When someone asks, 'How old is God?' the simplest truthful answer is that God does not have an age in the way we measure years. God is eternal, existing before time began and without any end. This can be hard to grasp, especially for children or those new to faith. Still, the Bible speaks clearly about God’s timeless nature. In this article, we’ll look at what Scripture says about God’s age, clear up the mistaken idea that God can die, and see how His eternity changes our faith.
Where Does the Question 'How Old Is God?' Come From?
Often, this question comes from a child’s natural curiosity. Children learn that people have birthdays and grow older. So they wonder whether God fits into that same pattern. Adults new to faith often ask it too, as they try to understand God’s nature. The rise of search queries like "how old was God when he died" reveals a deeper confusion—one that equates God with a mortal being. But the Bible paints a radically different picture.
When we understand why the question is being asked, we can answer with both gentleness and truth. It becomes a chance to share the wonder of a God who stands outside time, age, and mortality.
God Is Eternal: What the Bible Says About His Age
The Bible’s clearest answer is that God has no age. He is from everlasting to everlasting. Unlike the gods of ancient myths, the God of Scripture has no birth story, no mother or father, and no point at which He came into existence. Here are several key truths that help us understand what that means.
5 Biblical Truths About God’s Eternity
- God has always existed.
This verse says plainly that God existed before creation and will remain forever. He did not grow older before the mountains; He simply was.Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
— Psalms 90:2 - God is the everlasting Creator.
This passage joins God’s eternity with His creative power. The One who made time itself is not bound by it.Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
— Isaiah 40:28 - God’s perspective on time is unlike ours.
God does not experience time the way we do. To Him, eons pass like a single day—not because He ages, but because He stands outside the timeline.But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
— 2 Peter 3:8 - God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
— Revelation 1:8
By calling Himself the Alpha and Omega, God shows that He stands over all of history and brings it to its appointed end.Gospel Mount Prayer GuideNeed words for prayer today?
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This confirms that God cannot die. Mortality belongs to creation; immortality is God’s very essence.which at the right time he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
— 1 Timothy 6:15-16
God’s Name Reveals His Eternity
When Moses asked God His name, the answer was simple and profound:
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
— Exodus 3:14
The name “I Am” means God is self-existent. He simply is, dependent on nothing and no one for His existence. That timeless name leaves no room for the idea that God has an age.
Does God Experience Time Like We Do?
We measure age by the passing of days and years, but God has no birthday. He created time itself. Scripture hints that God sees all moments—past, present, future—in a single, timeless "now." That is why the Bible can say a thousand years are like a day to Him, and why He can declare the end from the beginning.
For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night.
— Psalms 90:4
Because God is timeless, He does not age moment by moment. He has no past in which He was younger and no future in which He will be older. He simply exists in the fullness of His being. This stretches our minds, but it also comforts us. Our story is held within His eternal story.
If Jesus Lived on Earth, Doesn't That Make God a Certain Age?
This is where many people get confused. Jesus is God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity. When He took on human flesh, He entered time and was born as a baby in Bethlehem. That means Jesus, in His humanity, had an age. He lived about 33 years on earth. But His divine nature has no beginning. Jesus Himself claimed this eternal identity:
Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”
— John 8:58
By using the same “I am” language God spoke at the burning bush, Jesus declared His eternal existence. The apostle John opens his Gospel with the same truth:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
— John 1:1-3
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Christians across traditions affirm that the Son of God stepped into history without ceasing to be the eternal God. So while Jesus in His humanity grew older, His divine nature remains forever ageless. As Hebrews declares:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
— Hebrews 13:8
Why the Idea of God Dying Is a Theological Misunderstanding
Some online searches ask, “How old was God when he died?” This question usually comes from confusion about the crucifixion of Jesus. Scripture makes this clear: God cannot die. The Bible consistently teaches that God is immortal and the source of all life. When Jesus died on the cross, His human nature experienced death. His divine nature did not, and neither did God the Father.
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
— 1 Timothy 1:17
Jesus truly died a real, physical death. His body was placed in a tomb. But because His divinity remained united to His humanity, death could not hold Him. As Peter preached on the day of Pentecost:
whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
— Acts 2:24
In Eastern Orthodox and Catholic teaching, this is described as the hypostatic union: Jesus is one Person with two natures, divine and human. Protestant theology holds the same truth: Jesus died according to His humanity, while His divine nature remains eternal and life-giving. The bottom line is simple: God has no age because He never began, and He can never die. The question “how old was God when he died” is a category mistake. It does not apply to the Creator of life.
How Knowing God's Eternity Changes Your Faith Today
Knowing that God is timeless is not just an abstract idea. It reshapes how we live and trust Him today.
- You can trust Him with your future. Because God already inhabits eternity, nothing in your tomorrow catches Him off guard. His promises are secure from everlasting to everlasting.
- Your identity is rooted in the Eternal One. The God who was, and is, and is to come calls you by name. Your life has meaning that reaches beyond this mortal span.
- Death is not the end. God’s immortality is given to us through Jesus. Because He lives forever, those who are in Christ will live with Him forever (John 11:25-26).
- Worship becomes awe-filled. Thinking on God’s ageless majesty moves us from hurried prayers into wonder-filled adoration.
The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’
— Deuteronomy 33:27
Let that promise sink in: the arms holding you have no beginning and no end.
If you’ve wrestled with questions about God’s age, take heart—you’re not alone. These deep mysteries invite us into a deeper relationship with the One who holds all of time in His hands. Spend a few minutes today thanking God that His love for you never ages, never fades, and never runs out. For more articles about the nature of God, browse our faith section at Gospel Mount and keep digging into Scripture—it is where eternity meets everyday life.
Questions people ask
Is God older than time?
God is not older than time the way a grandfather is older than a grandchild. He created time itself and exists outside it. Genesis 1:1 marks the beginning of time as we know it, when God created the heavens and the earth. Before that, there was no 'before' as we know it, because God simply is. So rather than being older, God is the timeless author of time.
Can God die?
No, God is immortal and cannot die. The Bible clearly states that God alone has immortality (1 Timothy 6:16). When Jesus died, He experienced death through His human nature, while His divine nature remained forever alive. That is why death could not keep hold of Him, and He rose on the third day.
How old was God when Jesus was born?
God the Father has no age, so the question does not apply. Jesus, as the eternal Son, always existed. But when He was born in Bethlehem, His human life began. From the perspective of His divinity, Jesus is ageless. From His humanity, He was an infant, then a child, then a man who lived about 33 years on earth. So the two natures of Christ answer the question in different ways. Christians do not assign an age to God.
Where in the Bible does it say God has no beginning?
Scripture does not use the phrase 'no beginning' explicitly, but it communicates this truth clearly. Psalm 90:2 says God is 'from everlasting to everlasting.' Revelation 1:8 presents Him as the Alpha and Omega. John 1:1-3 says the Word existed in the beginning, and nothing was made without Him, meaning He was not made. The Bible’s consistent witness is that God is uncaused and self-existent.
Did God create Himself?
No. That would be a logical contradiction. The Christian faith teaches that God is uncreated. He has always existed. There was never a time when God was not, so He did not need to create Himself. Self-creation would require existing before existing, which is impossible. Instead, God is the necessary Being on whom all contingent things depend. As Thomas Aquinas and many theologians have explained, God is existence itself (see Exodus 3:14).
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