The Uncaused God
Bible Reading: Exodus 3:14-15; Isaiah 44:24; Acts 17:24-25; Colossians 1:16-17
God is self-existent and self-sufficient. He alone has no outside grounds for His existence. The answer to the question of “Who created God?” is “NO ONE!” The self-existent God does not depend on anyone or anything outside of Himself for His life and being.
In his book “The Attributes of God,” Arthur W. Pink spoke to these aspects of God’s nature: ‘In the beginning, God’ (Genesis 1:1). There was a time, if “time” it could be called, when God, in the unity of His nature (though subsisting equally in three Divine Persons), dwelt all alone. ‘In the beginning, God.’ There was no heaven, where His glory is now particularly manifested. There was no earth to engage His attention. There were no angels to hymn His praises; no universe to be upheld by the word of His power. There was nothing, no one, but God; and that, not for a day, a year, or an age, but ‘from everlasting.’
During a past eternity, God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing. The creation of the universe, angels and mankind, when He did, added nothing to God essentially. He changes not (Malachi 3:6), because of this His essential glory can be neither augmented, nor diminished. God was under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That He chose to do so was purely a sovereign act on His part, caused by nothing outside Himself, determined by nothing but His own good pleasure; for He “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11). That He did create was simply for His manifestative glory.”
By way of contrast, we humans are neither self-existent nor self-sufficient. In 1943 an American Psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow theorized what he called “Man’s Hierarchy of Needs,” which were categorized according to the following groups: physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, self-actualization and self-transcendence. According to his hierarchy, basic needs such as food, water, air, clothing and shelter were just the start if a person was to achieve what he referred to as “self-actualization.” We creatures can’t long survive apart from that which has been provided to us by a benevolent creator. As A.W. Tozer has noted, “All breathing things need air; every organism needs food and water. Take air and water from the earth and all life would perish instantly. It may be stated as an axiom that to stay alive every created thing needs some other created thing, and all things need God. To God alone nothing is necessary.”
Sin reveals itself in many ways, but at its core is a rebellion which leads to the erroneous belief that we, as created beings, can somehow exist and function independent of our Creator. The doctrine of the self-existence of God is an affront to every self-worshiper. In our secular society many folks live their lives supposing the universe revolves around them, only to grow increasingly frustrated by the universe’s refusal to cooperate.
Though God does not need us, we have intrinsic value inasmuch as He created us in His image. Though He doesn’t need us, He has loved us enough to send His own Son to rescue us from sin’s folly. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead so we can be saved (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 2:4-5). Though He doesn’t need anything from us, by His grace He privileges us to serve Him, having prepared beforehand good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). The Creator of all things, has no needs and in His perfection He is altogether deserving of our worship!
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God
To receive glory and honour and praise
For you created all things,
And by your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 4:11
LookingtoJesus 