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What's the Biblical basis for "Without God I could do nothing"?

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5 answers
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Often times I have had or come across the thought of "Without God I could do nothing" in a general sense, not something as specific as doing good nor our ability to fix ourselves (i.e. I'm *not* talking about total depravity but about all actions). The primary Biblical evidence I can find possibly backing this is the following: 1. The fact that God created humans with all of their abilities/being/situation/etc. so as such without God at all we would never be able to do anything because we could never exist 2. Jesus' quote "By myself I can do nothing" in John 5:30 (how much more so can we do nothing) 3. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." in John 15:5 4. The fact that God ultimately controls the world and has the power to destroy us or do whatever He wants The first potential problem that I see with these supporting the general claim that "without God I can do nothing" is that 1. doesn't really address the issue of our ability to do something *now* but rather the past (meaning yes, without Him we wouldn't exist, but since we do exist it doesn't determine if we can do something). The second potential problem is that 2. and 3. might only be implying a more specific case such as "apart from me you can do nothing *good*". The third is that in 4. if God didn't do anything ("without God") then Him stopping us wouldn't happen. Is there any other Biblical basis for the general claim of "Without God I could do nothing"? Or is the evidence above generally enough to convince most theologians that this claim is true?
Asked by Zach Saucier (200 rep)
Nov 17, 2015, 05:38 AM
Last activity: Sep 23, 2019, 12:46 AM