It sounds weird to talk about the aloneness of God – or rather what I mean is His perfection in His aloneness - but it is appropriate and quite biblical. It is probably not thought about much these days and maybe that’s because of the poor habits of the Christian not reading their scriptures as much. Sure it’s easy to say that God is awesome or that he is full of grace. It seems that these words just flow easily right out our mouth. Even though those things are marvelous to ponder about and say, we should know the different natures of our God. When we read the book of Job, its amazing how Job and his friends, who were not scribes or anything, could talk about the grandness of God so well! It’s an indication that we, as New Testament believers, must also know such things. Job’s understanding of the greatness of God got him through a heartbreaking season in his life.
As God is perfect, he is reclusive in that as well. No one explains this better than Arthur Pink. “There was a time, if “time” it could be called, when God, in the unity of His nature (though subsisting equally in three Divine Persons), dwelt all alone. “In the beginning God…” There was no heaven…no earth to engage his attention. There was no angels to hymn his praises; no universe to be upheld by the word of his power. There was nothing, no one, but God; and that, not for a day, a year, or an age, but from everlasting. During a past eternity, God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing….God was under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That he chose to do was purely a sovereign act on his part, caused by nothing outside himself, determined by nothing but his own mere good pleasure.”
He doesn’t even need our worship. He doesn’t gain anything from it. He is full of glory even without it. We had a similar discussion between some close friends of ours. Unfortunately it had to with certain writings of John Piper, whom I admire so much. Even though, my understandings of scriptures line up sharply with Piper, I would have to say, when he mentions that “God is after His glory” in the book, ‘Let the nations be glad,’ a moment of contemplation was in order. A couple we knew brought it up and then I realized that I never really thought about it much. Really? Does God really have to be AFTER His glory??? Isn’t God glorious on his own already? There’s nothing lacking within his glory that he NEEDS our worship. He’s not going to be more glorious because we worshiped. However, we are ultimately satisfied in worshiping the Most High. This can be debated in what Piper really meant and in fact, I truly do believe that Piper didn’t mean it that way. But my point here really is that God in his solitariness is FULL OF glory without us or our worship. Pink writes again, “He was in no need of that external glory of his grace which arises from his redeemed, for he is glorious enough in himself without that.”
Romans 11 would also say, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” Its not fair for us to bring God under our obligations. Even the fact that Christ came and suffered didn’t add to God’s glory. He made known the glory of God to us but nothing to God. So in understanding all of this, God could’ve resumed to exist forever…ALONE…without creating us or anything…and He would still be glorious, happy, blessed in himself, lacking nothing! In Isaiah, God in multiple occasions say that we are like a drop of a bucket…like dust…smaller than a grasshopper. In 1 Timothy 6:16 it says that there is no one like him and that only he is immortal and none can withstand the light of his glory. Are we familiar with this God??? Going back to what I said in the beginning, I know that God is full of mercy and grace; that he forgives us and so on. But have we ever pondered that God in his aloneness is satisfied, glorious and lacks nothing? He is awesome. He is full of power…full of glory…full of honor…perfect in everyway. All this, before he created us. If you would indulge me, even if he had never created us, he would be still be all that I listed above. No one can compare to him. He is by himself majestic. He stands without a competitor in perfection! He keeps all things in this universe in tact but is independent of all things! He doesn’t need them to keep him in tact. Do you catch my drift? He gives graciously to all but is not edified or made rich by none!
This should encourage the believer because a true believer is stirred up in his heart when he hears about the greatness of the glory of God. The more we understand his awesomeness, the more we worship Him. Also secondarily, we worship him not only because he is awesome all by himself but in that being said, it pleased him to create us. It pleased him to create a universe, the sun, the moon, the planets, and the galaxies. It pleased him to redeem us through his Son, Jesus. And through Christ, it pleased him to call us friend and to be reconciled to him. So lets worship him. Not just because of our usual reasons. But because He is God; The One who stand ALONE, One who needs nothing, One who is glorious without anything, needing anything or anyone! Satisfied and happy within his glory! He doesn’t need the sun to shine on him. He doesn’t need the moon at night to guide him. He doesn’t need the stars. He doesn’t need water as if he gets thirsty. He doesn’t need food as if he gets hungry. He doesn’t need to fly, walk, or run to get somewhere. He doesn’t need a brain to sustain his overall being. He doesn’t need hands and feet to get things done. He doesn’t need to sleep as if he gets tired. He doesn’t need to worry about gravity like we do when we fall down a cliff. But here’s the truth on the other side of the coin. The sun needs God. The moon needs God. Gravity obeys God. Our brains, body, feet, hands, everything, would not exist without God in the beginning saying, “Let there be light”.
Which one of us can say that? The one who can say that is worthy of worship! And so far, there is only one who can say that.
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