The Most Neglected Christian Doctrine? by J.E. Rose

The Self-Existence of God

God has life in Himself, "He is a sun, a source, an ocean of good... He is the all-sufficient one, who needs nothing, but gives to all life and breath and everything." (Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2, Part 1, ch. 3, p. 151).

What makes God, God? From a popular perspective, most people who might even try to answer that would likely say it was because God is “so big.” I’m reminded of the song we taught our kids:

“Our God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing that our God cannot do…”

This is a true statement insofar as it goes. So many passages of Scripture attest to the truth of God’s “immensity”--his “bigness.” That immensity is evident in concrete ways through his absolute sovereignty (he is so big he controls all things), his divine authority (he is so big he commands all things), and his divine presence (he is so big he is everywhere at once). 

Without minimizing what my hero John Frame called these “Lordship Attributes” (control, authority, presence) of the three persons of the godhead, I think it is important to step back behind those three to understand WHY those attributes are so. And this is why I think we need to have a better appreciation of the doctrine of divine aseity. 

I had never heard of it until I began studying reformed theology. It could have been mentioned in a Bible college class but I don’t recall. I might have heard the word “aseity” from a pulpit sometime in the last 69 years but if I did it didn’t stand out as that significant. Yet, if what I am suggesting here is true, all those theological attributes of God we do talk about–God’s goodness, his sovereignty, his grace–all are possible because of this fundamental truth: God is “a se” (Latin for, “of himself”). We might say, God is “self-existent.” Unlike any other being, God did not have a beginning. Yet even that is because of his self-existence. 

Not surprisingly, as fundamental as divine aseity it touches every other doctrine in our theological lexicon. I want to highlight three, however, and how they have impacted me personally. 

Aseity and Divine Glory

In the opening quote Bavinck described God’s aseity as a “sun, a source, an ocean of good.” It might have been better if he distinguished “a sun” with “the sun” even as a created heavenly body from an uncreated one. Our sun has a particular “glory”--when we understand that the Hebrew word can be defined as “light.” We might say that the glory of our solar system is our sun. Of course, the Bible tells us this is a derived glory. Genesis says God made the sun at one point. Therefore, the glory of the sun–as marvelous as it may appear–is finite and limited by its origin. 

When we describe God’s glory it is infinitely greater than the sun–not just because it is “bigger” but because it is self-existent. It is uncreated. It is “a se” and therefore, the glory of God is incomparable to any glory of the created order. 

“I am Yahweh. That is my name.

    I will not give my glory to another,

    nor my praise to engraved images. (Isaiah 42:8)

Aseity and Lordship Attributes

Earlier I mentioned the “Lordship Attributes” in the theological formulation of John Frame: authority, control and presence: 

"The three lordship attributes are related to one another in the same way as the persons of the Trinity: each involves the other two; each is essential to the others. Control is authoritative and personal (presence). Authority is controlling and personal. Presence is controlling and authoritative. Thus, each lordship attribute can be seen as a perspective on the whole of lordship, just as each person of the Trinity is a perspective on the divine essence."

— John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God (A Theology of Lordship, Vol. 2), Chapter 2: "The Lord: The Covenant Name," p. 115 (P&R Publishing, 2002).

What I want to emphasize is how these attributes or perspectives find their source in the foundational doctrine of God’s self-existence. Without aseity, God's control would be contingent on external circumstances, His authority would be subject to a higher standard outside Himself, and His covenant presence would devolve into mutual dependency with creatures.

• Aseity as the Foundation of Divine Control 

  
  

Control refers to God's omnipotent power to bring about His eternal decrees in creation and providence. Frame roots this control directly in God’s self-sufficient, uncaused nature:

"God’s control is absolute because He is dependent on nothing. He is the Creator; all else is creature. If God were dependent on anything outside Himself for His existence, knowledge, or power, He could not be the absolute Lord of history. Aseity guarantees that His control of the world is sovereign, exhaustive, and free from external constraint."

— John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God (A Theology of Lordship, Vol. 2), Chapter 4: "God and the World: Epistemology," p. 79 (P&R Publishing, 2002).

Because of divine aseity God is the ultimate cause of all things, while nothing outside Himself caused or conditioned Him. Colossians reminds us that “he is before all things and by him all things consist” (1:17).

Frame’s triperspectival paradigm noted that this lordship attribute is related to our human situational perspective. 

• Aseity as the Foundation of Divine Authority

God’s authority is his right to command all things. His aseity means that he has this right because there is no one higher. Frame said, 

"Because God has life in Himself (a se), He is the ultimate standard of truth and right. He does not appeal to any law outside Himself to justify His commands. His authority is absolute precisely because His being is underived. To question God’s right to command is to deny His aseity—to assume that there is a standard of justice higher than God Himself."

— John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Word of God (A Theology of Lordship, Vol. 4), Chapter 2: "The Lord and His Word," p. 48 (P&R Publishing, 2010).

If God were not self-existent, the moral law or standard of truth would exist prior to or above Him. He would therefore  be subject to something higher negating his claim to divinity. Aseity establishes that God is Himself the supreme criterion of truth and righteousness.

"I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right... There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return..." (Isaiah 45:18-23)

Frame describes the "normative perspective” as the rules or measuring stick of truth and reality. As human beings every bit of knowledge we have from the mundane to the mysterious relies on some kind of normative perspective. This is how we determine what things mean. In God his meaning is wholly from within himself. 

• Aseity as the Foundation of Divine Presence

  
  

"God’s covenant presence does not compromise His aseity; rather, aseity is what makes His covenant presence truly gracious. God does not dwell with us because He needs our fellowship or relies on our praise to complete Himself. His presence is the free overflow of an all-sufficient God who draws near to bless and redeem."

— John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God, Chapter 2: "The Lord: The Covenant Name," p. 118.

Frame says that covenant presence refers to God's personal, relational nearness to His people. It is beautifully depicted in his name “Immanuel”--God with us. God’s eternal presence certainly includes his omnipresence and immensity (Psalm 139). But it is also relational and personal. 

Aseity protects us from a gross corruption of this attribute, however. Aseity preserves the absolute Creator-creature distinction within this intimate relationship. Frame notes that God’s presence with creatures is not born out of some loneliness in his being. We know that throughout eternity, before the creation, God’s eternal presence and personal relationship in the context of the three-in-one God. 

The eternal presence in creation is therefore a free, unilateral act of “covenant condescension.” It is prompted by pure grace not by ontological necessity. If you've read Frame before you know that he links God's attribute of presence to our "existential" perspective. In other words, while the situational perspective is what we see around us, the existential is how it affects our inner self.

Aseity and God’s Covenant Faithfulness 

My favorite hymn of all times is Great is Thy Faithfulness. Written by Thomas Chisolm:

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with thee;

Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not, 

As thou has been thou forever will be…”

I can’t begin to describe how this has been an anchor in my spiritual life for many years, especially in times of confusion and fear. But I do want to draw the connection between the truth described in this hymn (taken from Lamentations 3) and aseity. Were it not for God’s self-existence the promise of his “great faithfulness” would be less sure. 

The Hebrew word in Lamentations 3 is CHESED. It is an important Old Testament word and I can’t begin to review the richness and depth here. I will just  summarize it as “God’s faithfulness and loyalty to his covenant promises.” God’s CHESED is a beloved comfort. But without aseity it could not exist.  

Notice how Thomas Chisolm said,  “there is no shadow of turning with thee…” 

I would assume that phrase was inspired by James:

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes] (James 1:17 Amplified)

At least from our earthly vantage, the heavenly lights (sun, moon, and stars) are continually shifting and changing locations. As the sun follows its daily circuit it casts shadows. In the era before mechanical clocks time was measured by this circuit and it would therefore provide a vivid contrast in James’ argument to God. 

God is not like the sun. He is rather the uncreated "Father of lights." Because he is uncreated and pre-existent there is "no variation or shadow due to change."

God’s CHESED is grounded in what theologians call his “immutability”--he does not change. For us, that means "His steadfast love endures forever," (Psalm 136). If God were not immutable he would react to forces or factors outside of himself. In terms of God’s promises, there might be circumstances that would cause him to abandon or change his mind about them.

Though outside the scope of this article, I should briefly clarify something about divine immutability related to his personal relationship with his creatures.

The categorical statement that his immutability means he does not react to forces or factors outside of himself makes many wonder how he can have a personal relationship with creatures. How can someone love another unless they create some kind of interpersonal relationship? The answer is another neglected doctrine: the doctrine of impassibility. If we get this doctrine wrong we will also fail to appreciate the doctrine of aseity.  

Divine Impassibility  

Exodus 3:14 tells the story of Moses and the burning bush. God revealed himself to moses as “I am.” This is the basis for the Old Testament personal name Yahweh. 

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God said moreover to Moses, 'You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations (Exodus 3:14,15)

The unusual Hebrew grammar of , “Yahweh” can be translated correctly three ways: "I am WHO I am," “I am WHAT I am." Or even, "I will be who I will be.”  These nuances point to the uniqueness of God as a person, infinite and beyond time. It points to his self-determining will. Yahweh is sovereign. He has total control. A “sovereign” is a ruler or monarch. No one is above him in power or influence.  Paul rhetorically asked in Romans, “who can resist his will?” The answer is, no one! 

Statements like these leave many mysteries and unanswered questions. They certainly made Paul's readers in Rome wonder:

You will say then to me, “Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?” ²⁰ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” ²¹Or hasn’t the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:19-21)

Yahweh is the ruler of all things. In every thought, desire and action Yahweh "is what he is." He “will be what he will be.” He does not base his thoughts, desires and actions on the actions of his creatures. This is “divine impassibility.” It describes the very heart of Yahweh and why he thinks, desires and acts as he does in history. 

In practical terms, divine impassibility teaches us about God’s emotions. As a person, God has them! However, they are initiated very differently in him.

Jesus as a “high priest who could be touched by the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15; John 11:35).  

On a practical level impassibility is a contentious doctrine these days. I won't take time to explain why other than to reaffirm how essential it is and offer a reflective insight from another theologian about this doctrine:

This conception of God [as impassible] represents no single biblical term, but was introduced into Christian theology in the second century. What was it supposed to mean? The historical answer is: Not impassivity, unconcern, and impersonal detachment in the face of the creation. 

Not inability or unwillingness to empathize with human pain and grief, either. It means simply that God’s experiences do not come upon him as ours come upon us. His are foreknown, willed, and chosen by himself, and are not involuntary surprises forced on him from outside, apart from his own decision, in the way that ours regularly are… Let us be clear: A totally impassive God would be a horror, and not the God of Calvary at all. He might belong in Islam; he has no place in Christianity.”(J.I. Packer, Knowing God)

If God were not self-existent he might be impassive (detached and disinterestged) but could not be impassible. There could be influences outside of God that could affect his thoughts or feelings and make him change.   In that case, he could not be CHESED. Rather than "great is thy faithfulness" with confidence we would be lefft to wonder.

God’s Aseity Makes John 3:16 True

There is much more that could be said about this most neglected truth. But I’ll conclude by linking it to one of the most memorized Bible verses: 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). 

God’s people are correct to find comfort and assurance for eternal life in God’s love and the gift of his only begotten son to save us from eternal condemnation because of our sin. But does this require divine aseity? Couldn’t he do the same thing without it? 

Because the three-in-one God possesses perfect glory in himself, his plan for a creation was a pure act of love and grace, not necessity. The great theologian, Louis Berkhof emphasized, 

God's love is "not a necessity in God... He might have chosen not to create, and not to reveal His love to creatures" (Systematic Theology, Part I, Ch. 7, p. 71). 

God does not love his creatures out of loneliness or deficiency. God loved the world so much that he gave his son simply because it pleased him to do so. The story of redemption throughout history demonstrates how unselfish that love is–particularly given the constant theme of ingratitude and rebellion of the very creatures he loved. 

Thus, as Paul said, 

⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a good person someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7,8)

Because God draws His life and attributes from himself alone. God’s love for us is insulated from the fluctuations of creation. God never has a bad day. He never wakes up on the wrong side of the bed! He is the same, yesterday, today and forever, always the same (Hebrews 13:8).