What's the matter with matter?

If something exists now, something has always existed. If there was a time when nothing existed, nothing would exist now, since ex nihilo nihil fit (out of nothing comes nothing).

Now what could be eternal? The only two candidate are God or matter. Matter is not a good candidate because biological life and intelligence are not native to matter. How does life come from non-living matter and then become intelligent within the limits of inanimate stuff?