“Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
and I am the last."
- Isaiah 48:12
The Lord, the one true God who revealed himself through his prophets and apostles and ultimately through Jesus Christ - is the self existent God. What does it mean for God to be self existent? This is what many have called God's aseity or independence. As theologian John Frame explains, this "refers to his self-sufficiency. God has no needs." You see, unlike the Lord, you and I are not self-sufficient. In fact, we have many needs. We need food, water, shelter, sleep and others - especially God himself. The Lord is unique in all of the universe as the One who needs nothing and no one for anything. It's truly astonishing! The God who made everything in heaven and on earth lacks no good thing because he is the Creator and Sustainer of everything everywhere. As he said through his prophet Isaiah, "I am he. I am the first and I am the last."
So what does this mean for your life? It means that God does not need you and I for anything. Let that land on you for a bit. Yet despite his lack of need of you and I, he graciously decided to make you, sustain you and save you through Jesus Christ to bring honor and praise to his own name. And in bringing honor and praise to his own name, he brings you and I permanent and perpetual joy. I don't know about you but I like that deal. He gets all the glory. We get all the joy. He is the only necessary being in all of the universe and he allows people like us, those made in his image, to play a role in his glorious story. Do you live your life for the glory of the self-sufficient God? Have you made it your purpose to depend on the independent Lord? Are you pursuing the honor of the One without need for your every need?
For Jesus,
Pastor Mark
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