Omnipotent

Is God omnipotent? Most of us would say, "Why, yes, of course He is" without blinking an eye. We know, for instance, that "The Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns" (Rev 19:6). "Almighty" is the term most of the time. "As for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?" (Isa 14:27). And what do we mean by that? Like Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26).

"Omnipotent," then, to most of us, means "God can do anything at all." And that, dear readers, would be a mistake. We know there are things God cannot do. We know, for instance, that "it is impossible for God to lie" (Heb 6:18). We know that God's Word cannot be broken. Jesus said, "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). We know that God cannot change (Mal 3:6). We know that God cannot sin. In fact, He cannot even be tempted to sin (James 1:13). Well, in short, God cannot violate His own nature. But, look, that's not a big deal. No one can.

So what is omnipotence? It does not mean that God can do anything at all. It means that God possesses all power. No power exists that He does not possess. There is no realm over which He does not have power. Anything that God wills He can do (where "can" can be read "has the power to").

So what does that mean to me? How is that significant? I'm sure you can see it immediately. Whatever God wants to do He can do. If He wants to save you, He can. He cannot fail. If He wants to protect you, He can. If He wants to move mountains, He can. If He wants to heal, He can. Nothing exceeds His power. Because of His power "in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). That's ultimate power, and that's the God we serve.

Some people have a "weaker god," a God who doesn't actually have all power. His hands are tied by humans. He is powerless against nature. The deists have Him wringing His hands over what's going on in our world. "I never meant that to happen." That's not omnipotence. For those whose God is actually omnipotent, there is no safer place to be than in His hands. Your only remaining question would be "Do you trust Him?"