The last time I checked there were 112 chemical elements known to man. These elements join together to form molecules of new substances. Everything that we see is made of some substance. Boards are made of wood. Plates are made of porcelain. Curtains are made of cloth. Spoons and forks are made of stainless steel. Tires are made of rubber. The question, then, arises: What is God made of?
The answer to this question is for one thing God is not made. He is uncreated. He created everything out of nothing. That is what we learn from the Second Book of Maccabees.
I beseech thee, my son, look upon the Heaven and the Earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise. (II Macc. 7:28)
In the 89th Psalm it says:
Before the mountains existed, and before the Earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, Thou art. (Psalm 89:2, LXX)
In Isaiah it says:
Who has wrought and done these things? He has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM. (Isaiah 41:4, LXX)
and:
Hear Me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call; I am the first, and I endure for ever. (Isaiah 48:12, LXX)
In this book, God calls Himself "the eternal God."
And now, hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? The eternal God, the God that formed the ends of the Earth, shall not hunger, nor be weary, and there is no searching of His understanding. (Isaiah 40:28, LXX)
In Job it says:
Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know Him: the number of His years is even infinite. (Job 36:26, LXX)
The answer to this question is for one thing God is not made. He is uncreated. He created everything out of nothing. That is what we learn from the Second Book of Maccabees.
I beseech thee, my son, look upon the Heaven and the Earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise. (II Macc. 7:28)
In the 89th Psalm it says:
Before the mountains existed, and before the Earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, Thou art. (Psalm 89:2, LXX)
In Isaiah it says:
Who has wrought and done these things? He has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM. (Isaiah 41:4, LXX)
and:
Hear Me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call; I am the first, and I endure for ever. (Isaiah 48:12, LXX)
In this book, God calls Himself "the eternal God."
And now, hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? The eternal God, the God that formed the ends of the Earth, shall not hunger, nor be weary, and there is no searching of His understanding. (Isaiah 40:28, LXX)
In Job it says:
Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know Him: the number of His years is even infinite. (Job 36:26, LXX)
God has no beginning. Therefore, He is uncreated. He is eternal and endures for ever. Therefore, He will always exist.
Since God created everything out of "things that were not," we should not think that He created things out of Himself. Everything that exists has substance, but nothing that God created has the same substance that God has. God is of an entirely different substance than all that He created. It is an eternal substance that "endures for ever" because God is eternal.
In the Gospel according to St. John, it says: "No man hath seen God at any time." (St. John 1:18) Whatever the substance is of which God consists is invisible to the human eye. Actually, it is an unknown substance. It does not consist of any of the 112 known chemical elements. They were made by God of "things that were not." No one knows what is the substance of which God consists. The divine essence or substance is unknowable. Indeed, no one will ever find out what it is.
Steve
Since God created everything out of "things that were not," we should not think that He created things out of Himself. Everything that exists has substance, but nothing that God created has the same substance that God has. God is of an entirely different substance than all that He created. It is an eternal substance that "endures for ever" because God is eternal.
In the Gospel according to St. John, it says: "No man hath seen God at any time." (St. John 1:18) Whatever the substance is of which God consists is invisible to the human eye. Actually, it is an unknown substance. It does not consist of any of the 112 known chemical elements. They were made by God of "things that were not." No one knows what is the substance of which God consists. The divine essence or substance is unknowable. Indeed, no one will ever find out what it is.
Steve
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