Thoughts on Discipling Part 3 Doctrine Part M

E9 Self-existence

F1 Definition:

G1 This is also known as aseity.

G2 God has no beginning and no end, He is always. He has no needs. He is dependent on nothing; all are dependent on Him.

G3 Because He needs nothing and is dependent on nothing, His word is true. His promises are true. His doings are true.

F2 God existed before anything else existed. He created all things: Psalms 102:24-27 GNB O God, do not take me away now before I grow old. O LORD, you live forever; 25 long ago you created the earth, and with your own hands you made the heavens. 26 They will disappear, but you will remain; they will all wear out like clothes. You will discard them like clothes, and they will vanish. 27 But you are always the same, and your life never ends.

F3 He is dependent on nothing and no one, for everything is dependent on Him: Isaiah 40:28-31 GNB Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the everlasting God; he created all the world. He never grows tired or weary. No one understands his thoughts. 29 He strengthens those who are weak and tired. 30 Even those who are young grow weak; young people can fall exhausted. 31 But those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

F4 God does not to be made alive, for He is the one who gives life: John 5:26 GNB Just as the Father is himself the source of life, in the same way he has made his Son to be the source of life.

F5 He is the giver, not the receiver: Acts 17:23 GNB For as I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, 'To an Unknown God.' That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you.

F6 God needs nothing, ever. He gives, always. He does not get old, grow tired, run out of supplies, etc. Psalm 23:1 NET The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

E10 Self-sufficiency

F1 Definition: not dependent on anything or anyone to exist.

F2 He has no emotional needs, physical needs, spiritual needs, or financial needs. He has no need for worship or for worshippers.

F3 He has no need for a life giver, for He is the life itself.

F4 In the past, He needed nothing. In the present, He needs nothing. In the future, He will need nothing.

F5 Some verses:

G1 John 14:6 WEL Jesus explains to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

G2 Isaiah 40:28 BSB Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will never grow faint or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

G3 John 1:3-4 WEL Everything was made through him, and without him was nothing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light for people.

G4 Isaiah 40:28-29 GNB Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the everlasting God; he created all the world. He never grows tired or weary. No one understands his thoughts.  29  He strengthens those who are weak and tired.

E11 Sovereignty

F1 Definition: It is usually defined as complete freedom from any control. That would be any control in any area. Pain might control me. I cannot go without sleep, for that would control me. The same could be said about breathing. There is no superior being that can control God in any way.

G1 Jerry Walls defines it thusly:

H1 So what is the sovereignty of God? Simply put, it is the truth that God is in control, that he has supreme power. It is the truth that he is the Lord of the Universe and of everyone and everything it contains. He gives Nebuchadnezzar as an example of God’s sovereignty.

H2 In the same article, Walls states: ...the sovereignty of God is everlasting, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

H3 Finally, he contrasts the Calvinist view with the Wesleyan view: 

Now here is a good place to highlight the difference between the Calvinist view of God’s sovereignty and the Wesleyan view. According to classic Calvinism, God’s sovereignty means that he determines literally everything that happens in the sense that he specifically causes everything to happen exactly as it does.

This can sound like a very pious thing to say, and at first it might seem to glorify God. But on closer inspection, it has very troubling implications. On this view, God caused Nebuchadnezzar to be proud, caused him to boast, and then caused his downfall, as well as his subsequent repentance. This is a troubling view because it means God actually caused his sin as well as his punishment.

The Wesleyan strongly disagrees. In the Wesleyan view, God did not cause or will Nebuchadnezzar to be proud. Rather, he became that way by his own free choices, by taking undue pride in his accomplishments. God then punished him to bring the truth home to him in order to move him to repentance. When he acknowledged the truth about God, he was restored to his kingdom.

G2 Another article explaining the difference: Kevin RK David, “Does God Need Ultimate Control to be Ultimately Sovereign?”

F2 God can do anything He wants, at any time, in any way, and no one can stop Him.

F3 God is sovereign over His sovereignty. He is not like the kings of Media/Persia. God is totally free. Nothing stops or hinders His freedom.

G1 Daniel 6:8 CSB Therefore, Your Majesty, establish the edict and sign the document so that, as a law of the Medes and Persians, it is irrevocable and cannot be changed.

G2 Daniel 6:12, 15 CSB So they approached the king and asked about his edict: "Didn't you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions' den? " The king answered, "As a law of the Medes and Persians, the order stands and is irrevocable."  ... Then these men went together to the king and said to him, "You know, Your Majesty, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or ordinance the king establishes can be changed.

F4 Other verses

G1 1 Timothy 6:14-16 BSB Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ 15, which God will bring about in His own time—He who is blessed and the only Sovereign One, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

G2 Revelation 4:11 NRSV You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.