Q: Is God Bound By Time?

Steve's A: Actually, the concept, as we all know, probably can't be fully grasped. As with Philippians 4:6-7
⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I like the word transcend. I am of the school of thought that God transcends time and space. His perfect plan is known from start to end and was known from our beginning and is known at our end. It would seem that God is interacting with every moment at his present. Like I said, we probably won't be able to fully grasp it.

On the other hand, I've heard it mentioned in serious debates over the subject that God has allowed himself to be subject to time. He interacts in our present and shares time with us. This is of course a self imposed limitation. A good analogy would be to observe how Jesus Christ, who is God, came and was subject to the human weaknesses. In the same way, God has allowed himself to be bound by time.

Some interesting text on God and time follow here:

Psalm 90:1-4
¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
² Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³ You turn men back to dust,
saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.

2 Peter 3:7-9
⁷By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

It would seem however, that God set into motion the law of time so that he might interact with us on the plain of time. If God transcended all "time" and "time" has an "end" at the end of time and the beginning of eternity, do we then begin to transcend? It would seem that eternity is an unending span of time, but time nonetheless. Therefore, it can be said that the interaction God has with us through the life on earth and throughout eternity is on the plain of time. I'm confused, how about you?

Mike and I have been talking through it while sitting here. We read a little of William Lane Craig and our minds were stimulated into new areas of thought on the matter. Mike will weigh in on the topic as well. I must say however, that at the beginning of this post, I was pretty grounded in the transcending camp, but now I may have changed my mind. I'm sure that Mike will bring some intriguing items to the arena of thought as well.

I do want to take a look at the word transcend right now. To transcend is to pass beyond limits, to be outside of laws or guidelines. To transcend time is to be outside of it. To transcend time would imply that he could feasibly interact with the past at the same moment as now and the future. If God is this way, it boggles my mind to follow the logic all the way through. God transcends time, so he exists in a moment, in all places, knows all, and transcends every possible law available to make any sense of the whole thing. I believe in God's power enough that this idea, though impossible to comprehend, it entirely possible for God.

Now, if whatever I just said makes any sense to you, let me know.

---

Mike's A: The ultimate answer in my viewpoint would technically be no. God is the creator of all that we see, know, and experience, except for Himself. So surely He does not have to be bound by one of His creations.

Now, I think it's important, in order to fully answer the question, to ask a different question. What IS bound by time? This will help to establish the purpose of time, and will help us understand what God's relationship to time is. The definition of the word "bound" is "Confined by bonds; tied" and "Being under legal or moral obligation" and "Predetermined; certain" and "Determined; resolved."

Clearly, everything we can see and touch and measure and observe is bound by time. My soul is bound to my body and this earth by time. Job 14:14 says: "If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." We clearly have an appointment to die that we cannot accelerate, nor prevent or postpone. Our soul is inseperable from this world, until that time comes.

Now a good question would be, what is the purpose of time? The things we do during the days appointed to us are what decides what will happen to us once they have expired. Everyone's fate is bound by the choices we make while we are bound by time. Clearly the purpose for time is a chance. A chance given to see what we will do in the limited amount of time given to us.

So what is the right choice? The right choice would be to acknowledge God as the creator of the universe, the ultimate and sovereign being. And the right choice is to acknowledge Jesus Christ as His Son, who came to this earth as a man and lived a perfect life without sin, yet was crucified for the sins of us all. But He rose again on the third day, defeating death for those who have faith in Him.

When that decision is made, it is a particular point. 2 Corinthians 5:15-19 says, "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." We become new creations. At that moment, God's Holy Spirit enters into us. The angels rejoice in heaven.

Clearly, many of God's actions are time specific actions. His spirit enters into us at a specific point, and at that same point, the angels who are in heaven with God, rejoice. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Going back to the original question, different definitions for bound will probably bring a different conclusion. God is definitely not "confined" by time, and I don't believe that He is "under legal or moral obligation" to it. But the ultimate progression of time is definitely predetermined by Him, and He is definitely determined to bring it about.

So I think the answer is this. God is not confined by time. But we are. And His purpose for creating us was to serve Him and to have fellowship with Him. Time was created as a way for God to interact with us. A parallel discussion is that, although God is not bound by humanity, for a time He was. When He came to this earth, He did not have to follow the laws of humanity, as the Devil reminded Him while tempting Jesus. But He chose to interact with the world the same way we do, in order to truly have a way to interact with us. In the same way, He does not have to follow the laws of time, but He does so in order to interact with us.

We do not have a choice in that matter. We have to follow the laws of this earth. Gravity binds us, time binds us, all the laws of this world bind us. God, however, does have the choice. Yet He chose to experience these things so that we might have a way to come to Him.