Does God need us?

TL;DR:

God does not need us, but He still pursues us and desires to give us what is good. God gave freely of Himself because He loves us, and we need Him.

God does not need us. He is fully self-sufficient and lacks nothing. Despite His complete sufficiency, God loves us and provides for all of His creation out of His abundance. God generously gives us everything we need for life, both physically and spiritually. God’s love for us fuels our understanding of God, life, and ourselves in light of Him. When we see that God does not need us yet desires relationship with us and has done everything to restore relationship with us, our response should be one of gratitude and trust in His provision. This realization also calls us to love and serve others with the same grace.

from the old testament

God describes Himself as: "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). He has everything contained within His very being. God is, which even goes beyond Him having everything. He lacks for nothing.
God says in Psalm 50:10–12, "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine." God has everything already, so He does not need anything.

from the new testament

Although God does not need anything, we need Him. "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:24–25).
In His goodness, God generously gives us everything that we need. "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
Not only does God provide us with life and breath, He loves us: "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19, NKJV).
Jesus brought the opportunity to have a relationship with God; in Him, we can have eternal life: "'And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent'" (John 17:3).

implications for today

God does not need us, but He loves us and desires us to have eternal life (John 1:9–18; 3:16–18). He made the way for us to have eternal salvation and a relationship with Him through Jesus. We cannot do anything to deserve His love, but He gives it to us freely. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Our response to this should be one of deep gratitude and trust. Recognizing that God needs nothing from us but still chooses to generously provide for our needs, we should approach Him with humility and thankfulness. We should respond with trust in and gratitude for His provision and love. This relationship with God through Jesus should also result in a response to love and serve others with generosity and grace.

If you are uncertain of your relationship with God, please see our article "How can I accept Jesus as my personal savior?"

understand

God is self-sufficient and needs nothing from us.
God generously provides for us and offers salvation through Jesus.
Our response to God should be gratitude and trust, knowing that He does not need us but loves us abundantly anyway.

reflect

How does knowing that God needs nothing from us encourage you in your appreciation of His love and generosity?
How does recognizing your reliance on God for everything impact your daily life and relationship with Him?
How can you show gratitude and trust in God’s provision in your actions and attitudes?

engage

How does the concept of God's self-sufficiency influence discussions about His role in the world and human life?
What are some practical ways communities or individuals can express gratitude for God’s provision and grace in their everyday activities?
How might the understanding that God desires a relationship with us, despite His self-sufficiency, shape the way we share our faith with others?