God's Independence
The Attributes of God • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 230 viewsGod is independent and needs nothing from anyone. He is truly self-sufficient, and from his abundance he is able to supply our need. We are dependent and are made to need God and others.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
God’s Attributes
God’s Attributes
1. We study God’s attributes because we are called proclaim them to those around us.
2. We study God’s attributes because we want to worship God in spirit and in truth.
3. We study God’s attributes because it guides our actions.
Types of Attributes: Incommunicable and Communicable Attributes
The incommunicable perfections are those characteristics unique to God (e.g., self-existence, simplicity, immensity), whereas the communicable perfections are those characteristics transferable in part to humans (e.g., goodness, righteousness, love). - John MacArthur
God is Independent
God is Independent
Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Independence (Aseity)
God is independent of all things. He is perfectly self-sufficient, not depending on anything outside himself for anything, and is therefore the eternal, foundational being, the source of life and sustenance for all other beings.
God’s Independence means that God is self-sufficient - not depending on anything outside himself, and that he is self-existent - he was not created. He has always existed.
1. As Yahweh, God is self-existent, having life in and of himself (; ).
2. God existed before all things, and through him alone all things exist (; ; ).
3. God is Lord of all (; ).
4. He depends on nothing; all things depend on him ().
5. He is the source of everything (; ; ; ; ).
6. He does as he wills (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ).
7. His counsel is the basis of everything (; ; ; ; ; ; , , ).
8. He does everything for his own sake (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; , ; , , , ; ).
9. He needs nothing, being all-sufficient (; ).
10. He is the first and the last (; ; ; ; ; ).
11. He is independent in his mind (), his will (; ; ; ), his counsel (; ), his love (), and his power ().
John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, eds., Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 169.
God Needs Nothing
God Needs Nothing
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 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, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 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.’
Acts 17:
How do we see God’s independence in this passage?
1. Made everything
2. Lord of heaven and earth
3. Does not live in temples made by man
4. Is not served by human hands
5. Does not need anything
6. Gives everyone:
a. life
b. breath
c. everything
7. made from one man every nation
8. determined the allotted periods and boundaries of the nations
9. Not far from each of us
10. In him we live and move and have our being.
Ps. 50:
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
Psalm 50:7-
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
How do we see God’s independence in this passage?
Christ’s Dependence
Christ’s Dependence
As a servant, the Son became totally dependent on the Father for his spiritual life: “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” ().
- Mark Jones
Jones, Mark (2017-06-30). God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God (p. 68). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
John 12.
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Jesus models for us dependence on God.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Our Dependence
Our Dependence
In view of God’s independence and self-sufficiency, perhaps we wonder, why would he care about or bother with us if he remains entirely without need? God created us not because he needed us but because he loved us.
-Mark Jones
Jones, Mark (2017-06-30). God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God (p. 69). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
Jones, Mark (2017-06-30). God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God (p. 69). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
God’s Self-Sufficiency Means He Can Help
God’s Self-Sufficiency Means He Can Help
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Christ’s Dependence Shows the Need for Our Dependence
Christ’s Dependence Shows the Need for Our Dependence
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
-Mark Jones
Jones, Mark (2017-06-30). God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God (p. 69). Crossway. Kindle Edition.