God's Incommunicable attributes #5: Independence
Independence, Self-Existence, Aseity: God does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation can glorify him and bring him joy.
Acts 17:24-25
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
We see from Acts that Paul understood that God “made the world and everything in it” and from John that “all things were made through him [Jesus Christ], and without him was not any thing made that was made.” God existed from all eternity past, he created us and does not depend on anything for His existence. He is the definition of Independence!
Job 41:11
“Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”
Psalm 50:10-12
“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”
Many people think that God created Humans because He was lonely and needed people to keep Him company. This could not be farther from the truth. Do you see the implications here? God was lonely so He “needed” to create us so that He wouldn’t be lonely. The truth in this is that God did create us, but it was not because He was lonely. People have come up with that because we were created with a need to be significant. However this significance does not come from God being lonely. He chose to create us, He chose to make us the pinnacle of His creation, He chose to Love us, He chose to send His only Son to die for us. This is what makes us significant: God’s Grace! He pours out His Grace upon us everyday by giving us breath and life, giving us the sleep that we need to restore ourselves, and by revealing Himself to us so that we might know Him.
John 1:3
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Romans 11:35-36
“’Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Isaiah 43:6-7
“I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Ephesians 1:11-12
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”
God is Independent! Self-Sufficient! He does not need anyone or anything else for Him to exist and be completely happy. However, God did create us in such a way that we can bring Him Glory and Honor…and He can take pleasure in that. Also on the flip side, if we can Glorify and Honor Him, we can also take His glory and dishonor Him and that brings Him sorrow. This in no way takes away from God being Independent.
John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
This verse shows us two things:
1. That God was not lonely, Yes God is one, but also 3 persons that completely shared and loved.
2. That God’s Glory does not depend upon us, it was with Him before the foundations of the world!
Our significance can be summed up in this verse: Isaiah 62:3-5 “You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”
“God does not need us for anything, yet it is the amazing fact of our existence that he chooses to delight in us and to allow us to bring joy to His heart. This is the basis for personal significance in the lives of all God’s people: to be significant to God is to be significant in the most ultimate sense. No greater personal significance can be imagined.”
Wayne Grudem
In Christ,
David
Acts 17:24-25
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
We see from Acts that Paul understood that God “made the world and everything in it” and from John that “all things were made through him [Jesus Christ], and without him was not any thing made that was made.” God existed from all eternity past, he created us and does not depend on anything for His existence. He is the definition of Independence!
Job 41:11
“Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”
Psalm 50:10-12
“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”
Many people think that God created Humans because He was lonely and needed people to keep Him company. This could not be farther from the truth. Do you see the implications here? God was lonely so He “needed” to create us so that He wouldn’t be lonely. The truth in this is that God did create us, but it was not because He was lonely. People have come up with that because we were created with a need to be significant. However this significance does not come from God being lonely. He chose to create us, He chose to make us the pinnacle of His creation, He chose to Love us, He chose to send His only Son to die for us. This is what makes us significant: God’s Grace! He pours out His Grace upon us everyday by giving us breath and life, giving us the sleep that we need to restore ourselves, and by revealing Himself to us so that we might know Him.
John 1:3
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Romans 11:35-36
“’Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Isaiah 43:6-7
“I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Ephesians 1:11-12
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”
God is Independent! Self-Sufficient! He does not need anyone or anything else for Him to exist and be completely happy. However, God did create us in such a way that we can bring Him Glory and Honor…and He can take pleasure in that. Also on the flip side, if we can Glorify and Honor Him, we can also take His glory and dishonor Him and that brings Him sorrow. This in no way takes away from God being Independent.
John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
This verse shows us two things:
1. That God was not lonely, Yes God is one, but also 3 persons that completely shared and loved.
2. That God’s Glory does not depend upon us, it was with Him before the foundations of the world!
Our significance can be summed up in this verse: Isaiah 62:3-5 “You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”
“God does not need us for anything, yet it is the amazing fact of our existence that he chooses to delight in us and to allow us to bring joy to His heart. This is the basis for personal significance in the lives of all God’s people: to be significant to God is to be significant in the most ultimate sense. No greater personal significance can be imagined.”
Wayne Grudem
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 6:08 PM
1 Comments:
True that homes! God doesn't need us, but for some reason wants us anyway...fascinating, incomprehensible, awesome God!
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