~ God Is Self-Existent ~
This
Series ~ This
series of posts looks at some of the many attributes of God. Generally, we move in alphabetical order.
Introduction ~ God
has life in Himself and depends on no one or anything.
Scripture ~ “For as the Father has life in Himself, so
He has granted the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26).
“Then
Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to
them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they say to me, “What
is His name?” what shall I say to them?’ 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.’’” (Exodus 3:13-15).
Comments ~ 1.) Without
getting too technical is sufficient to say that the meaning of the Great “I AM’
in the original language makes it clear that God is self-existing.
2.
Jesus Christ clarifies how He, the Son of God, is the Great “I AM” in a number
of explicit statements in the Gospel of John.
Quote
~
[Chapter] 14 True Perpetual
Motion: Self-Existent
“Like
many people, I enjoy good food. I especially like to go out to a fine
restaurant with my wife or with friends and enjoy a time of fellowship around
the table. Have you ever considered how different our lives would be if we did
not have to eat? But eat we must! But why do we eat?
“Our
bodies derive necessary energy for survival from the food that we eat. Horses
eat their hay and their oats. We put gasoline into our cars to provide the
energy to propel us down our highways. We live in an energy-conscious age and
are becoming increasingly more sensitive to the amount of energy we use and the
way in which we use it.
“The
universe runs on energy. The great ocean liner the Queen Mary propelled itself
thirteen feet forward for each gallon of fuel consumed; and maybe for a ship
that weighed in excess of eighty thousand tons and pushed a depth of
thirty-nine feet of water aside at a speed of 30 knots, that’s not too bad. But
thirteen feet per gallon is over 400 gallons per mile.
“The
first space shuttle, Columbia, consumed approximately eight tons of fuel per
second during lift-off. This is approximately equivalent to the fuel consumed
by 25 fully loaded 747 jumbo jets. We live in an age of energy consumption, and
we have been told there is an energy crisis.
“We
have seen previously that the sun is giving off vast quantities of energy. But
we must be careful to note that because of the vast size of our star, it is for
practical purposes remaining unchanged, that is, it does not require constant
refueling. “We may say that each square inch of the sun’s surface is only
losing about a twentieth of an ounce a century.”
“Compared
to man’s frame of reference and time scales, the sun, our source of physical
light, is self-existing. It has no need of external refueling.
“While
we live in an energy-conscious age, we are also great consumers of energy.
Provision of suitable sources of energy is becoming a worldwide concern. The
sun, the ultimate supplier of all our energy, is giving off vast quantities of
energy. Even so, by any human time standard, the sun is in no need of
refueling.
“The
amount of energy being given off by the sun is of little consequence because of
its enormous size. The sun is perhaps changing slower than anything else that
we can possibly observe. Even though the sun is giving off vast amounts of
energy, it will take a period of about two billion years for it to lose one
seven-thousandth of its total matter. “The lifetime of a human being is measured in decades; the lifetime of the sun
is a hundred million times longer.”
“For
all practical purposes the sun symbolizes true perpetual motion.
In
a universe where everything is dependent upon something else in order to exist,
the sun is the most self-existent object that could be used for analogy to a
self-existent God. (The theological term is “aseity.”)
“When
we contemplate the majesty and uniqueness of the self-existent God, it should
humble us. He has given us a written record, the Holy Bible, so that we may
learn of Him. John in three words, “God is light,” provides us a profound image
of the self-existent God of the cosmos.
“Sunlight
/ Sonlight
“Sunlight
exists without the need for care, maintenance, or refueling.
“Sonlight
is self-existing without the need of any outside resources.
—From
the book “GOD’S NATURE: Sonlight Sunlight” (eBook ISBN: 978-1393359371,
ASIN: B083L97PZV ~ print book ISBN: 979-8223228738)
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
* * * * *
Bible Version:
Quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted. Emphasis is added.
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