The Self-Sufficiency of God

Acts 17:24-29 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. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,  for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘ For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

John 5:26  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

God is complete in and of Himself as there is nothing He needs, or ever will need. He does not need creation to worship and glorify Him, nor does He need any kind of being to help Him in any way. God existed before creation and did not need humanity to boast in Him, but only allowed creation to boast in Him.

How foolish it is for the believer to think that God made man – or made any of creation – to make Himself feel good or to bring glory to Himself! God was always in perfect love and communion before any of creation existed. He Himself, the Son and the Holy Spirit, were in complete happiness with one another, and had perfect communion in their relationship. God is in no way dependent upon anyone or any thing but Himself. The self-sufficiency of God differs from His self-existence in the fact that although it is true that He has always been, this particular truth of the gospel brings more adoration to the name of God for who He is. God doesn’t need creation or humanity to be. God didn’t’t make mountains, seas, vast amounts of oceans and the deepest trenches to make Himself exist, nor does it help Him in existing. God is independent, period! There’s no room to discuss or bring arguments to the table. God doesn’t need food, water, a house or temperatures of the right nature, or medicine to help make Him feel better or help Himself continue living. God is. What do we believers not understand about His being – that He is? This is not hard to grasp when knowing the God whom we serve. I may remind you – the believer – of this, where Psalm 50:12-15 describes the self-sufficiency of the God whom we get to serve. It states:

If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

This is the God whom we serve. This is the nothing-needed, most satisfied being that exists in Himself and needs no other requirement to live – for He exists in His being. God deserves all the worship, because He being who He is calls the believer to see his humbleness in that he is not even in the same category of being. Nor does He come close to it, because of the fact of his dependence. Believer, think on this: the gospel itself exists by itself. And God has allowed you to come and know that. Something that has no creation – and the good news of knowing, learning, and worshiping this God – calls you to serve and stand in awe of all areas of His character. But boast in it for His glorification alone, and not yours. We see this most when we know with our minds that He is different, and that His superiority is over all things, and His supremacy is higher and greater among all things. After knowing this in our minds it should affect our hearts to live it out and shout among the roof tops, “God is great!” God is great among all things, and His character alone brings us to the humble state where we can realize and know that we are His creation. It gives us humility, in the fact that, we alone could never know this God without Him allowing us to partake in this great gospel, the good news. The believer can find his or her enjoyment in that all spiritual desires and needs are met in this self-sufficient Spirit-giver. The One who holds all of spirituality in Himself and has had – and will have – perfect relationship with Himself, allows believers to know Him and fall in love with His good news, the gospel. Boast in God being God – for He needs nothing of you in order to exist. He allows you to glorify Him, yet He does not need you for His existence. It is a great benefit for the believer to get to know this truth of the gospel. So praise be to Him – for it is all due to His name, and He being who He is.