I was asked this simple question by a friend,
“I have a question for you that I need your advice on. My 9 yr old, Jonathan and I talk a lot about the Lord, and he always ends up with the same question, ‘Mom, if God created everything, WHO created God.’ I try to explain that that is one of those answers that we will know when we get to the other side, and that it’s not meant for us to understand it right now. This is not going over well, and he is really struggling w/ some major doubt. How have you handled this in the past & do you have any recomendations on what to tell him? To tell you the truth, this is a ? I’ve wrestled w/ myself! lol Thanks!”
This is a tough question, I believe, simply because of our view of who God is. I also believe that we must always go back to Scripture and that Scripture reveals all things. Let me say this about Scripture, I believe that God intentionally revealed to us through Scripture the mysteries and the “secrets”, if you will, of how to live a full and fullfilling life here on this earth as well as through eternity.
Let’s start by looking at this thought by Pastor Rob Bell: In the grand scheme of things we live between two trees:
Before the tree of life in Genesis God always was…..and after the tree of life in the book of Revelation…….God always will be.
Because we are human and live in a human world, we see everything as “matter”… and as having a physical form. Simply…we must put a face and form on God…usually of a human like us in some way or another, sitting on a throne up in the sky on the clouds.
You have asked….we will seek the answer……if we knock…..Jesus tells us the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 ( TNIV )
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.What does the Bible tell us regarding who God is?
Who does God say He is?
Exodus 3:14 ( TNIV )
God said to Moses, “I am who I am…….”
God is described as existing outside of space and time
God lives outside our three-dimensional physical world:
Jeremiah 23:23-24 ( TNIV )
“Am I only a God nearby,”…..“and not a God far away? …..“Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
2 Peter 3:8 ( TNIV )
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.
God is Spirit:
Jesus is speaking to a Samaritin woman and says this:
John 4:24 ( TNIV )
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Jesus is speaking to the Apostle Peter (Simon) and tells him what God is not:
Matthew 16:17 ( TNIV )
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
Additionally, in the Old Testament book of Numbers 23:19, the writer tells us that, “God is not a human…”
These descriptions of God tell us that He is Spiritual and therefore lives outside our physical world.
God “WAS” from the beginning:
Romans 1:20 ( TNIV )
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Genesis 1:1-2 ( TNIV )
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
I would point out that God created time and existed before the creation of time. I believe that the statement in Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” is making reference to the creation of time. You see also in the creation story (Genesis 1:1-2:3), many references to the creation of time.
Genesis 1:5 and Genesis 1:16 ( TNIV ):
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.
1 Corinthians 2:7 ( TNIV )
No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
There are many instances in the New Testament where God was acting before time began:
1 Corinthians 2:7 ( TNIV )
No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
2 Timothy 1:9 ( TNIV )
…….. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Titus 1:2 ( TNIV )
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
Everything that was created has a beginning
Everything which has a beginning has a cause. Whether you look at this question of God being created from a Biblical standpoint or from a scientific standpoint.
The universe has a beginning……..there is much scientific evidence that the universe had a beginning…..therefore the universe has a cause.
Time has a beginning……..Einstein’s theory of relativity….which is widely accepted…..shows that time is linked to matter and space. So time itself would have begun along with matter and space.
God, unlike the universe, and unlike time…..had no beginning, so.. doesn’t need a cause. As I have seen in Scripture, God created all matter as well as time. God created time and matter…therefore He lives outside time and matter…this is affirmed by his revealed Word….all of Scripture.
Isaiah 57:15 ( TNIV )
15 For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with those who are contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Lastly, let’s take a look at John 1:1-5:
John 1:1-5 ( TNIV )
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
I would note that the word that we translate as “Word” in Greek is “Logos” [also the name of my favorite all time study tool].
God is the creator of all matter and time. God is not created. In the end…..this is a matter of faith….it’s easy to “overthink things”. However…..there is much evidence to be considered.
God inhabits all eternity….everything before the tree of life in Genesis….and everything after the tree of life in Revelation…….God is…..as He said…..”I am”……and we……..we live between those two trees!