The Attributes of God
Ps B. Fidler
THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF GOD TOZER: God has a voluntary relation to everything he has made, but he has no necessary relation to anything outside of himself. His interest in his creatures arises from his sovereign good pleasure, not from any need those creatures can supply nor from any completeness they can bring to him who is complete in himself. Self-sufficient = able to maintain oneself without outside aid: capable of providing for one’s own needs1 I.
God is self-sufficient; he has no needs. A. He does not need anything to sustain life; he is the source of all life. He doesn’t need
to will his own existence; he exists necessarily. He cannot acquire more knowledge or strength or wisdom, because he possesses all these infinitely. He cannot improve himself, because he is perfect in all things. B. He needs absolutely nothing from his spiritual or material creation. 1. Ac 17:24-25 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of
heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.” 2. Job 41:11 Who has given to me, that I should repay him? // Ps 50:12 If I were
hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. C. He does not need a relationship with any of his creatures; he is eternally relational
and happy within himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He’s not lonely and he doesn’t need the human race to meet any emotional or psychological need. II. We are insufficient, totally dependent, and desparately needy. A. Our each & every moment of existence on this planet depends on God & his creation.
We need safety, food, water, air, warmth, shelter to meet our basic physical needs. We need friendships & love, meaning & purpose to meet relational & psychological needs. We need forgiveness, cleansing, & God’s presence to meet our spiritual needs. B. While complete self-sufficiency and independence are an absurdity for us,
responsibility is of course an important virtue. 1. We should seek to the best of our ability to be self-sufficient and independent
in the limited sense. There is no dignity or godliness in exploiting the charity of others, if we are capable of providing for ourselves. a. 1 Th 4:11-12 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your
own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 2. Yet we we will always need God & others in our lives. There is no loss of
dignity or godliness in asking for and accepting help when in genuine need. Salvation in its entire process only comes to those who humble themselves and acknowledge their sinful, helpless condition to God and others. Pride keeps many from turning to Christ. 8 Self-Sufficiency Of God.docx
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The Attributes of God
Ps B. Fidler
3. Furthermore, success in those things to which God has called us always comes
through partnership, partnership with God and with others. III. God has no needs, but he does have desires; deep, passionate ones that will be fulfilled
by virtue of his own authority, power, wisdom, and love. A. Although God doesn’t need us, yet he eternally chose to desire a joy-filled, love
relationship with us, and so created us and provided for our redemption. 1. This was ultimately expressed in his incarnation, when the Son of God
assumed human nature without ceasing to be divine in order to suffer his own supreme justice on behalf of our sins that we might be offered forgiveness, reconciliation & adoption into his family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 2. It is an extraordinary example of humility, love and submission, for the Son
emptied himself of the free exercise of his self-sufficiency and walked in human insufficiency and dependence upon the Father. a. He who is the Self-Sufficient One began life on earth in his mother’s
womb as a miraculously fertilized egg, dwelt there nine months, experienced the trauma of birth, couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk, and depended on his mother’s milk to sustain him. b. The All Intelligent Designer-Creator of the universe had to be taught
in his humanity to read and that 2 + 2 = 4. c. The Author of Life experienced hunger, thirst & exhaustion; felt pain,
bled, and died—all because he desires relationship with you & me. B. Yes, God doesn’t need us, but our heavenly Father chooses to share his Son’s reign
and service with us, his children who are redeemed through Jesus. 1. Believers are the Body of Christ, through whom he reaches out to & serves
the world. God is pleased to primarily work indirectly in this way rather than directly on his own. 2. Knowing who he is, we should expect fruitfulness from our labors because he
works with and through us when we align ourselves with him and his people. 3. “God needs no one, but when faith is present He works through anyone.” IV. God is pleased when we humbly acknowledge & embrace our neediness before him; he
promises to meet all of our needs under certain conditions. A. Make the advancement of God’s kingdom and walking in right relationship with God
and with others your first and foremost priority in all that you do; Mt 6:31-33. B. Pray to God daily, asking him to meet specific needs; Mt 6:7-9. C. Give yourself to meeting the needs of others; Is 58:10-11.
Discussion & Prayer 1
How does it make you feel to know God has no intrinsic need for you in any respect? How does it make you feel to know God desires you with an eternal desire of love? Pray that God would open our eyes to increasingly know our need for him in all things.
Merriam-Webster, I. (1996, c1993). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed.). Springfield, Mass., U.S.A.: Merriam-Webster.
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