#83 – Before the Beginning

Jen Wilkin, JT English, and Kyle Worley continue the discussion on Genesis 1-11 by discussing what happened before the beginning, who/what existed before the beginning, the work of God prior to creation,  when did God create angelic forces, and did Satan fall before the beginning.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• What was happening before the beginning?
• Who or what existed before the beginning?
• Trinitarian relations before the beginning?
• What are the practical implications of God being uncreated?
• The work of God prior to creation?

Helpful Definitions:

• Trinitarianism: God eternally exists as one essence in three distinct persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each of whom is fully God, yet there is One God.
• Asiety: God is a se, or has aseity: He is self-existent and self-sufficient.
• Immanent Trinity: The view that centers on the Trinity in and of Himself, or the internal relations between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as present (immanent) only to Himself (c.f. Jn 1:1-2,18); this perspective is distinguished from that of the economic Trinity.
• Economic Trinity: A view of the Trinity focused on God in the history of redemption, or the functional acts (economies) of the Godhead in the creation and salvation of the world; this perspective is distinguished from that of the immanent Trinity.
• Eternally Unbegotten: The Father’s unique attribute in relation to the Son and the Spirit: The Father is the first origin of all things and without origin himself. All things are from the Father, through the Son and by the Spirit.
• Eternally Begotten: The Son’s unique attribute in relation to the Father and the Spirit: the Son is sourced in the Father, but there was never a time when the Son began. All things are from the Father, through the Son and by the Spirit.
• Eternal Procession: The Holy Spirit’s unique attribute in relation to the Father and Son: He has always come from the Father and the Son and will continue to do so forever. All things are from the Father, through the Son and by the Spirit.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Genesis 1, Colossians 1, John 5, John 15-16, Ephesians 1:3-11
• “Delighting in the Trinity” by Michael Reeves

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