God Is

All-Powerful

Throughout the Scriptures it is often stated that God is the Almighty (Genesis 17:1 “I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless”; 28:3; 35:11; Psalm 91:1; Revelation 1:8; 4:8). Added to this there are a number of statements that declare God’s unlimited power, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14); “I know that You can do all things” (Job 42:2); “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37); “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26); “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (Jeremiah 32:17).

Related to Other Attributes

To be all-powerful God also must be eternal, all knowing, and omnipresent, because any limitation placed upon His existence, knowledge or presence, would be equally a limitation upon His power. Notice how in the above passage (Jeremiah 32:17-19), that God’s ability to do all things is linked with His lovingkindness, justice, counsel, and omniscience, “Whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men” (32:19). If God had a beginning or has an end, then there are places and times that are immune from His power or influence. Yet the Bible makes it clear that God has both universal and eternal jurisdiction, when it speaks of “His eternal power” (Romans 1:20). Let it also be noted that God is omnipotent even though very few people might actually serve Him. God is not dependent upon man’s faith and obedience for His relevance and power (Acts 17:25).

Power under Control

“The power of God implies the power of self-limitation. God suffers no internal or external compulsion. One cannot hold that He exercises all of His power all the time and in every place. God has power over His power which is always under His wise and holy will. It may never be said that He is a slave of His own omnipotence. It is well to observe that omnipotence in God does not imply the power to do those things that in no way can be thought of as objects of power. There is no nonsense in the omnipotence as there is no nonsense in God: He cannot do that which is self-contradictory or contradictory to His own nature. Intellectual tricks, raising questions as to whether God can draw a line shorter than a straight line between two points, or make a weight so heavy that He Himself cannot lift it, do not belong to any serious discussion of omnipotence. More to the point, and more personally, He can in no way contradict His own nature by sinning or dying. He cannot make wrong right. He cannot pretend that what has happened has not happened” (Zondervan Pictorial Ency. “Omnipotence” p. 530). The above comments are very accurate. God’s omnipotence is always governed by His other attributes, that is, His power is always under the complete control of His mercy, justice, holiness, and righteousness. Thus, we know that God would never misuse or abuse His power, and that God would never do anything rash, silly, or sinful with His power, “Which God who cannot lie” (Titus 1:2).

God and Big Rocks

Throughout the years people have tried to find contradictions in God or find ways to ridicule His omnipotence. A typical manifestation of such is the question, “Can God make a rock so big that He cannot lift it?” Yet such a question is the product of unbelief, ignorance, and selfishness, for it demonstrates that some people view omnipotence as something that a person would use to play senseless games. God does not use any of His attributes selfishly, recklessly, or in a way that would be contrary to His purposes. In addition, such a question has a very limited view of God. Whatever rocks, mountains, planets, solar systems God creates, He can control them. God is always over, superior to, and the master of any matter that He creates, no matter how big or small (Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance”). “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand”: God is so majestic that all the oceans could easily fit into the palm of His hand. “Marked off the heavens by the span”: A “span” refers to the distance between the end of the thumb and the tip of the little finger. God determined the vastness of the entire universe by the span of His own hand! “Calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales?” God determined just the right amount of “dust” or dirt for this planet, as we might measure a quantity in a measuring cup. God also easily measured the mountain ranges and the hills on this planet as we might measure something on a scale. Compared to God, even the great mountains of the earth are simply small objects on a pair of scales.

Omnipotence and His Purpose

Christians are taught to ask for those things and pray for those things that are “according to His will” (1 John 5:14). This expression is very important, for it reminds us that God has a definite purpose and plan, and that He does not deviate from this plan so neither should we expect any prayer to be answered that deviates from His will. This is one more reason why God does not abuse His omnipotence by playing cosmic games that would probably be very dangerous to the survival of the human race. He wants man saved and He gave the ultimate sacrifice and gift for our salvation (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9). God has no interest in big rocks, square circles, or seeing if He can pop in and out of existence. Skeptics and critics should we ashamed of themselves for playing intellectual games with God’s omnipotence, when God has not been playing any games, but rather has given His only Son for their sins!

Practical Application

What this means is that God will not use His power to turn back time and give people another opportunity to repent and obey the gospel (Luke 16:26; Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”). God’s power is always governed by His righteous purposes. We see an example of this on the night that Jesus was arrested: “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?” (Matthew 26:53-54). God had the power to deliver Jesus from these soldiers and obliterate them but such an act of His power would have been contrary to His purposes. Jesus also noted, “I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham” (Matthew 3:9). God could create Israelites from stones; God has that kind of power, yet it would not serve His purpose to do so. So just because God could do something, does not mean that He is obligated to attempt it or that He must do it. In addition, carefully note the reasoning that Jesus offers in Matthew 26:54. God will never use His power in any way that would violate existing Scripture! God will never override or change Scripture; rather He will always exercise His power in harmony with Scripture.

Divine Omnipotence and Human Free Will

“God can do what He wills to do; but He does not necessarily will to do anything. That is, God has power over His power; otherwise He would act of necessity and cease to be a free being. Nor does omnipotence exclude but rather imply the power of self-limitation. God has limited Himself to some extent by the free will of His rational creatures. That is why He did not keep sin out of the universe by a display of His power; that is also why He does not save anyone by force” (Lectures in Systematic Theology, Thiessen p. 126). We see this truth in the book of Revelation, where the Almighty speaks (1:8), yet human free will is respected (2:7).

I believe that many people misunderstand God’s omnipotence. They think, “If God exists and if He really is all-powerful, then why is there so much sin and suffering in the world?” They somehow think that an all-powerful Creator would not allow such to happen. Yet if the Almighty did create mankind with choice, then the existence of sin and suffering are not a contradiction of His power. Human beings are often shortsighted and tend to take short cuts, without consideration of what is ethical and right. Man says, “If I were divine, I would intervene and get rid of the sinners in the world”, yet such an intervention would often remove the person making the claim (Romans 3:23). Others complain, “If I were God I would put an end to all the suffering in this world”, yet such intervention would automatically result in not only the loss of choice for the critic but would also curtail many of their activities. Most people fail to realize that they are in themselves a cause of sin and suffering in the world, or that many things that they presently like to do are not helping the situation. Man needs to realize that any intervention on God’s part to stop the sin and suffering would equally bring direct intrusion into their own lifestyle and choices. In the past God did intervene and only eight people ended up delivered from His judgment (2 Peter 2:5). People also overlook the obvious truth that sin and suffering can be greatly curtailed if people would only obey the gospel! God sent His Son to die for our sins when we did not deserve such mercy and neither had we requested it (Romans 5:6ff), and He has revealed what we must do to be saved and live in a way that does not bring more suffering into an already sin filled world. The answer to all of man’s problems is within earshot of all men (Romans 10:6-8; Micah 6:8).

God’s Power in Creation

“In the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4:17). God does not merely have the power to mold and shape what is already in existence, but God has the power to create, not merely something, but the entire physical universe from nothing. God can actually summon matter into existence by the mere exercise of His will! “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host…For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:6,9). Here is another reason to burst forth in praise to God. “To know that nothing came into existence but by God’s command, is to be confronted with pure creation, not iron necessity, since God acted in freedom” (Kidner p. 136). “This verse reminds us that the magnificent heavens in all their vastness and splendor were made by nothing more than the mere word or command of God. To catch a further glimpse of what that involves, we are reminded that it required no more than ‘the breath of His mouth’” (Leupold p. 273). Are you ready to worship yet? “This is fiat creation, creation by the naked word of God, and it is entirely different from and infinitely superior to anything mere human beings can do” (Boice p. 287). That is real power! The mere breath of His mouth is powerful enough to create the entire universe! Therefore, in a sense the ultimate blasphemy or insult to God is to argue that the universe created itself or simply happened by chance. Evolution is not a harmless human speculation, rather on the most fundamental of truths, it is an attempt to strip God of His glory, and claim that God did not make what He said He made (Hebrews 3:4; Isaiah 42:5). It is in effect claiming that God is a liar. God creates ex nihilo; at His command everything stands. And through the same power He holds everything together (Colossians 1:16-17). Apart from the power of God the entire universe would cease to exist! “Nothing that man can attempt will come remotely near to this type of Divine activity….’He commanded, and there it stood’. Who would not fear such a Lord?” (Leupold p. 274). As Christians we take great comfort in God’s power, for this means that He is able to fulfill all His promises (1 Peter 1:4) to the faithful!