Lesson No. 9

Lesson No. 9 Self-Existence

This attribute of God is clearly confirmed in His Holy Word. Consider the following passage:

John chapter 5: verse 26: “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself”.51

Here we have again the authentic words of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says that the Father has life in Himself, meaning that no one gave Him life or existence. It means that God has self-existence.

Experience itself, besides scientific investigations, tells us that every living being owes its existence to another who gave it to them. For example: children owe their existence to their parents, whether of the human generic order or any of the various forms of life in the animal kingdom. Even cells owe their existence to others of them that gave rise to their origin. Likewise, in the plant kingdom. This proves what the philosophical principle of causality says, that there is no effect without a cause. This principle demands by law a First Cause, an uncreated Being who possesses self-existence. This is God. He is the Cause of causes, no one could have given Him existence. To be God, He must have self-existence. If someone gave Him existence, then that would be God, the one who gave it to Him. Clearly, the fact that God exists by Himself, or has self-existence, is something that is beyond the reach of human understanding. About this, the only thing we can say is that only He knows how and why He exists. As the Scriptures say in Deuteronomy chapter 29: verse 29: The secret things belong unto the LORD our God…” 51