The Attributes of God - God's Independence

Lately, a fruitful study for me has been the attributes of God.  As I study God's attributes, I realize that there are not many things that will blow my mind wide open like this.  As I take one attribute at a time I find myself sitting back in my chair in awe and wonder of the truly Awesome God. 

One thing to note: any study on the attributes of God will take you further into awestruck wonder than you were when you started.  Praise God for that!  This is the reason we were created…for the glory of God (Revelation 4:11).

The first attribute in most every systematic theology list is the Independence of God.  God is self-existent, it is the attribute of aseity (from the Latin a se, “from itself”).  This can be better understood as the following authors define it:

“The main idea of aseity is that God depends on nothing other than Himself for His existence.” – John S. Feinberg

“God is not derived from anything.  Everyone is derived from someone else and everything is derived from some other thing. But when it comes to God, God is underived—uncreated.  If God had derived from something else then that something else would have antedated God.” – A. W. Tozer

“During a past eternity, God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing.” – Arthur W. Pink

“All that God is, He is of Himself.” – Herman Bavinck

“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.” – Wayne Grudem

“The God of Scripture is essentially independent yet freely chooses to bring creatures into fellowship and communion with Himself—even though He knows that His friends will become enemies.  Even before He creates the world that He does not need, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit have covenanted in love for the salvation of sinners by the sacrifice of the incarnate Son.” – Michael Horton

How do we see this attribute displayed in Scripture?  There is no specific book where an author systematically writes out the attributes of God in concise detail, though each shine through the broad scope of Scripture.  Some specific passages to look at are: Gen 1:1; Exod 3:11-15, 34:5-7; Psa 8:1-4, 19:1-6, 50:10-12, 90:2, 115:3; Isa 40:8, 15, 17-18; Dan 4:34-37; John 5:26; 1 Tim 6:16; Heb 11:3; Rev 4:11.

Look specifically at Paul's famous sermon in the Areopagus in 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.”  (emphasis added)

Five Truths Concerning God's Independence:

1. God is the Creator   (“The God who made the world and everything in it”)

God is not a part of the creation, He is the Creator.  We often agree with our mouths that God is the Creator and then we proceed to address God as if He doesn’t know what is going on.  We address God as if WE are the ones sovereign over creation and we are calling on Him to act according to our purposes.  Just look at Scripture in matters like this.  Remember Job?  He had no clue of what was going on in heaven and how God was asking Satan if he knew of Job.  All the things that happened to Job happened out of God’s initiation.  And in Job 38-40:2 and 40:7-41:34 God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind with a myriad of questions.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” (38:4)

“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?” (38:12-13)

“Who has put wisdom in the inward partsor given understanding to the mind?” (38:36)

What about Romans 11:34-35, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”

Look also to Isaiah 40:22-23, “It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.”

It is a humbling read to see God’s barrage of questions and know the silence that remains when Job can’t answer.

2. God is Lord over all (“being Lord of heaven and earth”)

Given that God is creator we must also understand that He rules over His creation as Lord of it.  “Whatever He wants to do, He does, and what He wants depends on Himself alone" (John Feinberg).  And all of creation is subject to Him.  (cf. Gen 1-3; Psalm 97)

3. God does not live in temples built by human hands (“The God… does not live in temples made by man”)

We cannot contain Him.  “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27)

“Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.  What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?  Did not my hand make all these things?’” (Acts 7:48-50)

This isn’t the hardest thing to grasp.  We can understand that God does not dwell in our buildings or dwellings and that we cannot contain Him in any box we could make whether large or small, yet we attempt to do so constantly as we limit our own understanding of God's surpassing greatness (Is. 55:8-9, Rom. 11:33-36) as well as limiting, in our finite minds, where He may work or be found (John 4:21-24).  He is both transcendent (surpassing, exceeding all limits) and immanent (inherent, indwelling).

4. God is not served by man (“The God…is not served by human hands”)

We often struggle with this and we have the tendency to go back and forth depending upon our situation. When our circumstances are in our favor we run the risk of being arrogant as if “God is blessed to have us on His side.”  When our circumstances are unfavorable we cry out for His intervention.  For example, when we are in economic hardship we boast that “our Father owns ‘the cattle on a thousand hills’ and will provide for us.”  But we must see this phrase for all its worth.  God is not served by human hands as if He needed anything.

Take the topic of obedience:

Arthur Pink says, “It is impossible to bring the Almighty under obligations to the creature; God gains nothing from us. ‘If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?  Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man’ (Job 35:7-8), but it certainly cannot affect God, who is all-blessed in himself. ‘So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10)—our obedience has profited God nothing.”

Whoa!  Now that is a thought to ponder.  Our obedience adds nothing to God, for if it could add something to Him, He would cease to be God.  We obey because we are commanded to obey and we will suffer the wrath of the Holy God when do not obey.  Our obedience profits us, not God.

Now worship:

Pink also says, “God is no gainer even from our worship.  He was in no need of that external glory of his grace which arises from his redeemed, for he is glorious enough in himself without that.” Nehemiah 9:5 “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

God is pleased with our exaltation of His name, but He is not added to by it.  Even if all of creation was wiped away, God would still be God and He would still be glorious.  He is above all our praise and blessing!

God is in need of nothing.  You do not add anything to Him, nor take anything from Him.  He is all-sufficient, all-sustaining, and all-glorious in Himself.

Lastly,

5. God is the giver of life, breath, and everything.  (“He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything”)

God is the supplier to His creation.  Jesus says in John 5:26, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.”

“If God needs nothing, but gives life, breath, and all things to everything else, the implication is clear: God does not need to be given life, breath, or anything else...Paul wanted his listeners to understand that God does not need to be given life because he is self-existent and has life in himself.” – John Feinberg.

“Creatures live, but God is life—and he has this life in himself.  God is always the donor; creatures the beneficiaries.” – Michael Horton

Concluding thought to this introduction to God’s aseity (or independence):

1. God’s independence assures us that God will overcome evil and death…and He has through His Son, Jesus Christ.
2. God is independent, yet for our good, He chose to dwell with the finite.  We get to know the God of the entire universe!!!
3. God is independent of us but chooses to delight in us and allow us to bring Him joy.

“He is solitary in his majesty, unique in his excellency, peerless in his perfections.  He sustains all, but is himself independent of all.  He gives to all, but is enriched by none.  Such a God cannot be found out by searching.  He can be known only as he is revealed to the heart by the Holy Spirit through the Word.” – Arthur W. Pink