THE SOLITARINESS OF GOD, An Overview

The solitariness of God is defined as God’s independence from all His creations. This doctrine is often dismissed as common knowledge but there are many viewing windows to this attribute, just like His other perfections. We shall look at some of these windows as revealed in His inspired Word.

First of all, God is solitary in His existence. God was all alone in the beginning, fully blessed in Himself and in need of no one. He did not create the universe out of obligation or loneliness. Rather, He created because He chose to create and it pleased Him to reveal Himself to His creatures. We need to work out of need. We need to labour to survive. Even animals of the lowest class have to fight their way in this world to gain food. But the Lord did not work for six days out of need. It was a sovereign act on His part to create the universe, not a need to be fulfilled. One of the greatest tragedies of this age is that we ascribe human traits to the Lord as if He were like us. But does not the Scripture repeatedly declare that He is not like us at all? (Psalm 50:21) The Lord has been alone from the beginning. Every living creature in this world has a respective origin. Even inanimate objects such as the heavenly bodies are born from something. But the Lord God had no beginnings. He has been there all alone – self-existent, self-sustaining, self-blessed. No one created Him. No one obligates Him. No high law controls Him. He is solitary. The Lord is the Law Himself and the sole Determiner of the future.

Secondly, God is solitary in His motivation. God is not motivated by anything outside of Himself. He did not love Jacob because he had some special trait that Esau did not have. The Bible says that He loved Jacob even before he did anything. In fact, Jacob had done more displeasing things than Esau and yet the Lord loved him. Is this because Jacob had some form unforseen merit? Or is it because the Lord chose to love him. To this many will say that God is not fair. And to this I will respond in the words of the Apostle Paul (Romans 9:11-24):

11Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
22What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

The Bible cannot be anymore clearer. The motivation of God for saving sinners is based on His effectual calling and not on some unforeseen merit of man (vs. 11-12). Besides, who are we to talk back to God? (vs. 20) Are we special enough to find favour in His holy eyes? We are sinners, rightfully condemned under divine justice and God has all the right to do what He wills (vs. 21).

Thirdly, God is solitary in His works. As the Creator and Sustainer of all life, He is totally independent of His creatures. He works alone. Salvation is by His grace alone. Redemption is by His mercy alone. Sanctification is by His Spirit alone. He does not need man (Acts 17:25), rather, it is us who needs Him (Acts 17:28). Ah, so if God does not need us, why does He call us into ministry? Dear Christian, He calls us into ministry because He wants us to be a part of His work. The Lord is not calling us for His benefit. Neither does He call us out of a desperate need – as if He had one. He is calling us for our benefit, that we may enjoy the privilege of serving Him and experiencing His good grace.

Fourthly, the Lord is solitary in His counsel. His Word is sufficient to direct our lives. His counsel is independent. God does not ask the opinions of His angels on how to run His universe. He does not consider the thoughts of His creatures as if He needed some counselling. As the prophet declares: “Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed Him as His counselor?” (Isaiah 40:23) The Lord God does not reign through democracy, but through monarchy. The gentiles would find this offensive. But, oh how it would even be more repulsive if the Lord was a puppet of the majority vote! This solitariness is also applied in His revealed and inspired Word. The Bible is sufficient and independent. We do not combine God’s Word with the world’s wisdom and make up our own theology. Neither do we discern or apply the Scriptures through psychology, tradition or statistical data. The Holy Scriptures stand on its own, all sufficient in equipping us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).

What then is the effect of the doctrine of God’s solitariness to the Christian?

1) God’s solitariness in His existence should deepen our veneration for Him. Ah, no one is like our Lord God! Even before the beginnings, the Lord God has already existed. He has have always been present – fully clothed in His glory even before the foundation of the world. Who can rival Him or explain such case?

2) God’s solitariness in His motivation humbles us and eliminates our pride. God’s election wounds the proud and uplifts the broken. When the Lord says “Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated”, He is boldly proclaiming that He is God and if He ever chose to love you that is not because you have some special merit that others did not have. He had loved us because He chose to. Hence, the application of His love is often called grace – the undeserved and the unmerited favour of God. Here is the divine irony and the show of God’s true wisdom – those who come before God’s presence wishing to stir Him by their good works are rejected; while those who come before His presence broken and weeping over their inability to stir the Lord to save them are saved.

3) God’s solitariness in His works grants comfort to the righteous and humbles the carnal-minded. Ah, how comforting is it to find out that the Lord does not need man? How relieving is it to find out that God’s will and purpose will stand whether we are successful in our ministries or not? On the contrary, how humbling must it be for the carnal-minded to find out that the Lord is in need of no one? Ah, carnal people want to be acknowledged. They want to be approved. They want to think that they deserve God’s love or deserve His approval because they helped the Lord. But the Lord is solitary and independent. He shares His titles and glories with no one. Hence, the carnal man is humbled.

4) Finally, God’s solitariness in His counsel establishes the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures in directing us. The Bible is not only infallible. It is also sufficient. One of the greatest plagues in modern-day Christianity is a denial of the Bible’s sufficiency. Is the Bible sufficient in equipping us to do every good work? Or are we to consult psychologists and anthropologists on how to run the Church? Is the Bible’s Gospel message sufficient in saving sinners? Or do we have to water-down the message to make it more attractive to carnal men? Are the Bible’s instructions sufficient? Or do we have to dilute it with the traditions and the wants of the people? Ah, here are the questions that all professing Christians must answer. We are not to conform our teachings to the whims of carnal men. Isn’t it folly to consult the spiritually dead regarding spiritual matters? Also, we are not to learn from psychologists and sociologists on how to govern God’s people. My dear friends, psychology and sociology were created as a protest to God. They are atheistic in both nature and origin. They may contain some “truths” but they are nothing but half-truths and worldly wisdom. We have nothing to do with them. God’s inspired Word is sufficient in directing us all the way.