God’s omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to his power. If you choose to say 'God can give a creature free will and at the same time withhold free will from it,' you have not succeeded in saying anything about God: meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix to them the two other words 'God can.'... It is no more possible for God than for the weakest of his creatures to carry out both of two mutually exclusive alternatives; not because his power meets an obstacle, but because nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.

~ CS Lewis, The Problem of Pain

09.29.10

The God Who Is… Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient

Attribute: Scripture: Implication:

Omnipresence: God does not have spatial dimensions and is present everywhere with his whole being, though he acts differently in different situations.

“Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jer. 23:23–24; cf. 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 139:7–10; Isa. 66:1–2; Acts 7:48–50).

God can be sought anywhere regardless of place. Believers should never feel lonely, and the wicked should never feel safe.

Omniscience: God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible—past, present, and future.

“Whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20; cf. Job 28:24; 37:16; Ps. 139:1–3; 147:5; Isa. 55:8–9; Matt. 10:29–30; Rom. 11:33–34; 1 Cor. 2:10–11; Heb. 4:13).

All God's thoughts and actions are perfectly informed by perfect knowledge, so he is perfectly trustworthy.

Omnipotence: (from Latin: Omni Potens: "all power") literally means unlimited power. It is best to understand God’s omnipotence as his power in that God is able to do all his holy will.

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isa. 46:9–10; cf. Ex. 6:3; Job 37:23; 40:2; 42:1–6; Ps. 24:6; 33:10–11; 91:1; Dan. 4:34–35; Matt. 28:18).

God's ultimate will is never frustrated by evil, so there is peace and confidence in the face of suffering for those who trust God.

Difficulties (Historic and Present) with the Philosophical Concept of Omnipotence: Thomas Aquinas acknowledged difficulty in comprehending a deity's power. Aquinas wrote that while "all confess that God is omnipotent...it seems difficult to explain in what God's omnipotence precisely consists." Omnipotence is generally understood to be compatible with certain limitations upon a deity's power, as opposed to implying infinite abilities. There are certain things that even an omnipotent deity cannot do. For example, certain “abilities” are not a sign of power but defect. The abilities to take medicine or to sin, for examples, are not powers but rather a defect or an infirmity.

Belief that omnipotence, i.e., unlimited power, exists in any form is easily disproved. A classical example goes as follows:

"Can a deity create a rock so heavy that even the deity itself cannot lift it? If so, then the rock is now unliftable, limiting the deity's power. But if not, then the deity is still not omnipotent because it cannot create that rock."

This question cannot be answered using formal logic due to its self-referential (or circular) nature. But, within the biblical context, the combination of omnipotence with omniscience makes this objection obsolete. Also within the biblical context, God is almighty (not the literal definition of omnipotent) because there is no other entity that can thwart Him in whatever he decides to do (Is. 14:27). Therefore, the proper questions relative to God's power would be: (1) Can any other entity (or alleged deity) create a rock too heavy for God to lift and (2) Can God create a rock too heavy for any other entity (or deity) to lift? The answers are no and yes. Thus, no other entity (or deity) can exert any power over God and claim to be more powerful than God.

St. Augustine, in City of God, argued, instead, that God could not do anything that would make God non-omnipotent: For He is called omnipotent on account of His doing what He wills, not on account of His suffering what He wills not; for if that should befall Him, He would by no means be omnipotent. Wherefore, He cannot do some things for the very reason that He is omnipotent.

Thus, Augustine argued that God could not do anything or create any situation that would in effect “make God not God.” So, for example, God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Num. 23:19), he cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13), he cannot disown himself (2 Tim. 2:13), etc… “In the end, we cannot define precisely what God is able to do. But we are confident that he can do everything Scripture describes him as doing, and much more. And we know that the only preventers are his own truth, righteousness, faithfulness, and so on. That fact should assure us that God is entirely competent to accomplish all his righteous, loving purposes.” ~ John Frame, on “God’s Power” in The Doctrine of God.

The Biblical Idea of God’s Almightiness or Lordship: 1 Combined, the omniscience, onmipresnce, and omnipotence of God formulate his almightiness or lordship over all things. “LORD” English rendering of several Hebrew and Greek words. Generally, the term refers to one who has power or authority. Jehovah (or Yahweh; Hebrew YHWH, which basically means “self-existent”) is the name of God most frequently used in the Hebrew Scriptures. “Lord” or “LORD” commonly represents it in the English translations. The Jews meticulously avoided every mention of it and substituted in its stead another word, Adonai. They also combined Adonai with YHWH which produced the term Jehovah. The importance of the name cannot be overstated. Exodus 3:14 give us a clue to the meaning of the word. When Moses received his commission to be the deliverer of Israel, God, who appeared in the burning bush, communicated to him the name to give as the credentials of his mission: God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Heb. ehyeh asher ehyeh); and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (NASB). In both names, ehyeh and YHWH, the root idea is that of uncreated existence. When it is said that God’s name is I am, simple being is not all that is affirmed. He is, in a sense, in which no other being is. He is, and the cause of His being is in Himself. He is because He is. Exod. 6:3, “By my name, Lord, I did not make myself known to them” (NASB), does not imply that the patriarchs were completely ignorant of the eternal existence of God. It simply means that previous to their deliverance from Egyptian bondage they had no experiential knowledge of such redemption. Under Moses they were to experience deliverance and have the redemptive power of God made real to them and the redemptive name of God entrusted to them. Previously, as shepherds in Palestine, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had known God as El Shaddai (“the Almighty,” Gen. 17:1), proving His power, but not in this kind of redemptive relationship. This name affirms God’s lordship over His people (Exod. 34:23), as well as His power over the whole creation (Josh. 3:13). Also, by this name God avows His superiority over all other gods (Deut. 10:17). Adonai is another important designation for God as Lord in the OT. It derives from the Hebrew word Adon, an early word denoting ownership and absolute control. Adon is not properly a divine title as it is used of humans in some places. It is applied to God as the owner and governor of the whole earth (Ps. 114:7). It is sometimes used as a term of respect (like our “sir”) but with a pronoun attached (“my lord”). It often occurs in the plural. Adonai is, in the emphatic form, “the Lord” – so many regard this title as the plural of Adon. “Lord” or “Master” (Gk. kurios, “supreme”) signifies the one to whom a person or thing belongs, the master, the one having disposition of men or property, such as the “owner of the vineyard” (Matt. 20:8; 21:40; Mark 12:9; Luke 20:15); the “Lord of the harvest” (Matt. 9:38; Luke 10:2); the “master of the house” (Mark 13:35); “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5), who has the power to determine what is suitable to the Sabbath, and to release Himself and others from its obligation. This title is given to God, the ruler of the universe, both with the definite article ho kurios (Matt. 1:22; 5:33; Mark 5:19; Acts 7:33; 2 Tim. 1:16, 18) and without the article (Matt. 21:9; 27:10; Mark 13:20; Luke 2:9, 23, 26; Heb. 7:21).

Discussion questions: Do you find the doctrine of God’s almightiness comforting or discouraging?

How could God’s almightiness be an encouragement to those suffering? How could it be a discouragement?

What about human responsibility? Do you find it hard to reconcile God’s almightiness with human responsibility (i.e., the significance of decisions and actions)?

What about prayer? Do you find this doctrine promoting a life of prayer or stifling?

1. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1046–1047). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.