By And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail (Hebrews 1: 10-12).
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Following is an excerpt of a rather heated debate that Jesus had with some of the Jews of His day:
Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; He saw it and was glad. “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8: 54-58)
Obviously, these people did not understand what Jesus was saying. Sadly, they failed to comprehend what they were looking at- the very face of eternity. It is really very simple. Jesus always was, He is and he always will be.
Read and hear the words of John1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” The term “the Word” has a capital “w” for a reason. “The Word” refers to Jesus Himself- directly involved in creation.
Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Jesus- the second person of the Trinity- was present and active in the creation of mankind.
Jesus is the face of eternity past!
It is interesting to note that Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” The words “I am” reflect what God told Moses in Exodus 3:13-14: “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” What was God saying to Moses? He was saying, “I am whatever you need to complete the task I have called you to accomplish.” He is saying the same thing to us.
Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Today- right now- our needs are being met by Christ Jesus!
Jesus is the face of eternity present!
Some of the most encouraging words in the Bible come from John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” Jesus is preparing an eternal home for His people. He is coming back to take His people there. Think about it- we will see Jesus face to face for all eternity!
Jesus is the face of eternity future! Jesus truly is the face of eternity!
Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.
Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter — Breanna.
Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.
by leaps and bounds 