The Independence of God

One of the lessons that the lock down has taught us, is that we are not as independent as we would like to believe. We need each other. This was evident right from the beginning: “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). There are numerous “one another” commands in the New Testament. These all imply relationships within the body of Christ. Even believers need one another. Above all we need God, because in “him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

God, however, is different. God does not need anyone. He is completely self-sufficient. This is sometimes called the aseity of God. The word aseity means “from oneself.” As RC Sproul explained: “God has the power of being in and of Himself. He does not derive it from something else. God is not dependent on anything outside of Himself. God has never needed us to survive or to be, but we His creatures are totally dependent.”

When God revealed himself to Job, God said: “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.” (Job 41:11). Psalm 50:10-12 says something similar: “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.’” The apostle Paul also preached God’s independence to the Athenians: “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.” (Acts 17:24-25).

Even the name that God chose for himself, “I AM”, implies that God is uniquely independent and self-sufficient (Ex. 3:14). Wayne Grudem helpfully points out: “God’s existence and character are determined by himself alone and are not dependent on anyone or anything else.”

If God doesn’t need anything, why did he make man? Some believers assume it was because God was lonely, but the Bible contradicts this false assumption. God isn’t lonely, because God has existed in Trinity for all eternity. That means that within the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit God has perfect fellowship, glory and love. Jesus prayed, in John 17:5: “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” Earlier, in John 14:31 we read that Jesus not only shares in the Father’s glory, but in his love: “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father”. Perfect glory, love and fellowship – God does not need anything or anyone outside of himself.

What does this teach us? First, it reminds us that we are dependent beings. Revelation 4:11: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” We need God and our feeble attempts to live without him are not only delusional, but insulting. We are alive because of the gracious will of God. Acting as though we don’t need God is naïve and foolish. We need to cultivate the kind of attitude that Paul had: “I can do all things…” Don’t stop there, “through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). We need to learn to depend on God.

Second, God’s independence teaches us that our worship and adoration does not meet God’s need, it recognizes his sufficiency. Allow me to explain. If we understand that God doesn’t need us, we might be tempted to think that we don’t matter. We might wonder whether our worship and service are significant. They are, not because God needs us, but rather because God has created us and determined that we would be meaningful to him. That is what makes us significant: that God wills it so. God has chosen to create us for his glory (Isa. 43:7) and God has decided to delight in what he has made. In the words of Isaiah 62:5: “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” That is where we find our significance: recognizing that even though God does not need us, he delights in us with a perfectly free, sovereign, and independent love.

God doesn’t need us, but he delights in those who delight in him.
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Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

Next: The wisdom of God