The Attribute of God's Aseity in Scripture and Theology
The Attribute of God's Aseity in Scripture and Theology
The concept of God's aseity, or self-existence, is rooted in biblical descriptions of God's nature. The Hebrew name for God, "El" or "Elohim," signifies strength and power, underscoring God's independence and self-sufficiency [1]. In Psalm 33:5, the psalmist affirms that "the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord," highlighting God's inherent goodness [3].
The doctrine of aseity is closely tied to the understanding of God's attributes, including his righteousness, goodness, and holiness. According to Charles Hodge, "Theology Proper" encompasses the study of God's being and attributes, including his aseity [5]. The Reformed tradition, as represented by Hodge and Calvin, emphasizes God's sovereignty and self-existence.
In the biblical account, God's aseity is demonstrated through his self-revelation. In Revelation 4:8, the four living beings ceaselessly praise God's holiness, power, and eternity, affirming his self-existent nature [7]. The psalmist also praises God's word, declaring, "In God, I will praise His word; in the Lord, I will praise His word" (Psalms 56:11), highlighting God's attribute of benevolence and justice [8, 10].
Theological articulation of God's aseity has developed over time, with various traditions contributing to its understanding. The Jewish Rabbinic tradition, as seen in the Babylonian Talmud, emphasizes the importance of praising God in both times of benevolence and suffering, underscoring God's complex character [8, 10]. In the Reformed tradition, Calvin notes that human righteousness, wisdom, and virtue are relativized when compared to God's absolute perfection, highlighting the significance of God's aseity in understanding human nature [6].
The attribute of aseity is also closely related to God's other attributes, such as his goodness and justice. According to Hodge, God's justice is a form of moral excellence that demands the punishment of sin, and Christ's sufferings were necessary to satisfy this justice [9]. The biblical emphasis on God's goodness is evident in passages such as Psalm 117:2, which declares that "the trueth of the Lord endureth for euer" [2].
The understanding of God's aseity has implications for the Christian doctrine of salvation. Hodge argues that God's sovereignty in the distribution of his favors is consistent with his justice and parental relation to humanity, supporting the Augustinian view of predestination [4]. The Reformed tradition's emphasis on God's aseity and sovereignty shapes its understanding of salvation as a work of God's grace.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: God — (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argume”
- Psalms “Psalms 117:2 (Geneva1599) — For his louing kindnes is great toward vs, and the trueth of the Lord endureth for euer. Praise yee the Lord.”
- Psalms “Psalms 33:5 (Geneva1599) — He loueth righteousnesse and iudgement: the earth is full of the goodnesse of the Lord.”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 66: sovereign in the distribution of his favours if in his providence it is undeniable that He acts as a sovereign. Augustinianism accords with these 339 facts of providence, and therefore must be true. It only assumes that God acts in the dispensation of his grace precisely as He acts in the distribution of his other favours; and all anti-Augustinian systems which are founded on the principle that this sovereignty of God is inconsistent with his justice and his parental relation to the children of men are in obvious conflict with the facts o”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 14: § 4. Christian Theology . As science, concerned with the facts of nature, has its several departments, as Mathematics, Chemistry, Astronomy, etc., so Theology 32 having the facts of Scripture for its subject, has its distinct and natural departments. First — Theology Proper, Which includes all the Bible teaches of the being and attributes of God; of the threefold personality of the Godhead, or, that the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct persons, the same in substance and equal in power and glory; the relation of God to the world, or, h”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 17: earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue; we address ourselves in the most flattering terms, and seem only less than demigods. But should we once begin to raise our 39 thoughts to God, and reflect what kind of Being he is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness, and wisdom, and virtue, to which, as a standard, we are bound to be conformed, what formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness will become polluted with the greatest iniquity; what strangely imposed upon us unde”
- Revelation (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Revelation 4:8: 4:8 day and night: The four beings ceaselessly praised God’s basic characteristics: his holiness, his power (the Almighty), and his eternity (see study note on 1:4). • Holy, holy, holy comes from Isa 6:3 and is the highest worship affirmation in Scripture. To double something makes it emphatic; to triple it makes it ultimate.”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 60b.9: Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: The proof is from here, as it is stated: “In God, I will praise His word; in the Lord, I will praise His word” (Psalms 56:11). The Gemara explains that In God, I will praise His word; that is the revelation of God’s attribute of benevolence, while: In the Lord, I will praise His word; that is the attribute of suffering; even if God brings suffering to bear upon me, I will still praise Him.”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 100: of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” There was a necessity for the sufferings of Christ, and that necessity was not merely governmental, nor for the accumulating moral power over the sinner’s heart, but it arose out of the nature of God. It became Him. It was consonant with his perfections and character, which is the highest conceivable kind of necessity. 5. What the Scriptures teach of the justice of God leads to the same conclusion. Justice is a form of moral excellence. It belongs to the nature of God. It demands the punish”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 128a.120:9: Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: The proof is from here, as it is stated: “In God, I will praise His word; in the Lord, I will praise His word” (Psalms 56:11). The Gemara explains that In God, I will praise His word; that is the revelation of God’s attribute of benevolence, while: In the Lord, I will praise His word; that is the attribute of suffering; even if God brings suffering to bear upon me, I will still praise Him.”