Reflecting on the self-existence of God might seem to be more of a philosophical endeavor than of something that is useful to the Church or individual people. Some might want to ask something on the order of how this teaching would help a person in evangelism. Those who are inclined to practical things, they would say, do not need such teachings. They want something that will help them live and do what they do. In contrast to that way of thinking, I argue that the most practical thing in the world is the knowledge of God. Evangelism has to do with the Gospel of God and so the more we know of God the more we see the glory of God in the Gospel. Let us look at a few verses on the importance of the knowledge of God.
II Peter 1:2: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” There is nothing a person needs more than the grace of God. Virtually all men desire peace with others and an inner peace. Whether they recognize it or not, men must have peace with God. How are men and women to have the multiplication of grace and peace? It comes by the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. In fact, this sounds almost exactly like John 17:3 where we are told that “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Grace and peace come through the knowledge of God and eternal life is found in knowing God. So the more that people know God the more they experience eternal life and the more they will be able to declare the Gospel since the Gospel is about eternal life. The knowledge of God is the most practical thing that a person can know.
II Peter 1:3: “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” This text tells us that everything we need for life and godliness has been granted to us by His divine power. His divine power brings us these things thought the true knowledge of Him. What does a person need to have life and godliness? The true knowledge of God is declared by Scripture to be what is needed. So again it is seen how practical the knowledge of God really is.
In the above verses we can see that what is really needed for life and all things is the knowledge of God or of knowing God. We must know about God and know God in order to be the kind of people who glorify God in the world. Evangelism is not the most important activity that there is, knowing God is. The most important thing in the world is to know and glorify God. Evangelism must flow from knowing God to telling people how to know God. God is the One that we worship in all of life and by doing evangelism; we don’t worship men and therefore do evangelism. God’s glory is more important than anything else so we must learn to do evangelism as part of loving God and doing all for His glory.
If we reflect and worship the God who is self-existent, we should know that we need strength from source to do evangelism. We will either draw strength from self-love or we will pray to God and receive strength from grace. If we do evangelism strengthened by grace, then we will do it in the power of love for God. Evangelism done out of duty or strengthened by self-love and self-righteousness is not evangelism done out of love for God or for our neighbor. So the self-existent nature of God is vital if we are going to be strengthened by grace and His love. God is not moved by us, He is moved by Himself. So for man to have proper motives and strength in evangelism, man must love God and draw from His strength and energy that are moved for His own glory.
When we go and proclaim the Gospel, are we going to tell men a message and then leave it all up to them? Surely we must tell them of the Gospel of a God who can give a new heart and put a love for Him in their hearts. Surely we want to tell them of a Gospel that is beyond their natural strength and give them a hope in the God who is moved by His own glory to save sinners. The self-existent and self-sufficient God is necessary to proclaim the Gospel of His glory to sinners. We must never present a needy God who is wringing His hands and hoping that the sinner will make a decision for Him. We must declare a God who is so glorious that the sinner will see that God must change his heart. So while it is true that many people do not need to hear of a self-existent God to evangelize, it is also not clear which gospel of which god they would be proclaiming. The Gospel that Paul declared in Acts 17 is the Gospel of a self-existent God who needs no one and declares the coming judgment of all men. Maybe we don’t evangelize like Paul did because we have forgotten the One who upholds the breath of all men every moment and so we don’t declare His glory as Paul did. Maybe self-existence is really very practical after all.
God Loves... Himself 
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