When we move forward into the New Testament and the unveiling of the gospel story, we see that this God exists as the fullness of Father begetting his Son eternally, and the Father and the Son pouring out the Spirit eternally. In other words, this a se God is a Trinitarian a se God. He is a God of triune perfection, of triune fullness of life. 

God’s Life in Himself

When I’m trying to give the biblical justification for this doctrine, I like to give a constellation of biblical passages rather than just one single passage. I like to point, for example, to the creation story in Genesis 1—God created all that exists out of nothing. If we look at that passage and ask what kind of being must God be to create everything that exists out of nothing, the answer is he has to be the kind of being that has life in himself. The kind of being who can create everything out of nothing without being depleted or diminished in himself has to be the a se God—a God who has life in himself.

I like to point to passages where God contrasts his independence with the dependence of the gods of the nations. For example, you see this all throughout the prophet Isaiah, where Yahweh is mocking the pagan nations for chopping down a tree, using half of the wood to burn and warm themselves, and using the other half of the wood to create a god that they have to carry around. And God is saying, I’m not like those kinds of gods. I don’t need to be carried around. I carry all of you around.

In Exodus 3, we see the doctrine of divine aseity hinted at by the fact that the bush that Moses is drawn to is burning, but it doesn’t consume the bush itself.

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