As I was reading, I kept thinking about the all-knowing and ever-present natures of God. When Origen talks about the origin (which sounds narcissistic of him if you say it aloud) of the earth, I began to think about how God exists outside of time. We know this because in Genesis 1:4-5 God created night and day. Since we use night and day as a base measurement of time, we know that God created time. God also states in Jeremiah 23:24 "Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? ... Do I not fill heaven and earth?" So, based off of these two passages in scripture, it seems that God exists in every location, where location refers to both a place on earth, heaven, but also moments in time. We can deduce that God exists at multiple moments in time, because in Genesis 1:1 God creates the heavens before creating time. Therefore, when God states that He exists in heaven and earth, it seems that He is stating that He exists both in linear moments of time on earth, but also outside of time in heaven. This makes since as to why Jesus existed in the beginning, before His birth. He ascended into heaven after the resurrection, therefore ascending out of time. I imagine that heavenly bodies see time as a single object, and can point to different sections of it as if it were different areas of a map. If this is true, that would make since why Jesus was at the beginning, being wholly man and wholly God, before His birth. Thus, since He did exist in the beginning, He was not created at birth. This is nearly impossible to grasp, as it is a paradox, but Jesus also turned water into wine, which also is humanly impossible, so I wouldn't be surprised. I cannot claim to understand God and how He works, and I have likely made a mistake in my deduction, to which I would be grateful for someone to explain. Happy Halloween!
P.S. I commented on Daniel's and Abigail's posts.
I love how unfathomable and mysterious God's nature can be. It brings us to a point of awe and worship, and that is so cool. And some things, like when God created the earth, will not be learned while we are still living on this earth. Our minds want so desperately to understand and grasp a sort of timeline of God in relation to creation; so I feel your confusion, Travis.
ReplyDeleteThis view point Origen and in depth conversation has been wonderful. I think the way that God is mysterious and that we cannot fathom all that He has designed and planned out is so awe-inspiring
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