OUR BIBLE CLASS.
God's Independence of All, and His Declared Need of Some of His Creatures.
(Psalm l. 12, and Matthew xxi. 1-3.)
That God is independent the Bible everywhere declares. All beings beside Himself are His creatures, and He is Lord of all. He needs nothing, for He possesses all things.
No supplies, for, though He ordained sacrifices and planned His temple, heaven is His throne, and earth His footstool, and His own hand gives life, power, and sustenance to all (Acts xvii. 25).
No tribute. The free-will offerings of David and his people, for the building of the temple, were a sweet sacrifice to God; but David truly described matters when he said, "Of Thine own, O Lord, have we given unto Thee" (1 Chron. xxix. 14).
He needs no information or guidance (see Isa. xl. 13-15). "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord? or being His counsellor, hath taught Him?" The question is not asked of angels, but of men; and "all nations before Him are as a drop of a bucket"—the little drips that fall from it as it is drawn up from the well—while "He taketh up the islands as a very little thing"—a light thing, lifted easily with the fingers.
No creatures can give their Creator a single new thought, or any help of any kind (Rom. xi. 34-36). "For who hath known the mind of the Lord?" Who then could have been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him? This can never be, "for of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
Therefore He needs give no explanations to any of His creatures. "Who can say unto Him, What doest Thou?" (Dan. iv. 35.) Thus God is above all, and independent of all.
Yet Jesus "needed" the ass and colt (Matt. xxi.). We read of "coming to the help of the Lord against the mighty" (Judges v. 23); and Paul spoke about "working together with God" in teaching His people.