Q. Who is the first and best of beings?
A. God is the first and best of beings.
Commentary
This question lays the indispensable groundwork for all true theology and piety by directing the mind immediately to God’s absolute primacy in existence. He is the first of beings not in any temporal sense, for He is without beginning or end, but in the order of being itself. He is self-existent, uncaused, and the fountain from which every other reality flows. No creature, no matter how exalted, possesses independent life; all things hold their being contingently from Him who alone is necessary and eternal. This truth demolishes every form of creaturely pretension, whether philosophical autonomy or idolatrous worship, insisting that God stands infinitely above all rivals. Man is prone to elevate himself, the natural world, or abstract principles, but this affirmation humbles the heart and exalts the only One worthy of ultimate allegiance.
To declare God the best of beings is to confess His infinite moral and essential perfection, surpassing every conceivable excellence without any shadow of imperfection. His holiness is unapproachable, His wisdom unerring, His power omnipotent, His goodness boundless, and His glory radiant beyond measure. Every attribute shines forth in flawless harmony, making Him supremely lovely and desirable. Lesser beings derive their goodness from Him; apart from His sustaining will, even the highest angelic splendor would vanish. Thus, the soul finds its direction in beholding this matchless Being, whose beauty eclipses all earthly attractions and whose worthiness demands the whole affection of the heart. t Istirs worship that is fittingly rendered only to the supremely excellent One.
This foundational doctrine reshapes the believer’s entire life and affections. If God is the first and best, then every pursuit, decision, and joy must be ordered under His supreme lordship. The regenerate heart, awakened to His glory, finds contentment not in fleeting created goods but in knowing and enjoying the Creator Himself. Sin’s deceit lies precisely in dethroning God from this place of primacy, substituting inferior objects of delight; repentance restores Him to His rightful throne. For the Christian, this truth motivates perseverance and orients all of life toward the ultimate end of glorifying and enjoying Him forever. In confessing God as the first and best of beings, a believer recognizes the only stable reality in an ever-shifting world.
Scripture Proofs
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).
“For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods” (Psalm 97:9).
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the first, and I am the last; besides me there is no god’” (Isaiah 44:6).
2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689
2.1: The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of Himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, and withal most just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.