1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,120
It deals with a treaty or comes in the context of a treaty that Abraham made with some men.

2
00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:18,000
It says, after the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phycol, the commander

3
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:23,240
of his forces, returned to the land of the Philistines.

4
00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:30,560
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord,

5
00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,520
the Eternal God.

6
00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:40,160
Tonight we want to think about this aspect of God's being that we call his eternity,

7
00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,960
or some say his eterneness.

8
00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:50,960
That is, his nature is that he had no beginning and he has no ending.

9
00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,360
We are creatures of time.

10
00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,400
I think all of us are quite aware of that.

11
00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:06,320
We measure our years of life in terms of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years.

12
00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:15,400
We carry around on our wrists or in our pockets little slave drivers that we call watches

13
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:20,420
because we have schedules to keep.

14
00:01:20,420 --> 00:01:22,920
We schedule our days with a time to get up.

15
00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:28,440
The alarm clock incessantly rings at that early morning hour when you would rather sleep

16
00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,520
a little longer.

17
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:32,240
You get up and you go through a routine.

18
00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,400
You have a time that you normally eat breakfast and then you have a time you have to show

19
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:36,880
up for work.

20
00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,920
You have a time for your break.

21
00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:41,880
You have a time for lunch.

22
00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,180
You have a time for dinner together as a family.

23
00:01:44,180 --> 00:01:47,680
You have a time when it's bedtime.

24
00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:49,800
All of our days are built around routines.

25
00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:54,120
Of course, each one of us has a little bit of a different routine.

26
00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,600
Life itself comes in some kind of a schedule.

27
00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:06,520
We are born and we enjoy childhood with its fun and its lack of responsibility.

28
00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,460
Then we enter into that period of time we call youth when we begin to grow up and we

29
00:02:10,460 --> 00:02:13,600
understand what responsibility is about.

30
00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:24,560
Then adulthood, a period of time when we beget children and when we aim toward retirement

31
00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:31,040
and then after retirement arrives and is gone, we face death, which is certain.

32
00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,080
Life itself is built around times.

33
00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,360
Sometimes we even worry over time.

34
00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,840
God you see is beyond time.

35
00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,640
He is a timeless being.

36
00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:52,720
That's difficult for us to understand because this aspect of God reveals His infinity and

37
00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,680
we are locked into finitude.

38
00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,200
It's difficult for us to grasp what this is all about.

39
00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:05,640
The words of Dr. Ryrie though in his book, A Survey of Bible Doctrine, put it down in

40
00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:11,760
the language that I can get a hold of and if I can grasp it any of you can.

41
00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:18,160
He says, since there is nothing in our human natures which corresponds to infinity, it

42
00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:26,880
is difficult if not impossible for us to comprehend the term eternal or the term infinity.

43
00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:34,160
Indeed, most dictionaries resort to defining it by negatives without termination or without

44
00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,840
finitude.

45
00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:44,480
Infinity is usually defined as infinity related to time.

46
00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:51,440
Whatever is involved in these concepts, we can see that they must mean God is not bound

47
00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:59,280
by the limitations of finitude and He is not bound by the succession of events which is

48
00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,600
a necessary part of time.

49
00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:10,200
Also His eternality extends backward from our viewpoint of time as well as forward forever.

50
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:17,320
Nevertheless, this concept does not mean that time is unreal to God.

51
00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:24,720
Although He sees the past and future as clearly as the present, He sees them as including

52
00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:33,160
succession of events without being Himself bound by that succession.

53
00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,320
I would like for you to turn to a number of passages in the Bible with me as we think

54
00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:45,800
about this aspect of God's infinity that we call His eternality.

55
00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:58,240
Turn to Exodus chapter 3, this is a familiar context dealing with the call of Moses to

56
00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:05,480
return to Egypt to be the deliverer of God's people Israel.

57
00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:11,160
Moses meets God on the top of the mountain.

58
00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:16,680
God speaks to Moses and Moses responds.

59
00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:25,920
In verse 13, in the middle of the conversation, Moses said to God, suppose I go to the Israelites

60
00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:32,880
and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you and they ask me what is His

61
00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:33,880
name?

62
00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,100
Then what shall I tell them?

63
00:05:37,100 --> 00:05:43,200
God said to Moses, I am who I am.

64
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:52,120
This is what you are to say to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you.

65
00:05:52,120 --> 00:06:03,520
This name of God signifies His self-existence, His perpetual existence.

66
00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:11,520
At any point God can say I am, you and I can't do that.

67
00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:17,120
There was a point when I could not say I was because I hadn't been born yet.

68
00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:26,520
But God can say I am that I am because He is self-existent apart from the process of

69
00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:27,520
time.

70
00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:35,480
Now turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 33, we see here a wonderful promise which God gives

71
00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,960
to His people.

72
00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:44,360
Moses is in this chapter giving a blessing to the tribes of Israel.

73
00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,840
He is very near death.

74
00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:58,880
In verse 26, he says there is no one like the God of Jeshurun, this is Deuteronomy 33

75
00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:00,800
verse 26.

76
00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,160
Jeshurun is another name for Israel.

77
00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:10,920
There is no God like the God of Jeshurun who rides on the heavens to help you and on the

78
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,920
clouds in His majesty.

79
00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:23,820
And then verse 27, the eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting

80
00:07:23,820 --> 00:07:26,080
arms.

81
00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:33,680
What tremendous words of comfort these are to the people of the Lord.

82
00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:41,000
Our refuge is not in a God who is made of wood which decays and rots.

83
00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:48,280
Our hope is not in a God of gold or some other metal that can be melted down.

84
00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:55,840
But our hope is in the true God who is spirit and who is described here as eternal and who

85
00:07:55,840 --> 00:08:05,520
is able to uphold us not with arms that grow weary with time or weak with age, but arms

86
00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:10,000
that are called everlasting.

87
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,320
God's power does not diminish with time.

88
00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:19,480
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

89
00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,760
Moses who said this also wrote a psalm.

90
00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:30,000
Can anybody tell me which psalm he authored?

91
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:35,000
Psalm 90 was written by Moses the man of God.

92
00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,960
And here again Moses returns to a similar theme.

93
00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:48,280
It is the frailty of man as contrasted with the eternality of God.

94
00:08:48,280 --> 00:09:02,840
In Psalm 90, in the first two verses, he says this, Lord, you have been our dwelling place

95
00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,480
throughout all generations.

96
00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:15,500
Before the mountains were born, or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting

97
00:09:15,500 --> 00:09:19,360
to everlasting, you are God.

98
00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,520
He tells us three things about God in those two verses.

99
00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:25,680
The first is that God is trustworthy.

100
00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:31,520
He says you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

101
00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:38,680
If we keep in mind the context of this psalm, it helps us appreciate what Moses is saying.

102
00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:44,240
It was written, apparently, toward the end of the 38 years of wandering around in the

103
00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:45,840
wilderness.

104
00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:50,640
The first couple of years were spent being delivered from Egypt and then going to Mount

105
00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:52,840
Sinai and receiving the law of God.

106
00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:57,660
And then for the remainder of the 40 years, they wandered around in the wilderness while

107
00:09:57,660 --> 00:10:03,120
that unbelieving generation of Israelites died off.

108
00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:13,020
Everyone from 20 years of age and up died in the wilderness, except for two men, Joshua

109
00:10:13,020 --> 00:10:17,180
and Caleb, because they had believed God.

110
00:10:17,180 --> 00:10:19,380
But everyone else in that generation died.

111
00:10:19,380 --> 00:10:26,120
You could follow the trekking of those people because of the carcasses that were strewn

112
00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:30,000
through the wilderness where they journeyed.

113
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,840
Hundreds of thousands of people had to die before God would bring his people to the Jordan

114
00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,960
where they would then enter into the land.

115
00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:45,800
Now I was in the midst of that situation, this long funeral procession, if you please,

116
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:52,880
that he says you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

117
00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,280
God is trustworthy.

118
00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:01,840
Then he points to that which is most enduring to man, the mountains.

119
00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:07,880
And he says, before the mountains were born, or you brought forth the earth and the world.

120
00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,640
And here he speaks of God's power.

121
00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,800
God is not only trustworthy, but God is powerful because he brought forth the mountains and

122
00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:16,800
the earth and the world.

123
00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:18,700
He is the creator.

124
00:11:18,700 --> 00:11:26,360
And finally he says that God is eternal, from everlasting, that is in reverse in the past,

125
00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,520
from everlasting.

126
00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,840
He looks in the other direction, the future, to everlasting.

127
00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:39,160
You are God, his eternity.

128
00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:47,040
And turn over a few pages again to Psalm 102 where we see similar words.

129
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:58,800
Starting in verse 24, let's back up to verse 23 to get the whole paragraph.

130
00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:03,120
This is the Psalm of a man who has been through trouble.

131
00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,620
And he pours out his lament before the Lord.

132
00:12:07,620 --> 00:12:13,060
He says, in the course of my life he broke my strength.

133
00:12:13,060 --> 00:12:15,640
He cut short my days.

134
00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:24,360
So I said, do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days.

135
00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:28,500
Your years go on through all generations.

136
00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:33,440
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work

137
00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,940
of your hands.

138
00:12:35,940 --> 00:12:40,360
They will perish, but you remain.

139
00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:46,560
They will all wear out like a garment, like clothing, you will change them, and they will

140
00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:47,560
be discarded.

141
00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:53,600
He is talking here about the heavens, the stars, the galaxies that we gaze at with such

142
00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,200
amazement.

143
00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:00,960
He says they are going to grow old, they are like a garment, and God is going to change

144
00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,760
them.

145
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:14,760
But verse 27, you remain the same, and your years will never end.

146
00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:18,160
God is without beginning and ending.

147
00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:26,360
He cannot be limited by space or by time, and yet he is able to act in relation to both

148
00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,880
space and time.

149
00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:36,840
In his book, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, William Evans has this good statement regarding

150
00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,160
God's eternity.

151
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:51,040
It is duration without beginning or end, existence without bounds or dimension, present without

152
00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,300
past or future.

153
00:13:54,300 --> 00:14:02,080
His eternity is youth without infancy or old age, life without birth or death, today without

154
00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:07,920
yesterday or tomorrow.

155
00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:14,200
So we see in the Bible clearly revealed to us that God is eternal.

156
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:19,840
But there is a related question to this doctrine, and that is, what about Jesus Christ?

157
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:30,280
For there are a number of false teachings which diminish his position to one of a created

158
00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:32,280
being.

159
00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,920
They say that he had a beginning.

160
00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,080
They take that phrase that he was the beginning of the creation of God, and they say that

161
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:45,160
means that he was the very first thing created.

162
00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,920
But that is not the meaning of that phrase.

163
00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:49,280
What about Jesus Christ?

164
00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:51,640
Is he eternal?

165
00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,160
The answer of course is yes.

166
00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,920
And I am going to share just three scriptures with you out of many that we could look at

167
00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:03,460
tonight to talk about his eternality as God the Son.

168
00:15:03,460 --> 00:15:08,480
Just think with me of Isaiah's prophecy for a moment.

169
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:18,120
And his name shall be called, speaking about the Messiah, wonderful counselor, the mighty

170
00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,880
God, and what is the next one?

171
00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:31,280
The everlasting Father, or that can be put, the Father of eternity.

172
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:36,440
The Father of eternity, speaking about the anointed one, the Messiah, the servant of

173
00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:42,960
the Lord who would come and who would then rule and reign upon the earth.

174
00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:50,920
Turn over to a familiar prophecy in the book of Micah.

175
00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,920
Micah chapter 5.

176
00:15:54,920 --> 00:16:02,040
This is a verse that we often look at at Christmas time because Micah the prophet names Bethlehem,

177
00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:09,520
and not just Bethlehem, but the specific Bethlehem of Ephrathah where the Messiah would be born.

178
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:17,960
This was a prophecy given hundreds of years before Jesus was born in that city.

179
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:24,160
In verse 1 of chapter 5 of Micah, it says, Marshall your troops, O city of troops, for

180
00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,200
a siege is laid against us.

181
00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:32,760
They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod.

182
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:37,240
That of course is a reference fulfilled in Christ too.

183
00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:43,840
But in verse 2 are these words, but you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the

184
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:53,640
clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins

185
00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:58,160
are from of old, from ancient times.

186
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:03,560
Now we have here both the humanity and deity of Christ treated.

187
00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:10,360
When it says out of you will come for me one who will be ruler, it speaks of his humanity,

188
00:17:10,360 --> 00:17:14,740
of his incarnation and his birth in that place.

189
00:17:14,740 --> 00:17:22,680
But then it deals with his deity when it says that his origins are from of old, and then

190
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:29,080
that last phrase could be translated this way, from days of eternity.

191
00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:34,160
In other words, this one who would be born, who would come out from Bethlehem to be the

192
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:42,760
ruler would have origins that go back into eternity itself, the days of eternity from

193
00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,320
ancient times.

194
00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:51,400
And so these are two Old Testament prophecies that deal with this one who would come as

195
00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:57,280
God and man, the Messiah, and it emphasizes his eternity.

196
00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:03,360
And then we go to John 1, where we have perhaps the most familiar New Testament verses dealing

197
00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,720
with this truth about Jesus Christ.

198
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:15,460
In John 1, his name is the word, the logos.

199
00:18:15,460 --> 00:18:20,840
And again we have emphasis upon the fact that he had no beginning.

200
00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:27,840
John 1, 1 begins as Genesis 1, 1 does with the words in the beginning.

201
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:33,160
The beginning is that period when God created.

202
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:42,680
It's that time when time itself and space, matter, energy, all of that began.

203
00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,080
That's what the beginning is all about.

204
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:55,300
Now it says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God showing his distinction.

205
00:18:55,300 --> 00:18:59,480
And yet it says the word was God.

206
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,480
Now the phrase I want to pick out is the very first one, or the clause rather.

207
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:07,560
In the beginning, the word was.

208
00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:15,200
In other words, when creation took place, when time began, when energy and matter were

209
00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:24,100
brought into existence by God's creative power, at that time the word already was.

210
00:19:24,100 --> 00:19:27,080
He is not a part of creation.

211
00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:36,560
He is apart from it, distinct from it, and it is through him that God created.

212
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:42,880
And since we're in John, look at another passage here in John chapter 8, verse 58.

213
00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:50,680
We're coming here into the middle of an argument really between Jesus and the religious leaders

214
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,120
of Jerusalem.

215
00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:58,700
They challenge him as to who he is.

216
00:19:58,700 --> 00:20:08,840
And in verse 58, we'll get the most significant statement for our purpose.

217
00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:20,000
Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am.

218
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:25,200
A clearer statement could not be made to his pre-existence.

219
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,960
Before Abraham was born, I am.

220
00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:35,400
And when Jesus used that key phrase, I am, it did not take a brilliant Jew to understand

221
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,200
what he was referring to.

222
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,560
Because God had revealed himself by that very name.

223
00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:48,800
Clearly, Jesus is claiming here to be the one who called himself I am in the Old Testament.

224
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:54,960
They knew this, and in verse 59 it says, at this they picked up stones to stone him.

225
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:55,960
Why?

226
00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,440
Because from their viewpoint he had blasphemed, calling himself God.

227
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:05,280
John chapter 10 contains another reference similar to this, but we'll not look at it.

228
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:12,000
I would like to look at one more verse dealing with Jesus Christ in Hebrews chapter 7.

229
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,360
I think Hebrews is one of my favorite books.

230
00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:18,200
Someday I'm going to preach through Hebrews.

231
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:25,280
The Lord willing.

232
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,160
Hebrews chapter 7.

233
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:36,040
Beginning in chapter 5 of Hebrews, the writer of this book wants to show the superiority

234
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:42,720
of Christ's priesthood over that of Aaron.

235
00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:47,120
Now from the title of the book, you know to whom the book was written, to the Jews, to

236
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:49,800
Hebrew believers.

237
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:54,960
And of course, they were very close to the concept of the priesthood that descended from

238
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:55,960
Aaron.

239
00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:59,360
That was a part of their past, their Jewish religion.

240
00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:05,360
And in chapters 5, 6, and 7, he is showing the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus

241
00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:10,880
Christ over that of Aaron.

242
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:16,100
The priests that served Israel in that day were descendants of Aaron.

243
00:22:16,100 --> 00:22:21,060
They were after the order of Aaron and were respected.

244
00:22:21,060 --> 00:22:27,160
But the writer says Jesus Christ is not after the order of Aaron.

245
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,640
He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

246
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,160
Now Melchizedek is a strange figure.

247
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:37,080
Some of you may have never heard of him.

248
00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,640
He's only mentioned in three contexts in the Bible.

249
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:44,400
Once back in the historical book of Genesis where he comes on the scene and off very quickly.

250
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,920
Again in the Psalms and one other time here in Hebrews.

251
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:53,080
But though he is mentioned seldom, he is very significant because of what he does and who

252
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,920
he is.

253
00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:06,340
Now in chapter 7 verse 1, he says this Melchizedek that he's talking about was king of Salem

254
00:23:06,340 --> 00:23:08,600
and priest of God most high.

255
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:13,320
If you want to learn more about this guy, go back to Genesis chapter 14 on your own

256
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,960
and read about him.

257
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:21,320
He says he met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him.

258
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,920
And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.

259
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,880
Abraham tithed at that point and I would like just to say in passing that's the only time

260
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,480
it's recorded he tithed.

261
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,880
First his name means king of righteousness.

262
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:37,860
That is the very name Melchizedek.

263
00:23:37,860 --> 00:23:40,140
It means king of righteousness.

264
00:23:40,140 --> 00:23:43,440
Then also king of Salem means king of peace.

265
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:48,260
And so this individual from the Old Testament is called the king of righteousness, the king

266
00:23:48,260 --> 00:23:50,720
of peace.

267
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:57,320
And then in verse 3 it further relates how he is like Jesus Christ who is a priest after

268
00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,840
his order.

269
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:10,440
Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of time like

270
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,600
the son of God he remains a priest forever.

271
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:20,680
Now there are some people who believe that Melchizedek was Jesus Christ himself appearing

272
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:24,200
of course long before Bethlehem.

273
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:30,520
I personally lean to the position that he was not Jesus Christ come in the flesh but

274
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:35,920
rather was a godly man.

275
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:43,120
And certainly he was a priest of King of Salem and a priest of God, the most high God.

276
00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:47,840
When it says that he was without father or mother it's talking about as far as scriptures

277
00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:48,840
are concerned.

278
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:55,440
In other words the record of scripture does not talk about the father or mother of Melchizedek.

279
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,680
It does not record his genealogy.

280
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:05,520
And so in that sense he is without beginning of days or end of time and is a picture of

281
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:11,880
the son of God, a priest forever.

282
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:18,400
And so the Lord Jesus Christ here in this context is said to be without time.

283
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:23,240
He doesn't have a father or mother in his deity.

284
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:30,040
In his humanity he had a beginning of course with Mary but in his deity no beginning, no

285
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,920
ending, a priest forever.

286
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,480
If you read the verses around this you understand what he is getting at about Jesus Christ being

287
00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:42,040
our eternal high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

288
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:47,720
And so through these scriptures that we look at we see that not only does God reveal himself

289
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:54,960
as eternal but as he reveals himself in Jesus Christ he is also the eternal God.

290
00:25:54,960 --> 00:26:02,320
Now this idea of his eternality is closely linked to his changelessness.

291
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:11,600
Now we are here in Hebrews, look over here in chapter 6 and verse 17 and notice what

292
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,720
it says.

293
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:21,920
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs

294
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,520
of what was promised he confirmed it with an oath.

295
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:30,840
Now without going into the whole context here because our time is short I want you to simply

296
00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:37,480
notice that phrase the unchanging nature of his purpose.

297
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,520
Some of you will remember the words of the Lord from Malachi chapter 3 where he says

298
00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:45,640
I am the Lord I what?

299
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,600
Change not.

300
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:54,040
God in his person and in his purposes does not change.

301
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:58,940
Now there are people who say well it says that God repented doesn't that mean that

302
00:26:58,940 --> 00:26:59,940
God changes?

303
00:26:59,940 --> 00:27:02,680
No God himself does not change.

304
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:10,040
He changes his action toward man on the basis of man's response to him.

305
00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:15,360
But God himself does not change nor do his purposes change.

306
00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:21,280
Now this is a blessed truth for us in a changing world that is in a constant state of flux

307
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,280
our God does not change.

308
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:28,780
Richard Dehaan in his book The Living God says God's character and purposes cannot be

309
00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:33,880
altered any variation would either be for better or for worse.

310
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:39,700
Since God is perfect he cannot change for the better and since he is God he cannot change

311
00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:42,440
for the worse.

312
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:51,240
Henry Light wrote the words that we sometimes sing swift to its close ebbs out life's little

313
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:52,240
day.

314
00:27:52,240 --> 00:28:01,480
Earth's joys grow dim its glories pass away change and decay in all around I see.

315
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:06,560
O thou who changest not abide with me.

316
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,040
Now what does all this mean to us?

317
00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,720
Well let's just mention a couple things and we'll be through.

318
00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:25,600
In the first place because I am made in God's image I as a person possess eternal existence.

319
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:29,920
Now I'd like to draw for a moment a difference a distinction between eternal existence and

320
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,440
eternal life.

321
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:37,440
Eternal life belongs to those who are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ but whether

322
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:42,420
one is saved or lost he has eternal existence.

323
00:28:42,420 --> 00:28:49,580
In other words every one of us will be somewhere forever.

324
00:28:49,580 --> 00:28:56,320
Long after we pass the stage of this world and we leave this life every one of us in

325
00:28:56,320 --> 00:29:04,440
this room as a distinct person will be somewhere forever.

326
00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:10,260
Men like to deny that or ignore it or they attempt to drown it in some way in their life

327
00:29:10,260 --> 00:29:12,520
but it's a truth that cannot be escaped.

328
00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:18,160
And of course the question is where will you spend eternity?

329
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,380
Because spend it you will.

330
00:29:22,380 --> 00:29:27,000
By trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you may spend eternity with God in

331
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,200
heaven.

332
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:36,160
Ignoring him, putting him off, rejecting him dooms you to spend eternity separated from

333
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:44,280
God in a place of endless agony which the Bible calls the lake of fire.

334
00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:46,640
Where will you spend eternity?

335
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,320
That's an important question.

336
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:54,340
I hope you can answer it tonight in a positive way.

337
00:29:54,340 --> 00:30:00,000
That is that you know you're going to spend eternity with Christ.

338
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:05,360
A second way that this relates to me that is this truth of God's eternity is that it

339
00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:10,440
assures me of his ability to fulfill his promises.

340
00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:16,120
God's eternity and his changelessness is the foundation of all his covenants.

341
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:22,400
That's why in the context here of Hebrews 6 it says not only has God promised but God

342
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:27,100
has sealed his promise with an oath.

343
00:30:27,100 --> 00:30:33,920
So by those two unchangeable things he may show us the unchangeable nature of his promises.

344
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:38,480
Every promise that God has made to you and me he will fulfill.

345
00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:42,640
His purposes do not change.

346
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:50,880
He can be counted on to always respond the same way based upon his word.

347
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,960
God is a safe refuge for each generation.

348
00:30:54,960 --> 00:31:00,040
He was the refuge for Abraham.

349
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:04,880
He was the refuge for David.

350
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:09,180
He was the refuge for Paul.

351
00:31:09,180 --> 00:31:22,160
The refuge for Augustine and Luther and Calvin of Wesley of Moody of you.

352
00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:29,160
Do you ever look up at the moon or the stars at night and think that is the same moon and

353
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:33,680
the same stars that David saw?

354
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:35,560
He slept out under those stars.

355
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:39,840
He saw that moon and they inspired him to write some of the words that he wrote which

356
00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:41,520
we have recorded in the Bible.

357
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:47,160
That was 3,000 years ago yet the same moon and the same stars.

358
00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:52,000
But they grow old and like a garment they are going to be changed.

359
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:58,660
But the very same God that David trusted in is the God that you and I trust in.

360
00:31:58,660 --> 00:32:04,760
As the psalm said this God is our God forever and ever.

361
00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:09,880
I would like to read to you some brief words by a man that I have mentioned to you before

362
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:16,000
the name of Charnock, a writer of a different generation but who writes in such splendid

363
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,440
ways about the nature of our God.

364
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:25,020
As I read these words I wanted to illustrate to us a third way in which this truth relates

365
00:32:25,020 --> 00:32:26,020
to us.

366
00:32:26,020 --> 00:32:30,000
It means that we are going to be somewhere forever.

367
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:35,360
Secondly it means that I can count on the promises of God because He doesn't change

368
00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:37,800
from generation to generation.

369
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:44,160
Thirdly it teaches me something of His majesty and His greatness.

370
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,120
You are going to have to exercise the discipline of listening.

371
00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:51,020
I encourage you to do that.

372
00:32:51,020 --> 00:33:00,160
The first notion of eternity is to be without beginning and end, which notes to us the duration

373
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,280
of a being in regard of its existence.

374
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:11,560
But to have no succession, nothing first or last, notes rather the perfection of a being

375
00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:13,640
in regard of its essence.

376
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:22,200
He goes on to say, the creatures are in a perpetual flux.

377
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:26,960
Something is acquired or something lost every day.

378
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:34,880
A man is the same in regard of existence when he is a man as when he was a child, but there

379
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:40,080
is a new succession of quantities and qualities in him.

380
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:44,800
Every day he acquires something until he comes to his maturity.

381
00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:49,440
Every day he loses something until he comes to his period.

382
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:55,740
A man is not the same at night that he was in the morning.

383
00:33:55,740 --> 00:34:00,000
Something is expired and something is added.

384
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:10,000
Every day there is a change in his age, a change in his substance, a change in his accidents.

385
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:17,880
But God hath his whole being in one and the same point a moment of eternity.

386
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:23,440
He receives nothing as an addition to what he was before.

387
00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,520
These are great words.

388
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:29,700
He receives nothing as an addition to what he was before.

389
00:34:29,700 --> 00:34:33,460
He loses nothing of what he was before.

390
00:34:33,460 --> 00:34:40,280
He is always the same excellency and perfection in the same infiniteness as ever.

391
00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:42,120
His years do not fail.

392
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,280
His years do not come and go as others do.

393
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:51,840
There is not this day, tomorrow, or yesterday with him.

394
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:57,720
As nothing is past or future with him in regard of knowledge, but all things are present,

395
00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:02,280
so nothing is past or future in regard of his essence.

396
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:10,560
He is not in his essence this day what he was not before, or will be the next day and

397
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:12,920
year what he is not now.

398
00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:22,520
All his perfections are most perfect in him every moment, before all ages and after all

399
00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:23,520
ages.

400
00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,560
Now, those are kind of heavy words.

401
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:31,520
Just to boil it all down to the language that I can speak and understand more clearly, it

402
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,440
simply means that God is always the same.

403
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:38,680
He does not weaken.

404
00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:40,960
Nothing can be added to him.

405
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:49,040
He is perfect in his eternity and his immutability, that is, his changelessness.

406
00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:53,760
And so as I contemplate this fact of God's eternity, it teaches me something about his

407
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:55,880
greatness.

408
00:35:55,880 --> 00:36:03,680
When was the last time you bowed your knees and you praised God for his eternity, and

409
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:08,440
you meditated on that truth and allowed it to fill your mind and your soul?

410
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:16,920
I tell you, it makes you feel very, very, very small and insignificant.

411
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:26,000
It is so difficult to try to illustrate eternity.

412
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:30,320
I think the first time I heard it illustrated was probably the best illustration I have

413
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,360
ever heard.

414
00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,000
Maybe you have heard this.

415
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:43,320
But let's suppose that there was a little sparrow, and that that sparrow flew out to

416
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:52,440
the shore of the sea and picked up one little grain of sand in his beak, and then took off

417
00:36:52,440 --> 00:37:00,440
flying and flew all the way to the moon, and then turned around and came back to the earth

418
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:05,080
at the speed of sparrows.

419
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:10,840
Went back to the seashore, picked up another grain of sand, repeated the journey, and did

420
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:19,800
that again and again and again until he had picked up every grain of sand from every shore

421
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:25,120
in all the world and had transported it to the moon.

422
00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:31,400
That would only be the first second of eternity.

423
00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:38,520
Even that illustration falls short, finally, in trying to illustrate to our minds what

424
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:40,640
eternity is all about.

425
00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:41,640
It is awesome.

426
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,240
It is awesome.

427
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:49,120
But I tell you, it's wonderful to be related to the eternal God and to know you're going

428
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,040
to be with him.

429
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,880
You don't have to be afraid of eternity.

430
00:37:54,880 --> 00:38:02,840
Mysterious though it be, we need not fear it because he is the father of eternity.

431
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:04,640
And I hope he's your savior tonight.

432
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:10,480
Let's pray.

433
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:22,120
God, because we are creatures of time, because we constantly change, it is so very difficult

434
00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:30,400
for us to understand this aspect of your infinity.

435
00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:36,920
Yet it causes us to be in awesome worship of you, and we do lift our hearts tonight

436
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:43,640
as your people in praise of your eternity and the fact that you love us so much that

437
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:50,360
you've made it possible for us to spend that eternity with yourself as your children.

438
00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:52,160
We praise you for that.

439
00:38:52,160 --> 00:39:01,400
God, if there be some friend here tonight who is not sure of his or her destiny in eternity,

440
00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:07,920
before that dear friend leaves this place, I pray that there will be a decision of the

441
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:16,440
will that would receive Jesus Christ into the life so that eternal destiny might be

442
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:21,840
made sure as heaven.

443
00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:28,160
I pray that the thoughts of eternity would cause each one of us who are your children

444
00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:32,400
to contemplate this aspect of your being and to enter into worship either later tonight

445
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:38,720
or tomorrow morning, tomorrow in the day sometime, as we meditate and reflect upon this marvelous

446
00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:41,120
attribute that is yours.

447
00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:58,400
In Jesus' name, amen.