Self-Sufficient God

One of the attributes of God is self-sufficiency. Jesus said: “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.” (Jn 5:26)

It is generally believed by many Christians that one can please God by the contribution of money and material things in the congregation of the righteous. For some, it has become the norm that obeying denominational doctrine on making financial and material contribution described variously as seed planting, love offering and donations can sustain salvation, attract material prosperity, cause one to abide in Christ and determine one’s position in heaven.

One mistake fallen human beings make is to think they are too important to God. They think they have something God so desperately needs to make for boasting.

Adam in the Garden of Eden had right-standing with God. He did not give God anything; it was God who came down from heaven and delighted in having fellowship with him in the cool of the day. Adam’s transgression brought that to an end.

The attitude of fallen mankind is usually ‘what shall we do that we may work the works of God.’ Man wants to do something, offer something to prove self to be worthy. This is the foundation of pride.

“Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (Jn 6:28-29) The answer Jesus gave to the Jews clearly indicates that from God’s perspective human activity is not the yardstick for determining relevance in the kingdom of God.

God expects His created beings to walk with Him and not work for Him. No one can work for God. God expects mankind to submit, obey and worship Him. The worship of God is obedience to His will.

Adam worshipped God in spirit and truth because the ingredient of worship resided in his controller, the implanted Hypostatic Chip that made him a son of God. When he sinned the Hypostatic Chip was withdrawn and he lost the attribute that made him a son of God. Thenceforth, it became impossible for him and his posterity to worship God in spirit and truth.

Through the Judaic sacrificial system, a shadow of worship was instituted pending the restoration of worship and other things that God lost. What was required of the offspring of Adam and Eve pending the coming of the Seed of the woman was to walk with God. To walk with God implied obedience to the revealed will of the Father.

Enoch walked with God. “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” (Gen 5:24)

Noah walked with God. “This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.” (Gen 6:9)

Abraham obeyed God’s command to walk with Him. “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.’” (Gen 17:1)

God is self-sufficient. He did not create mankind to supply Him what He lacked. God gives; He does not take. He owns everything. You cannot give Him what already belongs to Him. “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.’”  (Ps 50:10-12)

There was a time a need arose for human blood sacrifice to mitigate the Edenic covenant broken by Adam. God is Spirit; as Spirit He can neither die nor shed blood. He looked through the vales of eternity and saw that there was no man who could do the job.

He raised a lamentation in Isaiah 63:5 “I looked, and there was   none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.”

In Old Testament times people lived in the flesh and were required to make sacrifices to atone for their sins until the once-for-all sacrifice was made by the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. Atonement is not remittance of sin but a covering of sin for a period of time to make it possible for God to continue to deal with fallen mankind.

Under the present human dispensation man saved or unsaved has absolutely nothing to give to God. The concept of giving implies possession but a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. In 1 Cor 4:7 Apostle Paul wrote: “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

If you are an unbeliever you have absolutely nothing to give to God, not even your life. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (Gen 6:5-6)

God is angry with the wicked every day. What God expects from an unbeliever is repentance and not a gift. Besides, unbelievers are darkness. Light has nothing to do with darkness.

Unbelievers are technically in hell. According to Jude, unbelievers need to be pulled out of hell beneath. “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” (Jude 22-23) Encouraging unbelievers to give things to God is one of the deeds of the Nicolaitans that Jesus hates. The doctrine of giving something material to God in return for His favour is weird. Neither Jesus nor the Apostles taught that concept.

The mind-set of many Christians is that any material thing they give to their denominational organisation is a direct gift to God for which to expect a reward. This wrong doctrine is the foundation of many ungodly practices in today’s church.

For believers, there is nowhere in the Epistles that people were required to bring something to God in order to be blessed. It is either you are blessed with the heavenly gift that can make you a follower of Christ or you are not blessed at all. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  (Eph 2:8-10)

You build a heritage for yourself by obeying the instructions written in your Hypostatic Chip. Christians are led by the Holy Spirit according to what was written in their divine destiny as inscribed in their Hypostatic Chip before the foundation of the world.

An unbeliever’s act of generosity to the needy may be recorded in the Book of Remembrance for the purpose of drawing him or her to faith in Christ Jesus but a believer’s ‘gift’ can turn out to be an act of rebellion coupled with pride.  God hates the proud but gives grace to the humble. Compare Cain’s gift with Cornelius’ generosity to the Jewish people and synagogue.

Jesus and the Apostles taught that giving is for the benefit of the giver. “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

In Lk 6:38 it is written “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Jesus did not say give something to God. He was affirming a spiritual law that was applicable to saved and unsaved people. Linked to seedtime and harvest time Jesus did not say give to God for people to reciprocate on His behalf.

The giving Jesus commanded was to self and others. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.” (Lk 16:9)  Even at that, it must always follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Concerning the young rich man in Mt 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Jesus did not tell him to give his wealth to God. When you follow Jesus you must be prepared to suffer as He suffered; He made Himself of no reputation.

The twelve Apostles did not ask anybody to give anything to God to receive eternal life or answer to prayer. The idea of sowing seed to receive a blessing from God has no foundation in the Scriptures. Under the New Covenant man has absolutely nothing to give to God to merit the heavenly gift bestowed on him.

A born again Christian is a slave; he is one who has been bought at an extremely high price, an irredeemable price from the slave market of sin. A slave is the property of the owner. A slave has absolutely no iota of freedom. He does as he is told and can be disposed of or dealt with anyhow without question. A slave is like a chattel.

A born again Christian owns nothing. “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor 4:7)

The bible says you have been bought at a price. You go to the market and buy an animal, a puppy for instance. You give the puppy food and shelter. The puppy now says ‘hey master I have something to give you.’ Does that not sound ridiculous? “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor 6:20).

A minister of the gospel of Christ is an unprofitable servant who is required to perform the duty assigned to him or her. A servant is ‘unprofitable’ in the sense that if he or she fails to do assigned duty, he or she will be put aside and the task given to another person.

In conclusion, mankind has no tangible thing to give to God to please, increase or enlarge Him. The duty of redeemed mankind is to obey and worship God. “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.” (Ps 103:17)

Collins Enyeribe

This is a transcription of my video message MANKIND HAS NOTHING TANGIBLE TO GIVE TO GOD. #rapturewatchersfellowship.org. The video is available at my YouTube and Vimeo channels.