Who Is God? Understanding His Attributes and Why They Matter Part 1

Part 1: The God Who Cannot Not Be

Everything we see—every star in the sky, every atom in our bodies, every moment of time—is part of a world that is contingent. That is, it didn’t have to be.

It exists, yes, but it could have failed to exist. And one day, it will pass away.

Contingent things are dependent. They rely on causes, on conditions, on something outside themselves to explain why they are. And if everything is contingent, then nothing can ultimately explain why anything exists at all.

This is why reason points us toward something radically different—something that must exist, something that does not depend on anything else. A necessary being.

What Does It Mean to Be Necessary?

A necessary being is one that cannot not be. Its existence is not optional. It does not begin or end. It does not come from anything else. It simply is.

More than that, a necessary being must be independent, unchanging, and complete in itself. If it lacked anything, it would need something else to fulfill it. If it could change, that would mean it was not already fully actual.

This being cannot be made of parts, because parts imply composition, and something must hold those parts together. It cannot be temporary, limited, or finite, because that would imply boundaries or dependence.

So we are not speaking of a very powerful thing. We are speaking of the foundation of all reality—the one being whose very nature is to exist, and whose existence explains everything else.

This is what we mean when we speak of God.

Why It Matters That God Is Necessary

This may sound abstract at first, but it touches everything. If God exists necessarily, then:

• He does not rely on anything else

• He cannot fail or cease to be

• He cannot be improved or diminished

• He is the reason anything exists—including you

That means your life is not a random event. The world is not held together by luck or chaos. Everything that exists is upheld by One who cannot not be, and who freely chooses to create, sustain, and love.

What This Tells Us About God

We have only taken the first step, but it already tells us something profound: God is not like anything else. He is not a part of the universe. He is not a being among others. He is the reason being itself exists.

Everything else receives existence. God is existence.

From this truth, many others follow. If God must exist, then He must also be:

• Unlimited, because any limit would imply dependence

• Unchanging, because change would imply imperfection or potential

• Outside of time, because time measures change

• One, because there cannot be more than one necessary and unlimited being

Each of these truths follows from the basic reality that God is the necessary ground of all being.

Next Time: God Is Infinite, Eternal, and UnchangingWe will explore why the necessary being cannot be limited, bound by time, or subject to change—and how this gives us confidence in the God who remains constant and faithful.