist, without a starting point in time. This concept can be challenging to grasp because humans experience reality within the framework of time, but God exists outside of time and space.
1. God is Eternal
The Bible consistently describes God as eternal, existing before all things and outside of time. Unlike created beings, who have a beginning and an end, God simply is.
- Psalm 90:2: “Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”
- This passage emphasizes that God has no beginning and no end. He exists “from everlasting to everlasting,” which means His existence stretches infinitely into the past and into the future.
- 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.”
- Here, God declares Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. This title reflects God’s eternal nature—He encompasses all of time, yet He Himself is beyond time.
2. God is Self-Existent
Another key concept is that God is self-existent, meaning that He depends on no one and nothing for His existence. This contrasts with everything else in the universe, which is created and dependent on God for its existence.
- Exodus 3:14: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
- When God calls Himself “I AM,” He is declaring His self-existence and eternal presence. God is not defined by time or creation—He simply exists by His own nature, independent of anything else.
- Acts 17:24-25: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”
- This verse highlights that God is not dependent on anything outside of Himself. He is the source of all life and existence, needing nothing from creation to sustain Him.
3. God is Beyond Time
God exists outside of time. Time, as we know it, is a part of creation. Since God created time, He is not bound by it. The idea of “before” or “after” doesn’t apply to God in the same way it does to humans. He exists in a continuous “now”, without past or future as we understand it.
- 2 Peter 3:8: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”
- This passage reflects God’s timeless nature. While humans experience time in a linear fashion, God is not constrained by it. His perspective on time is vastly different from ours.
4. God’s Eternal Nature in Christian Theology
Christian theology teaches that God’s eternality and self-existence are core attributes of His divine nature. These attributes make God unique and distinct from everything else in creation.
- Thomas Aquinas, a medieval theologian, emphasized God as the uncaused cause or first cause. This means that everything that exists has a cause, but God is the original source of all things, without Himself being caused. Aquinas reasoned that there must be a first cause that sets everything else in motion, and that first cause is God—eternal, uncreated, and self-sufficient.
5. God as the Creator of Time and Space
The Bible teaches that God created both the physical universe and time itself. Because of this, God exists beyond the constraints of both.
- Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
- This passage marks the beginning of the universe, but God existed before the “beginning.” He is outside the limits of time and space, and He initiated both.
- Isaiah 40:28: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.”
- God’s eternal nature and His role as Creator are linked. Since God created time and space, He exists independently of them.
6. God’s Incomprehensibility
While the Bible provides insight into God’s nature, it also teaches that God’s eternal existence is beyond full human comprehension. Because we live in a time-bound reality, the idea of something or someone existing outside of time is difficult for us to fully grasp.
- Job 36:26: “How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of His years is past finding out.”
- This passage reflects the mystery of God’s nature. While humans can know God through His revelation in scripture and creation, His infinite and eternal nature is ultimately beyond human understanding.
- Romans 11:33: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!”
- The infinite nature of God means that there are aspects of His existence and nature that surpass human ability to fully explain or understand.
Conclusion:
God did not “originate” in the way that created beings do. According to Christian theology, He is eternal, self-existent, and beyond the bounds of time and space. God has always existed and will always exist, independent of the creation He brought into being. While this concept may be difficult for finite minds to grasp fully, it is a foundational truth of the Christian faith, emphasizing God’s power, majesty, and sovereignty over all things.