Have you ever thought about the fact that God existed before the universe began? It’s mind-blowing to think that God has always existed. Before time, before planets and stars, before people and animals, He was. And, even greater, He is entirely self-sufficient. The self-sufficiency of God is an attribute we don’t often think about. But it is vital for a proper understanding of God.
Here are 3 incredible truths about the self-sufficiency of God.
God is the Source and Sustainer of all life.
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” Acts 17:28
When Adam was formed in perfect clay, he lay motionless until God, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) Since then, each new life is a gift from God’s hand. Without His constant creation of new lives, mankind would soon die out.
In Psalm 104, David wrote of God’s life-giving power over His creatures. “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” (Psalm 104:29-30)
He also explained how God sustains all life on earth, “These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.” (Psalm 104:27) By His power, God not only provides food for all living things, but also keeps the rhythms and laws of earth running smoothly. Without His active involvement, life on earth would soon wither and die.
Yet, in His lovingkindness, He gives life to all creatures. At the local church’s prison ministries, this truth is so encouraging!
God is perfectly complete and self-sufficient.
“For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;” John 5:26
No human being can ever be truly self-sufficient. He will need God’s sun to shine upon him, God’s rain to water his crops, and God’s breath to fill his lungs. Without God, he cannot exist.
However, God truly is, and always has been, self-sufficient. A. W. Tozer explains, “To admit the existence of a need in God is to admit incompleteness in the divine Being. Need is a creature-word and cannot be spoken of the Creator.”
Because God is perfectly complete and mature, He has no need of improvement. He has no teachers, no governors, no advisers, and no providers. No circumstance can catch Him unprepared. No storm can cast the slightest wave over His ship.
Unlike us, God is self-sufficient.
God doesn’t need us.
“If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.” Psalm 50:12
And, as a natural result, God has no need for us. He would have been perfectly happy had we never existed. And He is perfectly capable of carrying out His plans without our assistance.
As A. W. Tozer explains so well, “Probably the hardest thought of all for our natural egotism to entertain is that God does not need our help. We commonly represent Him as a busy, eager, somewhat frustrated Father hurrying about seeking help to carry out His benevolent plan to bring peace and salvation to the world…” (The Knowledge of the Holy, pp. 25).
However, for His sovereign good pleasure, He chose to create us, to delight in us, and to send His Son to die for us. He gives us the inestimable privilege of knowing Him. He allows to worship Him. And He asks us to serve Him.
Knowing that God does not need us should not discourage us from giving our all for Him. Rather, it should free our minds from the weight of “helping” God. It should motivate us to serve God from a heart of love, not duty.
As Paul wrote, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
At the local church’s prison ministries, we want to serve God joyfully and let Him work through our lives. Will you join us?
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