Who made God? You’ve heard the question, probably from the lips of a child, or for that matter, from the lips of a skeptic who wanted to argue that believing the universe is eternal is just as rational as believing that God is eternal. If we don’t know where God came from, the argument goes then we don’t have to know where the universe came from.
Of course there is a difference; the universe does not have within itself the cause of its own existence, for He is, as theologians say, “the uncaused cause.” We can’t get our minds around the concept of an uncaused being, but both the Bible and logic teach if there were no “uncaused being,” nothing would ever have existed, for out of nothing, nothing can arise.
Scripture tells us, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2). From eternity past to eternity future, God exists, and as we shall se, He does not change.
God’s Nature Does Not Change
God cannot grow older; he does not gain new powers nor lose ones He once had. He does not grow wiser, for He already knows all things. He does not become stronger; He already is omnipotent, powerful to an infinite degree. “He cannot change for the better,” wrote A.W. Pink, “for he is already perfect; and being perfect, he cannot change for the worse.” “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17)
God’s Truth Does Not Change
Sometimes we say things we do not mean, or we make promises we can not keep. Unforeseen circumstances make our words worthless. Not so with God: “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our Gods stand forever” (Isa 40:8)
David agreed when he wrote, “Your word, O Lord is eternal; it stand firm in the heavens … Long ago I learned from your statures that you established them to last forever” (Ps 119:89, 152). God never has to revise His opinions or update His plans. He never has had to revamp His schedule.
Yes, there are a few passages of Scripture that speak of God as regretting a decision and changing His mind (Gen 6:6-7; 1 Sam 15). In these passages Scripture shows God changing His response to people because of their behavior, but there was no reason to think that this reaction was either unforeseen or not a part of His eternal plan. As J.I Packer put it, “No change in His eternal purpose is implied when He begins to deal with a man in a new way.”
God’s standards do not Change
The Ten Commandments are not just an arbitrary list of rules; they are a reflection of the character of God and the world that He chose to create. We should not bear false witness because God and the world that He chose to create. We should not bear false witness because God is a God of truth; we should not commit adultery because the Creator established the integrity of the family. “Be holy, because I am Holy” is a command in both Testaments (Lev 11:44; 1 Pet 1:16). God intended that the commandments hold His standard before us. “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will bo sons of the most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35). The command to love the unlovable is rooted in the very character of God.
God’s attributes are uniquely balance. He combines compassion with a commitment to strict justice, describing Himself as “the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7)
Though we die, nothing in God dies; He unites the past and the future. The God who called Abraham form
“Jesus Christ; the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrew 13:8).
