The Attributes of God
Divine Self-Existence
The first attribute of God in our series is the self-existence of God. This is also called God’s aseity. Aseity comes from the Latin prefix ‘a’ meaning of or from and ‘se’ meaning self. A being that has the quality of aseity exists in and of itself.
Scriptures that speak to this include;
Exodus 3:14, “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
Psalm 90:1-2, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
The idea of self-existence should not be confused with self-creation. Some cosmologists, in the assertion that the universe exploded into existence by itself, engage in a logical fallacy. The fallacy is that for a thing to create itself it would have to exist before its existence. The quality of aseity is not an assertion of self-creation.
The aseity of God refers to independent self-existence. In contrast to self-existence we live as contingent beings. Every contingent being (everyone but God) has the property of being caused by an outside cause thereby coming into existence as an effect. God exists as the uncaused Cause that produces all effects. He is the uncreated Creator who is the source of all things.
Aseity also means that God is perfect and complete in and of himself. In eternity the Trinity exists in perfect unity, needing nothing. There was no lack or need that occasioned creation. From eternity the perfect blessedness of the Trinity in unity and the unity in Trinity in perfect fellowship and eternal joy exists. And contingent creatures add nothing to God’s perfection.
Further, God is the necessary being. St. Anselm defined God as that, than which no greater can be conceived. God is the maximally-great being whose existence being logically possible must be actual by definition.
Another way to understand the necessity of God is that God is the sustainer of all things. For us, as contingent beings, there is the possibility that we didn’t exist. If my parents never met the universe would go on without me. However, God is necessary because without his existence, nothing could exist.
This attribute of God’s self-existence provides for us an eternal, immovable foundation for life. It is the good and perfect beginning for all endeavors and it is a safe and solid place of rest.
Any philosophy that tries to explain existence without God must constantly be shifting its position. It must always be on the move to the next explanation. And its movements must be without origin or destination. Philosophy that reckons without God is like a man in quicksand who must keep moving or be swallowed up.
In Christ we have rest for our souls. Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
In Christ we have a firm foundation. Matthew 21:42, “Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
Ephesians 2:19-21, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
1 Peter 2:6-7, “Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,” Our cornerstone, our foundation is Christ who, being God, possesses the quality of aseity. He exists eternally and necessarily in and of himself. He is our origin and our destination. He is our basis for building our lives and our perfectly secure rest.
brotherpayne 