What Is the Aseity of God?

The word aseity comes from the Latin a se, meaning 'from himself.' The doctrine of divine aseity teaches that God is utterly self-existent and self-sufficient. He depends on nothing and no one for His existence, His attributes, His happiness, or His purposes. Everything else that exists is contingent — it might or might not have been, and it depends on God for its being. But God simply is. The most striking biblical expression of aseity is found in Exodus 3:14, where God reveals His name to Moses: 'And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM... Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.' The name Yahweh is rooted in the verb 'to be' and proclaims that God is the eternal, self-existent One. Jesus claimed this name for Himself: 'Before Abraham was, I am' (John 8:58). Acts 17:24-25 expounds aseity: 'God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.' God does not need our worship, our service, our buildings, or our gifts. He is not lonely without us, not enriched by us, not diminished without us. Job 35:7 asks, 'If thou be righteous, what givest thou him?' Psalm 50:12 declares, 'If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.' Aseity humbles us — we contribute nothing to God. It also comforts us — His love for us is sheer grace, not need. He chose to create, redeem, and love us out of the overflowing fullness of His own infinite life.