--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing exists from eternity but God, and…" description: "\"Nothing exists from eternity but God, and God is not the matter or a part of any creature, but only the maker.\" — William Ames" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/william-ames-19586_creatures_nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and_154375.jpg" --- # Nothing exists from eternity but God, and God is not the… ![“Nothing exists from eternity but God, and God is not the matter or a part of any creature, but only the maker.” quote by William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/william-ames-19586_creatures_nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and_154375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/william-ames-19586_creatures_nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and_154375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/william-ames-19586_creatures_nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and_154375.jpg) > “Nothing exists from eternity but God, and God is not the matter or a part of any creature, but only the maker.” [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Affirming that only God is eternal, distinct from material creation, emphasizing divine uniqueness. **In simple terms:** Only God is eternal, not material things. Key Takeaway Reflect on the distinction between the divine and the material. Themes theology eternity divine nature philosophy Mood contemplative serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - religious study - personal faith - ethical living Key Concepts God’s uniqueness material vs spiritual Questions to Reflect On - What does eternity mean to you personally? - How does this view influence your moral choices? A Different Perspective Interpretations of eternity vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ## Related quotes > [God exists in eternity. The only point where eternity meets time is in the present. The present is the only time there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/god-exists-in-eternity-the-only-point-where-eternity-meets-time-is-in/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [This Law -- whether Conscious or Unconscious --predestines nothing and no one. It exists from and in Eternity, truly, for it is ETERNITY itself;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/this-law-whether-conscious-or-unconscious-predestines-nothing-and-no/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [To be 'in the will of God' is not a matter of intellectual discernment, but a state of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/to-be-in-the-will-of-god-is-not-a-matter-of-intellectual-discernment/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The Bible's message is that you matter to God. Our response is that God should matter to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/the-bible-s-message-is-that-you-matter-to-god-our-response-is-that/) [Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/) > [Take your limits off of God! There is nothing that He cant do for you no matter what things look like. -](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa/take-your-limits-off-of-god-there-is-nothing-that-he-cant-do-for-you/) [Lisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa/) > [Deep down, theres a place within each of us that is made for one thing a relationship with God. No matter how hard we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-malabago/deep-down-theres-a-place-within-each-of-us-that-is-made-for-one-thing/) [Regina Malabago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-malabago/) > [“So long as God is on your side It should not matter who is on the other side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-a-smikle/so-long-as-god-is-on-your-side-it-should-not-matter-who-is-on-the/) [Maisie A. Smikle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-a-smikle/) > [If you will give God what you have, no matter how little and ineffective you may think it is, God will use it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adaeze-don/if-you-will-give-god-what-you-have-no-matter-how-little-and/) [Adaeze Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adaeze-don/) > [I do have a belief in God, and no matter what happens to me, things are gonna be OK. It doesn't matter whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-fox/i-do-have-a-belief-in-god-and-no-matter-what-happens-to-me-things-are/) [Terry Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-fox/) > [When I am down I look around and see no one there, I realize something. There is someone there. God is always there for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/when-i-am-down-i-look-around-and-see-no-one-there-i-realize-something/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Lost people matter to God, and so they must matter to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-wright/lost-people-matter-to-god-and-so-they-must-matter-to-us/) Keith Wright > [I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-damascus/i-do-not-worship-matter-i-worship-the-god-of-matter-who-became-matter/) [John of Damascus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-damascus/) > [Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/trusting-god-is-not-a-matter-of-my-feelings-but-of-my-will/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [From Satan or from God, what matter? Angel or Siren, What matter, if you make - fairy with velvet eyes, Rhythm, perfume, light, o…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/from-satan-or-from-god-what-matter-angel-or-siren-what-matter-if-you/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“Our images of God matter. Just as how we conceptualize God affects what we think the Christian life is about, so do our images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/our-images-of-god-matter-just-as-how-we-conceptualize-god-affects/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) ## More by William Ames > [The starting point of sanctification is the filthiness, corruption, or stain of sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/the-starting-point-of-sanctification-is-the-filthiness-corruption-or/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [Hearing the word is the devout receiving of the will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/hearing-the-word-is-the-devout-receiving-of-the-will-of-god/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [Therefore, the church is not absolutely necessary as an object of faith, not even for us today, for then Abraham and the other prophets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/therefore-the-church-is-not-absolutely-necessary-as-an-object-of/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [In contentment and joy are found the height and perfection of all love towards our neighbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/in-contentment-and-joy-are-found-the-height-and-perfection-of-all/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [An idea in man is first impressed upon him and afterwards expressed in things, but in God it is only expressed, not impressed, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/an-idea-in-man-is-first-impressed-upon-him-and-afterwards-expressed/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [The world has not been in existence from eternity nor could it have been according to the present dispensation and ordering of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/the-world-has-not-been-in-existence-from-eternity-nor-could-it-have/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [The ordinary ministry is that which receives all of its direction from the will of God revealed in the Scriptures and from those means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/the-ordinary-ministry-is-that-which-receives-all-of-its-direction/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [Sanctification is the real change in man from the sordidness of sin to the purity of God's image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/sanctification-is-the-real-change-in-man-from-the-sordidness-of-sin/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [The goodness of a thing created is the perfection of its fitness for the use which it serves. Now that use is either particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/the-goodness-of-a-thing-created-is-the-perfection-of-its-fitness-for/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [Everyone who understands the nature of God rightly necessarily knows that God is to be believed and hoped in, that he is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/everyone-who-understands-the-nature-of-god-rightly-necessarily-knows/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [From faith, hope, and love, the virtues of religion referring to God, there arises a double act which bears on the spiritual communion exercised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/from-faith-hope-and-love-the-virtues-of-religion-referring-to-god/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [In the exercise of God's efficiency, the decree of God comes first. This manner of working is the most perfect of all and notably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/in-the-exercise-of-god-s-efficiency-the-decree-of-god-comes-first/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [The good pleasure of God is an act of the divine will freely and effectively determining all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/the-good-pleasure-of-god-is-an-act-of-the-divine-will-freely-and/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [Participation in the blessings of the union with Christ comes when the faithful have all the things needed to live well and blessedly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/participation-in-the-blessings-of-the-union-with-christ-comes-when/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [The inward offer is a kind of spiritual enlightenment, whereby the promises are presented to the hearts of men, as it were, by an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/the-inward-offer-is-a-kind-of-spiritual-enlightenment-whereby-the/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) [Explore all 32 William Ames quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) ## More Creatures quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) Browse all 3,703 Creatures quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing exists from eternity but God, and God is not the matter or a part of any creature, but only the maker.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Ames" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and-god-is-not-the-matter-or-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creatures" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and-god-is-not-the-matter-or-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/william-ames-19586_creatures_nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and_154375.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/william-ames-19586_creatures_nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and_154375.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/william-ames-19586_creatures_nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and_154375.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing exists from eternity but God, and God is not the matter or a part of any creature, but only the maker.” — William Ames", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Ames", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing exists from eternity but God,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and-god-is-not-the-matter-or-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/nothing-exists-from-eternity-but-god-and-god-is-not-the-matter-or-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```