The term “eternity” is casually tossed around in a lot of cases. The human mind cannot begin to grasp what eternity really means since eternity is really the infinity of God in reference to time. While eternity may not have a specific reference to time in and of itself, that is how the human mind tries to grasp the concept. Eternity in one sense refers to the endless existence of God prior to creation and His endless existence after the final judgment. For God to be eternal is to say that He never had a beginning and that He will never have an end. It is a necessary corollary with God’s self-existence or Aseity. There is a sense in which the soul should view the grandeur of the glory of God’s eternity with nothing but sheer awe and reverence.
Deuteronomy 33:27 – “The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!'”
Isaiah 9:6 – “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 43:13 – “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
Matthew 18:8 – “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.”
Matthew 19:16 – “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
Ephesians 3:11 – “This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In terms of theology, the Bible (and the theology that flows from it) does not make sense without the eternity of God. The very definition of God depends on His eternity since He has planned all things from eternity. The very concept of heaven and hell being either eternally a place of joy or of punishment depends on God’s being eternal. The very concept of God decreeing all things from eternity or having a Divine plan or planning to send Christ from all eternity depend on God’s being eternal. This attribute is, once again, a basic concept that belongs to God and to no other being at all. It is part of the divinity of God.
This God must be approached with a reverential fear. He is from eternity and has planned all things from eternity. Man should seek His wisdom in all things and seek His counsel in all things. Since God is eternal He knows the future as well as the past. No one can add knowledge to Him or inform God of anything. When anything happens on earth or in the universe, God does not gain knowledge or information from that at all. Because He has planned all things from eternity, things happen because He knows them. The eternity of God is not just a bare concept that men may admire because it is far above them, but it is an attribute of God that is part of His whole being. Infinity shows that there are no boundaries to God, but eternity forces us to look at the infinity of God in reference to something man calls time. In one sense eternity is not living forever, it is just living without the influence of time. It is a perfect state of being in which, shall we picture it, God fills all time and yet stretches infinitely in all directions from time as well.
The eternity of God is important for all of the attributes of God which we will get into later. If man is to be saved by love and grace and then go to heaven to enjoy those for eternity, it is necessary for God to be eternal in all of His being. Our souls can (as a picture) expand more than our brains. The brain cannot wrap around or begin to conceive of eternity, but the soul can admire with joy and pleasure the glory of God that shines through His eternal nature. What a great and glorious God who has been from all eternity and will be forever and forever. From eternity past He has planned all things that would ever happen. He has planned all things to happen for His own glory. Nothing can take place in what we conceive of as time unless it had been planned from all eternity. Nothing takes Him by surprise and that includes the conception and birth of human beings. We were planned from eternity.
God Loves... Himself 
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