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Rebecca Writes: God’s Self-Existence
God’s Self-Existence
"I AM THAT I AM" There is inexhaustible meaning wrapped up in that short statement by God to Moses. One of the things it points to is God’s independence, or self-existence. He is in a constant state of being, and so has no beginning or end. If God has no beginning or end, then He cannot be dependent on anything outside of Himself for His existence. He must be the one uncaused cause. Our God "has life in Himself" (John 5:26), and this "from-Himself-ness" extends to all that He is. No one can be God’s counselor (Romans 8:34), because He is independent as to His thinking. He is independent, as well, as to what He wills, working "all things after the counsel of His will." (Ephesians 1:11). He also has the power within Himself to work this independent will, doing whatever pleases Him (Psalm 115:3). That God is self-existent also means that nothing can add anything to Him. Creation adds nothing to God. His glory is revealed in creation, but it does not add to His glory. God has need of nothing from anything outside of Himself, for He is not
served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He himself gives to all life and breath and all things… (Acts 17:25)
This verse from Acts brings up the complete otherness of God’s self-existence. He needs nothing from us, but exists wholly of Himself. We, however, depend on Him for everything. We have not even a smidgeon of self-existence. Everything we have and our life itself we derive from God. It all comes from Him. It is in Him that "we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28) We are completely dependent, completely derivative; He is completely independent and the only underived being–the One who exists from Himself, the "I AM THAT I AM." What should our response be to God’s self-existence? First of all, we ought to be fully awed at what He is, and His complete otherness from what we are. How can we feel anything but humility before the "I AM"? We also need to acknowledge our utter dependence on Him for absolutely everything, and respond with thankfulness for everything we are and have. And we can have absolute confidence in the stability of our God, and be sure that His promises to us will be kept, for He is not depending on anything outside Himself to fulfill His word.
When we rise above the currents of everyday life and start asking about the origin of life itself – Kabbalah steps inKabbalah became hidden about 2,000 years ago. The reason was simple – there was no demand for it. Since that time, humanity has occupied itself with developing monotheistic religions, and later on, science. Both were created to answer man’s most fundamental questions: “What is our place in the world, in the universe?” “What is the purpose of our existence?” In other words, “Why were we born?”
But today, more than ever before, many people feel that what has worked for 2,000 years no longer meets their needs. The answers provided by religion and science no longer satisfy them. These people are looking elsewhere for answers to the most basic questions about the purpose of life. They turn to Eastern teachings, fortune-telling, magic and mysticism. And some turn to Kabbalah. Because Kabbalah was formulated to answer these fundamental questions, the answers it provides are directly related to them.
Kabbalah made its “debut” about 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, an ancient country in today’s Iraq. Mesopotamia was not only the birthplace of Kabbalah, but of all ancient teachings and mysticism. In those days, people believed in many different teachings, often following more than one teaching at a time. Astrology, fortune-telling, numerology, magic, witchcraft, spells, evil eye – all those and more were developed and thrived in Mesopotamia, the cultural center of the ancient world.
As long as people were happy with their beliefs, they felt no need for change. People wanted to know that their lives would be safe, and what they needed to do to make them enjoyable. They were not asking about the origin of life, or most important, who or what had created the rules of life.
At first, this may seem like a slight difference. But actually, the difference between asking about life, and asking about the rules that shape life, is like the difference between learning how to drive a car and learning how to make one. It’s a totally different level of knowledge.
About the Author
Bnei Baruch is the largest group of Kabbalists in Israel, sharing the wisdom of Kabbalah with the entire world. Study materials in over 25 languages are based on authentic Kabbalah texts that were passed down from generation to generation. www.kabbalah.info
A recent Newsweek magazine article begins with this headline, “A Christian by Any Other Name,” exploring the shift that many people have made regarding what we call ourselves… Christian (old school) vs Christ-follower (new school). The article states:
Christian definitions used not to matter so much. People used to be Methodists or Lutherans, Episcopalians or Baptists. Each denomination had its own culture, its own jokes. A Congregationalist friend once defined himself to me this way: “We’re the ones who fold up the chairs after church to make room for the basketball court.”
Outsiders could—and did—make assumptions about their neighbors’ personal habits and politics based on denomination. The United Church of Christ was left-wing. The Southern Baptists leaned to the right. Methodists, Episcopalians and Lutherans fell somewhere in between.
Then, in the 1980s, as nondenominational churches became the fastest-growing segment of American Christianity, a number of Christians cast off their labels. But with this freedom came a challenge: what should this new generation call itself? What do you call yourself…?
There are always at least two ways of looking at things. Some people only see the clouds; smart people know about the silver lining. Life gives us every opportunity to put things in the proper perspective… to see the horizon of tomorrow beyond our own limited view. A glimpse at the things that are truly important.
Generally speaking, unhappiness is usually the result of shortsightedness; while the real joy of living is to be found in so many places in our world. It all depends on how you look at it.
The effort you make to see the silver lining may be exactly what you need today. The dissatisfaction you feel today may be the positive change you experience tomorrow. The person who you casually meet may become your best friend in life. Believe in the silver lining, that the world’s wondrous schemes; that our ability to see the silver lining, the positive in life… can take us far beyond our dreams and hopes for today.
When was the last time you heard that? The effort you make, however small, may be exactly what you need. The dissatisfaction you feel today may be the positive change you experience tomorrow. The person you casuallly meet may become your best friend for life.
Believe in the world’s wondrous schemes; that our desires, our actions and our possibilities untold can take us far beyond our dreams.
Hello again, the old hosting company was so terrible I dumped them and along with them all my posts. I’m putting things back together again as you can see here and while I won’t try to recreate all that I had I will serve up some new articles just in time for this new season of spring.
I read somewhere that yes you can start over so that is what I am doing here. Think of this day as your chance to do the same. All you need is to believe you can, and have some faith.
Speaking of faith… do you want to be comfortable and happy? To enjoy this life and to experience cheerfulness then “have faith in God”. If you love darkness and are satisfied to dwell in doom and misery, then be content with little faith; but if you love the sunshine and would sing songs of rejoicing, covet so very strongly the best gift God can give us, great faith.
