Self-Sufficient
“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself.”—John 5:26
God is self-sufficient. He doesn’t need us. Contrary to popular belief, we are not the center of God’s universe. All too often, God is portrayed as a grieving, pleading Father, waiting for us to respond to His overtures, constantly in need of us to do something because He is powerless, for whatever reason, to do. But, that is not God.
He is. He is self-existent, and He is also self-sufficient, which is to say that He is what He is in Himself and has no need of us. Every breathing thing needs air, every river needs a tributary, but God, He needs nothing.
Vainly do we think that we are self-sufficient! If we miss a meal, a few hours of sleep, or experience a change of temperature, how quickly do we realize how insufficient we are! We are in need of a proper environment, food and sleep. But God, He needs no sleep. As the Psalmist says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”—Psalm 121:4. And He needs no food, "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?”—Psalm 50:12-13.
God doesn’t eat food and doesn’t get hungry as the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome did. The God of Israel is the one and only God and He is not sustained by the blood of bulls or goats. He needs none of these things. He has life in Himself and needs nothing from us.
As A.W. Tozer wrote,
“Were all human beings suddenly to become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light. So, were every man on earth to become atheist, it could not affect God in any way. He is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfections; to doubt Him takes nothing away”—Knowledge of the Holy, p. 33.
God doesn’t need us, but He chooses to reveal Himself to us, and use us for His glory. May He be praised! What wisdom! What majesty that God, who needs nothing, would make Himself known to us through Jesus Christ our Lord! And then use us to make Himself known to this lost world! May God be praised for giving of Himself to us so that we might know Him and experience eternal life with Him! Amen.
God is self-sufficient. He doesn’t need us. Contrary to popular belief, we are not the center of God’s universe. All too often, God is portrayed as a grieving, pleading Father, waiting for us to respond to His overtures, constantly in need of us to do something because He is powerless, for whatever reason, to do. But, that is not God.
He is. He is self-existent, and He is also self-sufficient, which is to say that He is what He is in Himself and has no need of us. Every breathing thing needs air, every river needs a tributary, but God, He needs nothing.
Vainly do we think that we are self-sufficient! If we miss a meal, a few hours of sleep, or experience a change of temperature, how quickly do we realize how insufficient we are! We are in need of a proper environment, food and sleep. But God, He needs no sleep. As the Psalmist says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”—Psalm 121:4. And He needs no food, "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?”—Psalm 50:12-13.
God doesn’t eat food and doesn’t get hungry as the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome did. The God of Israel is the one and only God and He is not sustained by the blood of bulls or goats. He needs none of these things. He has life in Himself and needs nothing from us.
As A.W. Tozer wrote,
“Were all human beings suddenly to become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light. So, were every man on earth to become atheist, it could not affect God in any way. He is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfections; to doubt Him takes nothing away”—Knowledge of the Holy, p. 33.
God doesn’t need us, but He chooses to reveal Himself to us, and use us for His glory. May He be praised! What wisdom! What majesty that God, who needs nothing, would make Himself known to us through Jesus Christ our Lord! And then use us to make Himself known to this lost world! May God be praised for giving of Himself to us so that we might know Him and experience eternal life with Him! Amen.
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