QUESTION:
Who Created God?
ANSWER:
This is one of the most provocative questions anyone can ask:
“Who created God?”
At first glance, it seems like a genuine inquiry, a curiosity aimed at understanding the origin of the divine. But beneath it lies a misunderstanding of who God truly is—especially the God of the Bible, who is not merely a powerful being within the universe, but the very ground of all existence.
God is not a created being. He is the Self-Existent One—the Uncaused Cause, the One who depends on nothing but Himself for existence. This is the heart of the biblical revelation, and it’s captured in the meaning of God’s name: YHWH (יהוה).
The Meaning of Yahweh: “I AM WHO I AM”
When Moses asked God for His name in Exodus 3:14 (NKJV), God answered:
“I AM WHO I AM.”
And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
This declaration isn’t just a name—it’s a revelation of God’s essence. “I AM” (Hebrew: Ehyeh) and Yahweh (related to the verb “to be”) mean He who is, or the Self-Existent One.
What Does That Mean?
It means:
God did not come into existence—He always was.
God is not dependent on anything or anyone to exist.
God is the source and sustainer of all reality.
As A.W. Tozer puts it in The Knowledge of the Holy:
“God has no origin… Origin is a word that can apply only to things created.”
God as the Uncaused Cause
The question “Who created God?” assumes that everything that exists must have a cause. This is true of everything that begins to exist—but not of the One who never began to exist.
This is where the concept of the Uncaused Cause becomes essential. Philosophers and theologians call this the Cosmological Argument, which, in simple form, goes like this:
Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
The universe began to exist.
Therefore, the universe has a cause.
But that cause must be uncaused itself—otherwise, we fall into an infinite regress of causes, which is logically impossible. There must be a first, necessary being that simply is. That being is God—the Self-Existent One.
“It is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other; and this everyone understands to be God.”
—Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
Biblical Support for God’s Self-Existence
The Bible consistently portrays God as eternal, self-sufficient, and without beginning:
Psalm 90:2 (NKJV):
“Before the mountains were brought forth… even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”
Revelation 1:8 (NKJV):
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End… who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John 8:58 (NKJV):
“Before Abraham was, I AM.”
Acts 17:28 (NKJV):
“For in Him we live and move and have our being…”
Malachi 3:6 (NKJV):
“For I am the Lord, I do not change…”
These passages emphasize that God is not within time, space, or matter—He is above all, before all, and sustains all.
Scholars on God’s Self-Existence
Let’s hear from some well-known scholars and theologians:
Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology):
“God’s aseity means that He does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation can glorify Him and bring Him joy.”
Grudem highlights God’s independence—He exists “a se” (from Himself), with no external need.
William Lane Craig (Reasonable Faith):
“The universe requires an uncaused, timeless, spaceless, immaterial being with immense power… that’s what theists mean by ‘God.’”
Craig, known for defending the Kalam Cosmological Argument, affirms that the first cause must be self-existent and eternal.
John Frame (The Doctrine of God):
“The Lord is independent of everything else. He exists necessarily and eternally…”
Frame ties God’s self-existence directly to His Lordship and supremacy.
Objections to God’s Self-Existence
Of course, not everyone accepts this concept. Let’s look at some common objections:
1. “If everything needs a cause, then God needs one too.”
Response:
That’s a misunderstanding. The rule is:
“Everything that begins to exist needs a cause.”
But God never began to exist—He is eternal.
2. “An eternal being is just as hard to believe as a created God.”
Response:
While both ideas require faith, one is logically necessary. If there is no eternal, self-existent being, then nothing would exist at all. Something must have always existed to produce everything else.
3. “Science will eventually explain everything—there’s no need for God.”
Response:
Science explains processes, not ultimate causes. Science can describe the “how,” but not the “why” or “who.” Even the Big Bang needs a first cause—and physics points to a beginning, not eternal matter.
Why This Matters: Worshiping the Self-Existent One
When we understand God as the Self-Existent One, it changes how we see everything:
It humbles us: We are dependent, but He is not.
It strengthens us: Our faith is grounded in an eternal, unchanging Being.
It leads to worship: The One who exists by Himself chose to create us, love us, and save us.
“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”
—Psalm 147:5 (NKJV)
Conclusion: There Is No One Before Yahweh
So—who created God?
No one.
Because God was never created.
He is Yahweh—the Self-Existent One, the eternal I AM, the Uncaused Cause who brought everything else into being.
He is not the effect of something else. He is.
“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
—Romans 11:36 (NKJV)
References
The Holy Bible, NKJV
A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith
John Frame, The Doctrine of God
Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator
R.C. Sproul, Not a Chance
