The book of Colossians also makes it clear that Jesus Christ is eternal. He has no beginning or end. Jesus Christ is before all things, therefore, he is eternal, “And he is before all things” (Colossians 1:17). There is nothing that is here or that was here before Jesus Christ. He was here among the other two members of the Trinity from all eternity. Peter T. O'Brien comments,
“The first affirmation, ‘he is before all things’ declares his temporal priority to the universe. Therefore one could not rightly say as Arius that: ‘there was once when he was not.’ At the same time this statement implies his primacy over the cosmos.”[1]Paul goes on to say in the next verse that Jesus is “the beginning” (1:18). In other words, he is the origin and source of all things because he is the eternal God. In order to be the origin of something, one must exist outside of that something—in this passage, he is the beginning of “all things,” therefore he is eternal.
The fact that he is eternal has a lot of implications. First, because he is eternal, the entirety of his person and work is also eternal. His righteousness is eternal. His atonement is eternal. His love, his justice, his mercy are eternal. And although we don't deserve it, all of this is given to us. Second, the fact that he is eternal doesn't just mean that his quantity of life is unending... it means that his quality of life is unending. His eternal life isn't just about boundless, endless time or even being outside of time. It's about the fact that he is the only life, the best life, and everything about who he is and what he does is completely satisfying. The fact that these things are true not only leads us to worship him, but it leads us to the responsibility to live in light of this truth right now, where we are and where we stand. How often do we remember that Jesus is the eternal fullness of deity (Col. 1:19) and he lives in us by the Holy Spirit? Remembering this can change everything. How will it change your life today?
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