The Incommunicable Attributes of God: Independence

As a part of Invest Group at my church, we are reading through most of Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem. This book is an abridged version of his Systematic Theology. Therefore, when I first discovered that I was going to be taking part in this group, I thought that it would be good for me to read through Systematic Theology. So, as I am reading through the book, I will be posting short outlines of many of the chapters as I learn in order to benefit you as well as myself.

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God's Independence

What are "incommunicable attrbutes?": Incommunicable attributes are those attributes that God doesn't share (or "communicate") to his people.

Definition of God's Independence: "God doesn't need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation can glorify him and bring him joy."

God has always existed. He was not created by anything, and there is nothing that he needs to continue existing. He is completely self-sufficient and self-sustaining. Furthermore, God did not create man because He was lonely. God has always existed in perfect community within the Trinity. However, he has created man to bring glory to himself. ("The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.")

God's independence is sometimes referred to as his self-existence or his aseity.

Verses that Affirm God's Independence: Acts 17:24-25, Job 41:11, Psalms 50:10-12, John 17:5, Psalms 90:2 (God always was), Exodus 3:14

If God doesn't need us for anything, then are we important at all?

• Yes, simply because God decided that He would create us to glorify him. This alone gives us our ultimate significance.
• Isaiah 43:7, Ephesians 1:11-12, Revelation 4:11, Zephaniah 3:17-18, Isaiah 62:3-5