The Self-Existence of God

The Self-Existence of God
“The Father has life in himself.”John 5:26, (ESV)
Introduction
      “During a past eternity, God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing.” (Pink, p. 10) The only being that has the right to use the adjective “Self-Existent” is God, because He is the only one who needs nothing to sustain Himself. Wayne Grudem defines this incommunicable attribute of God's independence as this; “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.”(p. 160) Webster's 1828 dictionary defines self-existence as “the existence possessed by virtue of a being's own nature, and independent of any other being or cause; an attribute peculiar to God.”
Body
A. Independent of matter and space. “No one has ever seen God; the only God,” John 1:18
      “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7 God is a Spirit, not bounded by matter or space in any way. So, God is everywhere. No other being is like this. Even compared to other spiritual beings, He is so much more immense. An angel can only be in one place at one time. God can be, and is, 100% present in every place at the exact same time.
“Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24-25) Writing about these verses, J.I. Packer said, “Sacrifices offered to idols, in today's tribal religions as in ancient Athens, are thought of as somehow keeping the god going, but the Creator needs no such support system.” (Packer, p. 26-27) Air, gravity, food, water; He depends on nothing.
      We, on the other hand, depend on the Lord for our all of our life, whether we acknowledge it or not. Matt. 5:45 “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” According to 1 Timothy 6:13, “God, ...gives life to all things.” Just in order to breathe, many things must be given to us by God. The earth needs to produce oxygen. Our lungs, trachea, mouth(or nose), diaphragm, and more body parts that I cannot name must all work with perfect timing in order to get air into our lungs. Then, the air has to be filtered, the oxygen separated and sent into the bloodstream, and exhaled. All in one instant. No, We can not make ourselves stay alive. In Matthew 6:27, Jesus says, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” We
Speaking of Jesus, in eternity past, God existed without a body. This is why the Incarnation of Jesus is so amazing. God did not need a physical body. But, somehow, Jesus became a man. Col 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” God, eternally living outside of matter, became matter, to die for finite beings that He created and were in rebellion against Him. Wow, his love for us is unfathomable!
B. Independent of time. “From everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90:2
      Gen 1:5 “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” The first Day, as we call it, only happened a few thousand years ago, before that, there was no such thing as time. Gen 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,” We see here that our Lord invented Time. “The study of Physics tells us that matter and time and space must occur together: if there is no matter, there can be no space or time either. Thus, before God created the universe, there was no “time” at least not in the sense of a succession of moments occurring one after the other.” (Grudem, p. 169) How to comprehend the fact that there was no such thing as a year, and time was not able to be counted; that is beyond me. Psalm 90:4 “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”
C. No fellowship needed outside Himself.
     God does not need us. He did not make us because He was lonely. “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.” (John 17:24) Jesus' desire in this verse is that we would join Him, not because He needs our presence, but so that we can see His glory, to see the Love that God has for Himself. In eternity past, the only being in existence was God, and He was satisfied with Himself. The Trinity explains this fact of God's relationship with Himself. J.I. Packer writes on the subject of the Trinity, saying, “The Old Testament constantly insists that there is only one God, the self-revealed Creator, who must be worshiped and loved exclusively...The New Testament agrees but speaks of three personal agents, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, working together in the manner of a team to bring about salvation.” (Packer, p. 41) Again, I cannot understand this fully, it is too big for my finite, tiny brain to comprehend. I agree with Job when he says, “Behold, these are but the outskirts of His ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of Him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14)
Application
What should this truth do for us? I believe that when we see the Self-existence of God, it....
  • Should make us awe at His greatness and power.
  • Will allow us to trust Him for all that we need, without worrying about whether or not He can answer us. "Ask, and it will be given to you.” Matt. 7:7
  • Cause Thankfulness to overflow to God, from our hearts, allowing us to draw near to Him.
  • Will cause us to be more satisfied in Him, as we trust Him.

Works Cited
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, New York: Good News Publishers, 2001. Print
Pink, Arthur W. The Attributes of God. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2009. Print
Accessed 9/24/15
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. Print
Packer, J.I. Concise Theology, USA, Tyndale House Publishers, 1993. Print




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