The Bible tells us what God is like and that
He alone existed before everything and everyone else.

Scripture: Genesis [创世纪] 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

起初，上帝创造天地。

1. God begins His story with these words, “In the beginning.”

God began His story with these words so that we would know there was a beginning to all things. Everything that we can see and everything that we know about but cannot see had a beginning.

·        None of the things we see around us have always existed.

Before the beginning, the earth did not exist. Before the beginning, things on the earth did not exist. The mountains, oceans, rivers, rocks and trees did not exist. Before the beginning, the sky, sun, moon and stars did not exist. None of the things we see on the earth or in the sky existed before the beginning.

·        No human beings existed before the beginning.

Knowing that the earth, sun, moon and stars did not exist before the beginning, do you think it is possible that there were any people? Think about it. Could your

ancestors or my ancestors have been living then?

We human beings cannot live without the sun, the earth, water and food. None of

these things were here before the beginning; therefore, we know that human beings were not here either.

None of my ancestors were alive before the beginning. None of your ancestors

were alive before the beginning.

·        The spirits did not always exist.

Many people have different ideas about the spirits. God's Word will explain more about them as we continue to study, but for now we want you to think about a time when none of the things you see or know about existed. All people and all spirits had a beginning.

2. God is the only One who has always existed.

Before the earth was here and before there were any people or spirits or anything else, God was already living. God is the only One who existed before all things began. Although there was no earth, ocean, sun, moon, stars, animals, people or spirits, God was already living.

·        Because God was the only One who existed before everything else, we know that God is greater than all.

God is greater than the earth, the ocean, the moon, the sun and stars. God is greater than all animals, all people and all spirits. God existed before all other things; therefore, we know that He is greater than all.

·        God alone can tell us about the beginning of all things.

God is the only One who was here before all things began. Therefore, God is the

only One who can really tell us what happened in the beginning.

·        God alone is eternal.

God has always lived. God had no beginning. He was not created. He was not

born. He did not make Himself. He has always been alive, and He will never die.

·        God is completely independent of everything and everyone.

God does not need anyone or anything. God lived before the beginning. He lived

before the earth, sun, moon, stars or anything else was here. You and I were born into this world. We needed someone to take care of us when we were babies. But God was not born. He did not need anyone to take care of Him.God does not need the earth or anything on it. He can see without any light, so He

doesn’t need the sun, moon or stars in order to see. He does not get tired, so He

does not need the darkness of night to sleep.

God lives by His own power. He does not need anything to keep Him alive, so He

does not need air to breathe. God never gets hungry or thirsty, so He does not need food to eat or water to drink. We are dependent on many things. Think about this: Could you live without the sun, the rain or the ground? Could you live without food? What do you need when you get hungry or thirsty?

·        God is supreme and sovereign — He is greater than all.

God is greater than the sun, the moon, the stars and everything on the earth. He

existed before the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth.

God is greater than all people. He existed before all people, and He doesn’t need

any of the things that people need.

God is greater than the spirits. He was alive before any of the spirits.

Psalm 86:8; 詩 篇 86:8

No pagan god is like you, O Lord. None can do what you do!

主啊，诸神之中没有可比你的；你的作为也无可比。