In this message we shall conclude our study of the aspects of God’s person revealed in the New Testament.
Twice in the book of Revelation we are told that God is the One who is, who was, and who is coming. This is the meaning of the name Jehovah. In Hebrew Jehovah means “I am that I am.” His being the I Am signifies that He is the One who exists from eternity to eternity. This title is composed basically of the verb “to be.” Apart from God, Jehovah, all else is nothing. He is the only One who is, the only One who has the reality of being. The verb “to be” should not be applied absolutely to anyone or anything except Him. He is the only self-existent and ever-existent being. In the universe all things are nothing. Only God is the One who is, who was, and who is coming. In the past He was, in the present He is, and in the future He will be.
Hebrews 11:6 says that “he who comes forward to God must believe that He is.” According to this verse, God is, and we must believe that He is. God is, but we are not and all things are not either. As the One who is, who was, and who is coming, God is the self-existing One and the ever-existing One, the One whose being depends on nothing apart from Himself and the One who exists eternally, having neither beginning nor ending. Before anything else came into existence, God was. After so many things have passed out of existence, God will still be. God was, God is, and God will be.
As the self-existing One and ever-existing One, God is the reality of every positive thing. The Gospel of John reveals that He is all we need: life, light, food, drink, the pasture, the way, and everything. Therefore, this title of God indicates not only that He exists eternally but also that, in a positive sense, He is everything. Do you need life? God is life. Do you want light? God is light. Do you desire holiness? God is holiness. God exists from eternity to eternity, and He is everything. This is our God.
It is necessary that we know God as the One who is, who was, and who is coming. Heaven and earth may pass away, but God is. Are you discouraged by your weakness? One day your weaknesses will cease to exist, but God will still be. Do not believe in anything other than God. Do not believe either in your weakness or in your strength, for both your weakness and your strength will pass away. However, when they are gone, God will continue to be the One who is. Oh, we must believe in Him as the ever-existing One! If we know God as the One who is, who was, and who will be, we shall be greatly encouraged, especially during difficult times.
God is also the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8; 21:6). The eternal and almighty God is the Alpha, the beginning for the origination, and the Omega, the ending for the completion of His eternal purpose. In the book of Genesis He was the Alpha, and in the book of Revelation He is the Omega. Whatever He has originated He will complete. Governmentally He continues His universal operation, which He originated from eternity and will bring to completion.
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The fact that God is the Alpha and the Omega indicates that He is the entire “alphabet” needed for composing the story of the universe. He is also the “letters” used in writing the history of our personal lives. How meaningful it is that our God is the Alpha and the Omega!
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