As Though He Needed Anything

by Doy Moyer

"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).

“As though He needed anything” is one of the most significant phrases in Scripture to help us understand the nature of the God we serve. Think of the corollaries to this. A God who needs nothing must be:

• Self-sufficient, since He needs nothing else to live and survive. This also means He must be uncreated because being created depends on something else to create. God is not contingent on anyone or anything else to be.
• Omniscient, since He needs nothing in terms of further knowledge, wisdom, or understanding. We cannot supply more knowledge to God. We cannot grant Him more wisdom. We have nothing to add to His understanding.
• Omnipotent, since He lacks nothing in terms of power. Since He is the Creator, His authority is not dependent on anyone or anything else. His authority and power are absolute.
• Omnibenevolent, since He needs nothing else in order to be kind and loving.
• Immutable, since He does not need to change to improve who He is.
• Perfect, since there is nothing better or greater that can be added to Him to supply something He is missing.

This is just the beginning. There is nothing we can add to God, do for God, or supply on God’s behalf that would increase who He is, make Him greater, or affect His nature in any way. Compare what the Hebrews writer said, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself…” (Hebrews 6:13). There is none greater to whom anyone can appeal.

“As though He needed anything” characterizes the God whom we serve. We should not be interested in serving, worshipping, or defending anyone or anything less. Biblical theology flows from this point, and our service to Him to ought to be informed by it.

Why, then, would God create us? If it is not because He needed anything, then it must be a reason resting on His grace and love. We are made to be in fellowship with God. Our purpose is to glorify Him because there is nothing or no one greater to whom we can pledge our allegiance. This makes serving God the greatest good. It also means that giving up on God is the worst thing we can do, and the consequences are manifest. This is part of what makes the incarnation of Jesus so amazing. He did not need to do it, but He did it out of a perfection of love and grace that only He can fully understand.

God may not need us, but He loves us and made us flourish in fellowship with Him. May we ever strive to proclaim His excellencies!

Think high thoughts of God today.