God's Self-Existence and the Necessity of Man

God Existed From the Beginning

In the beginning, [there was] God [and there] 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. (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3) That which was from the beginning…the word of life…the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us (1 John 1:1-2) Before the mountains were born, or [He] brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, [He was and is] God. (Psalm 90:2)

God Simply Is

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.’ (Exodus 3:14) Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, Truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’

God Has no Beginning or End

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’ (Revelation 1:8) 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) ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I AM HE. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord and apart from Me there is no Savior.’ (Isaiah 43:10)

Of old [God has] laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of [His] hand. They will perish, but [He] will remain…they will pass away, but [He is] the same and [His] years have no end. (Psalm 102: 25-27) Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understand is inscrutable. (Isaiah 40:28) The twenty for elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever and will cast their crowns before the throne…(Revelation 4:10)

God is the Creator, the Source of All Things

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things [and] it was fitting for God, for Whom and through Whom everything exists. (Romans 11:36; Hebrews 2:10) [He asks Job] Where were you when I laid the foundation of the Earth (Job 38:4) For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and diving nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse [and they] have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images… (Romans 1:20, 23) He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. (Acts 17:25)


God Does Not Need Man
If we state that ‘God needs us’ we must then ask why. What purpose do we serve? What can we give to God that he cannot find without us? The answer, of course, is nothing. There is nothing that we can give to God that he needs. As evidenced above, God exists, with or without us. My belief in Him does not justify His existence, nor does a non-Christian’s doubt negate it. I cannot form God out of my thoughts and someone else cannot wish him out of existence. Neither can I sustain God. My thoughts, prayers, songs of worship, and all other activities do nothing to further His existence or achieve a goal he is incapable of. Paul states, ‘He is not served by humans hands, as if He needed anything.’ Instead, ‘He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.’ It is God who provides me with everything, not the other way around. When I worship, when I pray, when I profess my love and submission to God, it is not for His sake that I do it, but mine. God does not require that I worship him, he allows me to worship him. It is for my benefit that I worship Him(drawing closer and praising His holiness), my benefit that I read His holy scripture (to further understand and appreciate Him) and my benefit that I exist at all in the realm of a creator who does not need me.

What then shall we say regarding God’s purpose? Aren’t we necessary to God for the continuation of His work? Of course not, because in saying so, we are ignoring the fact that God could accomplish His purpose in any way he so chooses. He simply has chosen to allow us the honor and benefit of being a part of that purpose. To say that God works through us is fundamentally different than saying that I work through a tool. When I use a hammer, it can be said that I need that hammer to achieve a purpose that I could not otherwise achieve. Pushing a nail into a board would be a task of great strength if I did not have a hammer to do so for me. However, in that case, I need the hammer because I lack the capability. Of course, God does not lack any capability. How can a task be too great for the one who creates everything? It can’t. Therefore, unlike me, God does not have need of a tool in completing His will. His decision to use us in that will then, is out of His sovereign grace, not out of His necessity for us.