Revelation 1:eight helps God's sovereignty with three statements, the first of which expresses the eternity of God: "'i am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God." God reigns over all because he's before and in any case things.
The Eternity of God"The Alpha and the Omega" is a figure of speech referred to as a merism. G. ok. Beale writes that "a merism states polar opposites so as to highlight every little thing between the opposites." because the Alpha and the Omega, God is in handle of everything in between.
This remark echoes Isaiah forty one:four, the place God says: "Who has carried out and accomplished this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the primary, and with the remaining; i am he."
when we speak of God being eternal, we imply that his being exists outdoor time and history, which God created.
Peter states in 2 Peter three:8, "with the Lord sooner or later is as a thousand years and a thousand years as in the future." Being eternal, God is the One "who's and who became and who's to come back" (Revelation 1:8).
The Self-Existence of Godonce we look at the attributes of God, we find that they're all interrelated. for this reason, involving God's eternity is one more attribute of God highlighted in Revelation 1:8. Repeating a phrase from verse 4, God describes himself because the Alpha and the Omega, "who's and who became and who's to come back."
These phrases reflect God's eternity, however the first of them peculiarly broadcasts God's self-existence. he is the God "who is." no longer most effective does the everlasting God haven't any starting, however the self-existent God has no supply of lifestyles aside from himself.
God's self-existence is highlighted in the Greek textual content, which begins Revelation 1:8 with the phrases, ego eimi, "i am." These words carry us to the burning bush, the place God spoke to Moses. Moses asked for his name, and God answered, "i am WHO i'm" (Exodus 3:14).
God's self-existence is said in the Bible's very first verse, "in the starting, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). God's being is like the fireplace in the burning bush that Moses saw on the mountain, which "become burning, yet it changed into now not consumed" (Exodus 3:2).
The hearth did not depend upon the bush but burned by means of its own all-enough existence. like the fire, God does not derive his life from any source; the hearth burned within the bush, however the bush changed into no longer the supply of the hearth.
The theological time period for God's self-existence is aseity. This note combines the Latin a, which means "from," and se, that means "himself." God is "from himself." a couple of implications may be drawn from the self-existence of God, beginning along with his self-sufficiency.
The second implication of God's self-existence includes his immutability, which ability that God doesn't and cannot change. as a result of God is eternal, his being isn't discipline to any chain of pursuits.
as a result of he is self-sufficient, nothing backyard God is capable of trigger him to trade (Romans eleven:36). hence, having his lifestyles wholly from himself, the God "who is and who changed into and who's to come" all the time is, was, and will be precisely who he's.
The immutability gives first rate news to suffering Christians like the believers to whom John became writing in Revelation. It means, first, that God's persona doesn't exchange. God is now exactly the same as he always has been and should be for all eternity. in addition, God's applications do not change (Isaiah forty six:9-10)
seeing that God's functions in no way change, his applications for Jesus Christ will by no means alternate. The Bible asserts that God's purpose is to enthrone his Son and glorify him continually (Psalm 2:6-7; Philippians 2:9-11). God has ordained his Son because the simplest Savior, and so the phrases of the Apostle Peter should be true continually (Acts four:12).
now not best will God's plans for Christ certainly not trade, however his plans for his redeemed americans will additionally in no way alternate. Paul wrote in Romans eight:29, "these whom he foreknew he additionally predestined to be conformed to the photo of his Son, so that he can be the firstborn among many brothers."
Christians are ordained by means of God to partake of the holiness of Christ, so it makes no feel for believers to are living as even though they still belong to the area. Paul mentioned that as children of God, believers are in keeping with Romans eight:17, "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ."
because God is sovereign, eternal, and unchanging, his salvation is additionally sovereign, everlasting, and relaxed. John 10:28-29 says, "I give them everlasting lifestyles, … and no one is in a position to snatch them out of the daddy's hand."
eventually, because God's functions never change, God's plans for the wicked will not alternate. Revelation suggests that God will choose sinners who have not been forgiven.
Exodus 34:7 teaches that God "does not leave the responsible unpunished," and the various judgments displayed in Revelation add dwelling color to that assertion. God's unwavering wrath in opposition t sin gives a warning to anybody who refuses Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The Omnipotence of GodIn proving the sovereignty of God by using ability of his attributes, we have regarded the eternity of God, at the side of his self-existence, self-sufficiency, and immutability: Revelation 1:8, "i am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who's and who changed into and who's to come.'"
We may consider that there is nothing extra to assert on the count number, however God elements out one other fundamental attribute that makes him sovereign over all issues. Revelation 1:8 provides an fact of God's omnipotence, concluding with "the Almighty."
The Greek word translated as "Almighty" is pantokrator. This notice combines pantos, for "all things," and kratos, which means each "may" and "dominion." Luke 1:51 uses kratos to say that God "has proven strength with his arm," and 1 Timothy 6:16 makes use of it to exult in God's "everlasting dominion."
For God to be the pantokrator is to pastime sovereign energy and authority to rule all things, far and wide, and always. understanding the reality of God's almighty and sovereign rule over all issues brings the foremost comfort to struggling Christians.
The e-book of Revelation brings a message of splendid solace to Christians; the good information situated on God's sovereignty over all things.
The God Who Speakswhen we feel of God's voice, Christians should mainly consider of God's revelation via his Son, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1-2 says that while God previously spoke by means of the prophets, "in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son."
because of this, when God says in Revelation 1:8, "i'm," Christians hear the voice of Jesus. God says, "i'm the Alpha and the Omega," an expression that Jesus will practice to himself inside this very chapter: Revelation 1:17-18 says, "i'm the first and the last, and the living one." We additionally hear the voice of Jesus' awesome "i am" sayings in John's Gospel.
The "i'm" statements exhibit that Jesus Christ is one with the God who says in Revelation 1:8, "i am the Alpha and the Omega, … who is and who changed into and who's to come back, the Almighty." This ability that Jesus become present when Moses heard God speaking from the burning bush, giving his identify, "i'm THAT i am."
Exodus 3:2 declares that "the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire" within the bush. The most likely explanation is that Moses noticed the eternal Son of God in his pre-incarnate form, talking with God's voice. God likewise speaks, revealing himself to us pretty much as good news via his Son, Jesus.
The best way so you might come to understand the exquisite i am, the sovereign, eternal, unchanging, and Almighty God, is to agree with in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). have you met him within the manner that Moses met Christ at the burning bush? God referred to as to Moses, and he came, believed, and entered right into a saving relationship with God.
God now calls you via his observe. He says to you, "i am the Alpha and the Omega," the Almighty Sovereign who controls your destiny and presents you eternal existence via religion in his Son Jesus, the eternal, self-existent, and Almighty God.
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Dave Jenkins is the government Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the executive Editor of Theology for all times magazine, and the Host of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and Warriors of Grace Podcast. He obtained his MAR and M.Div. via Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. you could comply with him on Twitter at @davejjenkins, locate him on facebook at Dave Jenkins SOG, Instagram, read greater of his writing at Servants of Grace, or signal to get hold of his publication. When Dave isn't busy with ministry, he loves spending time together with his spouse, Sarah, reading the latest from Christian publishers, the Reformers, and the Puritans, taking part in golf, gazing motion pictures, activities, and spending time along with his household.
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