Since in the previous section (‘There is One God’) we have established that there is, as the name suggests, but one God, we will now turn to consider His self-existence, eternality, or aseity. Because His divine essence is one and undivided, these attributes must be equally and fully appropriated to each Person of the Trinity.
"The Deity is simple and uncompound, and wholly identical with itself... without beginning, without end, eternal, uncreated, immortal, boundless, infinite, good, just, light, power, spirit, and every excellent thing in one. All this is not separated or divided among the Persons, but belongs wholly to each."
-St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, I.8
4 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[a] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
This Scripture shows us YHWH's clear claim to eternality or self existence. And if eternal also unique to all things since elsewhere He is also proclaimed the creator.
Since here he claims eternality he necessarily has to also be the creator otherwise he intern would like wise be created and thus not eternal.
Christ himself claims this aseity when he says, "Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Jhn 8:58.
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
This verse affirms that life itself is not given to God by another—He is life in Himself, the uncaused source of life.
When the text says the Father “has granted” the Son to have life in Himself, some may object that this implies the Son is not aseitous (self-existent), but dependent. However, this overlooks the deeper meaning of the verse and the eternal roles of the Persons in the Trinity. As It says the Son, like the Father, has "life in Himself"—that is, He too is the source of life. Because this is not a temporal gift, but an eternal reality (outside of time), it does not imply inferiority or a beginning. Instead, it points to the doctrine that the "Son is eternally begotten" of the Father: fully God, sharing the same essence, and self-existent, just as the Father is.
Jesus himself says " I and the Father are one" Jhn 10:30 and John proclaims also, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jhn 1:1, reaffirming the eternal nature of God.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
This passage clearly affirms that God is in need of nothing—He is self-sufficient, because He is the source of all life and every good thing. Since He gives life and breath to all, He must possess these by nature, not by participation or by reception.
The “Lord of heaven and earth,” also shows us that He is sovereign over both spiritual and material realms, and likewise creator of both.
Finally, because God lacks nothing and is dependent on no one, creation itself is not born out of need, but from divine love. And His continued sustaining of the world, even in the face of human rebellion, reveals His mercy, patience, and true goodness.
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
This Scripture further strengthens the claim that God is not only uncreated, but the source, sustainer, and goal of all creation. All things originate from Him, exist through Him, and ultimately exist for Him—for His glory.
Paul writes in Colossians 1:17, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together,” affirming that Christ is the one in whom creation finds its coherence and continued existence. Likewise, Hebrews 1:3 declares, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” These not only show Christ's divinity, but his full aseity in the divine nature.
“Hence also, I think, we Germans from ancient times call God … by that name from the word Good, as being an eternal fountain which gushes forth abundantly nothing but what is good, and from which flows forth all that is and is called good. For even though otherwise we experience much good from men, still whatever we receive by His command … is all received from God.”
-Martin Luther, Large Catechism, First Commandment