God’s Aseity
I. Definition of Aseity- God is self-existent, God has always been
”Our Maker exists in an eternal, self-sustaining, necessary waynecessary, that is, in the sense that God does not have it in Him to go out of existence, just as we do not have it in us to live forever. We necessarily age and die, because it is our present nature to do that; God necessarily continues forever unchanged, because it is His eternal nature to do that. This is one of many contrasts between creature and Creator.” (Packer, J.I., Concise Theology, 26)
A. Literal: From Latin aseite, of oneself
B. Theologically: the self-existence of God an independent existence,
C. Packer, J.I- ”God’s self existence is basic truth. At the outset of his presentation of the unknown God to theAthenian idolaters, Paul explained that this God, the world’s Creator, “is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:23-25). Sacrifices offered to idols, in today’s tribal religionas as in ancient Athens, are thought of as somehow keeping the god going, but the Creator (the I AM) needs no such support system. The word aseity, meaning that he has life in himself and draws his unending energy from Himself (a se in Latin means “from himself”), was coined by theologians to express this truth, which the Bible makes clear.” (Packer, J.I., 26-27)
D. Augustine- God is the absolute IS
II. Basis of Aseity
A. Biblical basis for Aseity
i. Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God . . . .”
ii. Psa. 90:2 “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
iii. John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God, the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.”
iv. John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, Truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
v. Exodus 3:14- “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,’ and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’”
vi. Acts 17:25 “He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”
vii. Rom. 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.”
viii. Col. 1:17 “He is before all things . . . .”
ix. Heb. 1:3 “. . .He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, and through Whom He made the universe.”
x. Heb. 2:10 “. . .it was fitting that God, for Whom and through Whom everything exists . . . .”
xi. Rev 1:8 “’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
xii. Rev. 4:11 “ . . . by your will they were created and have their being.”
B. Theological basis for Aseity – How Aseity interacts with God’s attributes
1. 1. Aseity follows from Pure Actuality
a. God as Pure Act has no potentiality not to exist.
b. What has no potential for non-existence must exist in and of itself (=self-existent or aseity)
c. God is self-existent (=has Aseity).
2. 2. Aseity follows from Necessity
a. God as a necessary Being cannot not exist.
b. What cannot not exists has existence in and of itself (=self-existence).
c. Hence, God is self-existent (=Aseity).
3. 3. Aseity follows from Uncausality
a. a. God is an uncaused Being.
b. b. What is uncaused exists in and of itself (=Aseity).
c. c. Therefore, God has Aseity.
III. Objections to God’s Aseity
A. Self-existence is impossible.
i. A self-existent Being is a self-caused Being
ii. A Self-caused Being is impossible (for it would be ontologically prior to itself)
iii. Therefore, self-existence is impossible
B. Answer to objections to God’s Aseity
i. God is not a self-caused Being (which is impossible)
ii. God is an uncaused Being (which is possible)
IV. Why is God’s Aseity an important attribute of God for us to know?
“In theology, endless mistakes result from supposing that the conditions, bounds, and limits of our finite existence apply to God. The doctrine of His aseity stands as a bulwark against such mistakes. In our life of faith, we easily impoverish ourselves by embracing an idea of God that is too limited and small, and again the doctrine of God’s aseity stands as a bulwark to stop this happening. It is vital for spiritual health to believe that God is great (ps. 95:1-7), and grasping the truth of God’s aseity is the first step on the road to doing this.” (Packer, 27)
V. Our Response to the Aseity of God
A. A Sense of Complete Awe
B. A Sense of Utter Dependence
C. A Sense of Deepest Humility
D. A Sense of Ultimate Gratitude
Sources Used:J.I. Packer- Concise Theology
R.C. Sproul
Norman Geisler- Aseity of God, class notes
Augustine-
Aquinas-