Our INDEPENDENT God … (September 2021 Update)
Independence! 30 Years ago, Ukraine declared its independence from the USSR (August 24, 1991). And for 30 years, Ukraine has struggled to maintain that independence. The biggest struggle has been against many forms of Russian interference. Even in 1991, Russia recognized that Ukraine was the key to determining if the USSR would survive or not. The secession of Ukraine from the USSR ended any realistic chance of keeping the Soviet Union together. By December of 1991, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine had met to form a “Commonwealth of Independent States” to replace the USSR. Ukraine was officially independent and the USSR ceased to exist.
But Ukraine still struggled to be really independent. Russian influence and pro-Russian politicians refused to allow Ukraine to experience real freedom. In 2004 (the Orange Revolution), massive protests against the rigged election of the pro-Russian candidate, Victor Yanukovych, led to more than 500,000 protestors camping in the main square from November to January until the election was restored to the pro-Ukrainian candidate, Victor Yushchenko. In November of 2013, after Yanukovych was “elected” again, he refused to keep his promise of moving toward relations with the EU. This prompted massive protests and violent battles between his pro-Russian government and the hundreds of thousands of pro-EU protesters between November (2013) and February (2014). After snipers shot and killed 100 protestors, Yanukovych fled the country and Russian troops captured Crimea and attempted to capture eastern Ukraine. With no army to protect itself, Ukrainian volunteers formed armies to protect Ukraine in the east, and people even gave donations at grocery stores for these volunteer armies until the government could raise funds to supply national army. Because of these selfless heroes, Ukraine was able to maintain its independence as a country. Now Ukraine is celebrating 30 years of independence!
But, in reality, no country and no individual is completely independent. Every country depends to some degree on other countries and every individual is dependent on others. (Even the US exists today because other countries, especially France, helped the colonies in the Revolutionary War, and the current global pandemic has reminded us that we are all interconnected). We like to talk about our independence, but what we really mean is that we are mostly independent. In reality, we are all dependent to some degree. But that is not true when we speak about God and His independence.
The Independence of God is one doctrine that we rarely speak about, but it is one of the most basic and foundational attributes of God. This doctrine is often called the aseity of God or sometimes called the simplicity of God or even the freedom of God. Regardless of which term is used, the attribute of the independence of God is essential to our confidence in God and our relationship to Him.
Since the different theologies will use different terms to describe the independence of God, we need to define some of these various terms. Aseity is the term most commonly used. It literally means “from himself.” It indicates that God is not created and is not dependent on anything or anyone. Philosophically, Aseity has two aspects, one positive and one negative: absolute independence and self-existence. In its “negative” meaning, it affirms that God is uncaused – that He depends on no other being for His existence. In its “positive” meaning, it affirms that God is completely self-sufficient, having within Himself everything necessary for His own existence. In short, it means that God needs no one and nothing for His existence.
Now what does God’s Independence mean? What does the Bible tell us about God’s aseity?
First, the Bible teaches us that God is Self-Existent. Everything in the world was created but God was not created. He is a self-existent being who never had a beginning and will never have an end. His existence does not depend upon anyone. He is life, He possesses life, and He is the giver of life. We see this in Exodus 3:14 when Moses encounters the Burning Bush. Any other bush would be consumed by this fire, but this bush was strangely maintaining its own existence because the self-existent God was in the bush. In Exodus 3:14, God reveals himself to Moses as “I AM.” This is a difficult passage to translate. In Hebrew, it basically means “I am the existing one. “Moses tells us the same thing in Psalm 90:2: “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” God’s independence means that His existence did not and does not depend on anyone or anything else. He is the self-existent One.
Second, the Bible teaches us that God is Self-Sufficient. God is not only self-existent; He is also self-sufficient. In Acts 17:25, Paul says that God is not “served by human hands as though He needed anything.” This means that He does not need us. Some preachers say that God created us because he needed us. But this is contrary to God’s Independence. He does not need us as worshippers – He will be glorified whether we worship him or not. He does not need us for fellowship – He was completely self-satisfied before He created any human beings. And He does not need us as helpers – while it is true that God allows us to work to accomplish His will, He does not need us to accomplish His will. Because God is completely sufficient in Himself, we can rest in His sufficiency knowing that He does not need us, but that He allows us to participate in the work of His Kingdom. Our independent God is completely self-sufficient.
Third, the Bible teaches us that God is Self-Exalting. Everything that God does He does for His own Glory. In Isaiah 48:11, God says emphatically, “For my own sake, for my own sake, I will act.” God repeats this twice so that no one will misunderstand. He does not need us to glorify Him. He does what He does for His own glory. In Ephesians 1, Paul tells us three times that what God has done in salvation is “to the praise of His own glory.” Our independent God is self-exalting. He does not need our praise to be glorified!
Fourth, the Bible teaches us that God is Self-Content. This means that God is satisfied within Himself. He doesn’t need anything outside of Himself in order to make Him happy. In 1 Timothy 6:15, Paul says that God is “the blessed and only Sovereign.” Blessed means completely and totally happy. God is free from any inward frustration. He is completely happy in every way. We all need things outside of ourselves to make us happy. But God needs nothing – our Independent God is completely content within Himself.
Fifth, the Bible teaches that God is completely free. One aspect of independence is freedom. Those who are truly independent are truly free to do whatever they wish. While we may live in independent countries and have freedom, none of us is totally independent or completely free. Not one of us can do whatever we want without consequences. We are free but not totally. But God is totally free. If He chose to send everyone to hell, He would be totally free to do so. And He is not bound to give His grace to any one of us. Philosophers often speak about necessity. There are certain things we must do (necessity) either because it is in our nature or because we are compelled by other means.
For example, when one child hits another, we might require that child to forgive another or suffer worse consequences. The child forgives out of necessity. At other times, we might be required by convention or by culture to show love or be labeled by those around us as uncaring. We are not truly loving – we “loved” out of necessity. God’s love and forgiveness is real love and forgiveness. He is not required to offer either because He is not bound by “necessity.” He does not NEED to save us. He does not NEED to give grace. He would be just as much God if He had chosen to save no one. He is not bound by necessity – He is completely free because He is truly an Independent God. Some would say this makes God a cruel and heartless God. But in reality, it magnifies His love to us. He is not required to love or forgive. He does so simple out of His own desire to love and forgive. It is a real love and forgiveness. His love and forgiveness are FREELY given – not out of necessity because He is a truly Independent God!
Finally, the Bible teaches us that God is Self-Giving. Not only is He self-content; He is also self-giving. In John 1:4, John writes about Jesus, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Therefore, all life comes from Him. He is the one who gives life to all men. In John 5:26, Jesus says, “the Father has life in Himself.” In Acts 17:25, Paul tells us, “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” The God who needs nothing is a giver who gives life and all that we need for life. We can be especially grateful that our Independent God, who needs no one and is not obligated to give to any one of us, is a giving God who is generous beyond our wildest imaginations! That’s why Paul says, “Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we could ask or think ….” (Ephesians 3:20). Our Independent God is a self-giving God!
Because of our Independent God, we can know that, even if we fail, our failures will not affect God or His plans – He does not depend on us. Because He is an Independent God, we know that He needs nothing from us. But in His wisdom, He has chosen to allow us to participate in the work of His kingdom even though He does not need us. Because He is an Independent God, He can meet ALL our needs. His blessings, His mercies, and His provisions never run dry. Because He is self-sufficient, His storehouse is always full no matter how much He has given out. That’s why David writes in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” In Psalm 34:9-10, he writes, “O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” All our needs are met by our self-sufficient and self-giving God. In Philippians 4:19, Paul reminds us that “my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Because He is our self-sufficient God. This is the doctrine of Independence.
We rejoice and celebrate American independence every 4th of July. And here in Ukraine, we celebrate Ukraine’s independence from the USSR every August 24th. But, in reality, we are all dependent on each other. And, whether we recognize it or not, every nation is ultimately dependent on the God who raises up nations and brings them down (Job 12:23; Daniel 2:21). Only God is truly independent. Nations will come and go but God will reign forever because He is not dependent on anyone or anything. Our Independent God is will never change with the times or the seasons. He alone is truly independent and truly sufficient in every way!
Teaching Ministry ….
As I mentioned in our last update, I will be beginning my 26th year teaching at Kyiv Theological Seminary and my 6th year teaching at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary in Lviv! Next week, I will be teaching in-class for the first time in almost two years! I am still not back to full strength but fortunately, I will only be teaching half of the day. Joel Ragains, who was the director of our Church Planting department for many years before he returned to the states, will be returning to teach the worship section for our class on Prayer and Worship for pastors and church planters. He will be teaching on worship in the morning, and I will be teaching on prayer each afternoon. Be praying for us both. My energy levels are still very low, and I usually have trouble making it through a day without multiple naps. I won’t have that opportunity when teaching this class. Also pray that we can be helpful to these pastors as they plant new churches and guide other churches to be more effective in reaching others.
Health Issues …
I’m continuing to see improvement in my overall health since my surgery, but I am still having difficulties in a few areas. Most of my difficulties now seem to be in my colon. I am having colon spasms that we are trying to control. I will be meeting with the gastroenterologist again next week to see if we need to make some additional changes.
My cancer follow-up appointment went well, and they did not see evidence of cancer in the place where I had surgery last year. But they did find other cancerous spots on my nose and face that they removed. We are waiting on the pathology for those spots.
Finally, my blood pressure seems to have stabilized and I have not had any BP issues in nearly 2 months now! Also, my heart seems to be getting better too. I am trying to get back on track with my cardio-rehab, but my other physical issues keep interfering. Hopefully, I can get these other issues under control and be consistent with my cardio workouts to strengthen my heart. Thanks for praying for me. At times, my biggest struggle is not just physical but emotional as I often struggle with “oh, no! What’s wrong this time?” ideas. I know the Lord is in control, but I still often struggle with this.
Family Time ….
September first is traditionally called “first bell” in Ukraine. This marks the beginning of the new school year. Even though we started school in mid-August, we still had our “first bell” celebration day on September 1st. The girls are starting the third grade and they are just as excited as they were last year! Over the summer, we continued reading from the Little House series and the girls have loved reading about Laura Ingalls and her family’s adventures as they moved from the Little House in the Big Woods in Wisconsin to the Little House on the Prairie in Kansas to The House on Plum Creek in Minnesota. We just started reading On the Shores of Silver Lake. The other books started with adventure and excitement. This one began with sadness as scarlet fever sickened her mother and sister, Mary, and Mary becomes blind from the fever. Then their long-time family dog, Jake, dies. But the parents and the family keep their focus on the blessings they have and the possibility of a new life in South Dakota. These stories have been a good encouragement to us as we read about this family’s perseverance through many difficulties. We are looking forward to following them again this school year!
The weather is starting to get cooler here, so we are continuing to prepare for winter by getting as much canning and dehydrating done before the weather is too cold. But we have also had some nice days where we are about to go on some short hikes and the girls were even able to do some (simple) rope climbing in one of our parks.
When the weather is not so nice outside, they enjoy coloring, painting and doing puzzles.
Finally, we celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day together on August 24th. We watched the morning parade in Kyiv (on TV) which featured performances, retelling Ukrainian history and a full military parade. The girls loved it! That afternoon, we added an American Independence Day tradition by having a cookout and, in the evening, we went to our town square to see fireworks. Unfortunately, their idea of fireworks was very small compared to our Fourth of July fireworks in the states. But we enjoyed celebrating 30 years of Independence for Ukraine!
In all, we had a good August, and we are sad to see summer go. The girls keep asking how long before we will be traveling back to the US. It is hard for them to understand that it will be nearly 2 years before we can get back. Like them, we are missing family and friends and just being back in the states.
Pray for Ukraine ….
Ukraine has been independent now for 30 years! We rejoice in Ukraine’s independence. Almost immediately after Ukraine’s independence from the USSR, many Christian ministries began working in Ukraine once the Soviet restrictions on religious groups was lifted. One result was the formation of a seminary in Ukraine to teach and train students from all over the former USSR. By 1996, Kyiv Theological Seminary was admitting students and training them for ministry. Katya and I have had the privilege of not only seeing Ukraine grow as a country the last 30 years, we have been blessed to see many students trained for the gospel ministry over the last 25 years. We are grateful for each of you who have been part of this journey! This ministry could not have happened without your support and prayers.
Ukraine continues to face many uphill battles in the years ahead. One constant concern is Russian aggression. It is clear that the current Russian leadership will not stop trying to overthrow Ukraine and take away Ukrainian independence. Also pray for the soldiers that are protecting Ukraine in the face of daily attacks against them. Another concern comes from inside Ukraine. Years of soviet-style corruption continue to plague Ukraine even today. Every new government promises to rid Ukraine of this corruption, but it is a massive task. Pray that Ukrainians will work together to stop corruption on all levels. Finally, while the gospel has made much progress in Ukraine since 1991, there is still much to do and many new churches to start. Pray for our students as they train and prepare to share the gospel with the next generation here in Ukraine.
Thank you for your prayers and support! Daily, we recognize our DEPENDENCE upon Him and upon the generosity of the people of God to be able to minister here in Ukraine. It was impossible to even dream about such a ministry before 1991. So, we praise God for Ukraine’s independence. And we praise the Lord for our dependence on you, your prayers and your support. But we are most grateful for our INDEPENDENT God who needs nothing from any of us, but generously gives to all of us out of His storehouse of mercy and grace!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina, and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
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