top of page

The Ultimate Uncaused Cause: God's Aseity and the Origins of His Existence

God's Aseity

“If God created us, who created God?” is the question children and uninformed professional philosophers ask. This has everything to do with God’s aseity. Most of us have not heard the word, but “aseity comes from a Latin phrase, a se which means “from oneself” or “by himself.” It is a theological idea referring to God’s self-sufficiency, independence, and self-existence. In other words, the aseity of God means that he does not rely on anything external to himself for his existence—he is self-existing. There isn’t anything or anyone that can add to the existence of God, his existence is, therefore, self-caused or uncaused.

 

The concept of God’s aseity emphasizes that he has attributes of omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (all-seeing and present everywhere and at all times), this is because he transcends space and time and is eternal. John Frame in his article, The Eternality and Aseity of God, says that God “transcends time in that (1) he has no beginning or end, (2) he does not change, (3) he is equally conscious of past, present, and future, and (4) he is not limited by the passing of time in what he can accomplish.”[1]

 

Not only is God self-existing, but he is also the ultimate source of everything that exists and upholds and sustains all things. God, therefore, holds absolute supremacy and sovereignty over creation.

 

Reflecting on aseity, William Hasker argues that God’s aseity necessitates the Holy Trinity. And if God is self-caused then it is reasonable to believe that he can exist in community within himself, namely the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so, according to Hasker, the Trinity is the best explanation for God’s aseity. If God is three beings, then he is complex and changing, and therefore dependent on the beings within himself for his existence. However, if he is a single being, albeit in three persons (not beings), then he is simple and unchanging—which is the traditional Christian view of the Trinity. Only in the latter trinitarian view is the Trinity compatible with the aseity of God because while God exists in a community of three divine persons as a single being, he is self-caused and self-existing. As Hasker argues, only such a being is perfect and though he is one, he is able to express perfect goodness and love between the divine persons within the trinitarian community.[2]

 

Like the “Trinity” you won’t find the word “aseity” in the Bible either. However, the concept of God’s self-existence and independence, his aseity, is no doubt clear throughout Scripture. I like how Got Questions explains the aseity of God in Exodus 3:14,

 

When Moses asked the Lord about His name, God replied, “I AM WHO I AM.” God is the eternally self-existent Being who always was and always will be. The aseity of God is related to His complete independence. God has no need. He is complete in and of Himself and always has been. God did not create man because He was lonely or because He needed to create. He is and always has been complete and self-sufficient in and of Himself.[3]

 

The Psalmist proclaims God’s independence from his creation and his eternal existence in Psalm 90:2 when he writes, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Similarly, Luke tells us of God’s independence and self-sufficiency, explaining, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24–25). And then we have the Apostle Paul proclaiming in Colossians 1:16–17 that God is the source of creation and that he upholds all things, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

 

So, how is the aseity of God relevant for my life, you might ask? Well firstly, it encourages us to rely on God for all our needs because he is self-sufficient and is able to provide for us. We can rely on him rather than depending on our own strength. Secondly, God is trustworthy and faithful because he is unchanging. This should give us a sense of security and comfort. Thirdly, knowing that God is the ultimate source of joy and fulfillment, we can find contentment and satisfaction in being in relationship with him, because only true joy can be found in him. Fourthly, the aseity of God should encourage us to be good stewards of creation and all that we own, because all things ultimately belong to him. Fifthly, it reminds us to be humble before God because we are finite, and our existence depends on God, and so we ought to approach him with humility seeking his grace and guidance. Lastly, God’s aseity ought to lead us to worship him in a deep sense of awe and reverence.

 

As magnificent as the theology of God’s aseity is, it should shape our relationship with him and inform our attitude towards God’s creation and society around us.



[1] John M. Frame, “The Eternality and Aseity of God,” The Gospel Coalition, n.d., https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/eternality-aseity-god/.

[2] Hasker, William 2013. Metaphysics and the Tri-Personal God. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[3] “What Is the Aseity of God?” GotQuestions, 2023, https://www.gotquestions.org/aseity-of-God.html.

Comments


bottom of page