The attributes of God

The Omnipotence of God

An attribute of God · Jeremiah 32:17

The omnipotence of God means he is all-powerful; there is nothing too hard for him. He made heaven and earth by his great power, and with him all things are possible. His power is never raw force but always joined to his wisdom, holiness, and love. The same almighty hand that flung the stars into space was stretched out on a cross to save us.

Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:Jeremiah 32:17 (KJV)

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.Matthew 19:26 (KJV)

What the omnipotence of God means

To be omnipotent is to be able to do all that power can do, to have strength without limit and without rival. God speaks and it is done; he commands and it stands fast. He needs no tools, no raw material, no help. He made everything out of nothing by his word alone. No task strains him, no burden tires him; the everlasting God faints not, neither is weary.

Scripture does say there are things God cannot do, but these are not limits on his power; they are the perfections of his nature. He cannot lie, cannot deny himself, cannot sin, cannot cease to be God. These impossibilities are not weakness but strength, for they mean his power is never divided against his goodness. His omnipotence is holy power, wise power, loving power. He can do anything consistent with his own perfect character, which is to say, anything truly worth doing. There is nothing too hard for him.

How the Bible reveals it

The Bible opens with omnipotence: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. He said, Let there be light, and there was light. The heavens are the work of his fingers, and he calls the stars by number and by name. He divided the sea, rained bread from heaven, shut the mouths of lions, and raised the dead. When Jeremiah was told to buy a field as a sign of hope in a doomed city, he prayed, Ah Lord God, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power, and there is nothing too hard for thee.

That last phrase echoes the whole Bible. When Sarah laughed at the promise of a son in her old age, God asked, Is any thing too hard for the Lord? When the disciples wondered who then could be saved, Jesus said, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. The greatest display of his power is the resurrection, the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead.

Common misunderstandings

A famous puzzle asks whether God can make a stone too heavy for him to lift. But this is wordplay, not a real limit; it asks whether omnipotence can defeat itself, which is nonsense, not a task. God's power is not the ability to do contradictions; it is the ability to do all things. That he cannot lie or sin is not a gap in his power but the wholeness of his goodness.

Others assume that if God is all-powerful and evil exists, he must be either unable or unwilling to stop it. But Scripture shows a God who is neither. He permits evil for a season within his wise purpose, and has already dealt it a mortal blow at the cross, and will finally abolish it. His restraint now is not weakness but patience, not wanting any to perish. And some, in trouble, quietly conclude their situation is too far gone. The word of God stands against that fear: there is nothing too hard for him, and no case beyond his reach.

Why the omnipotence of God is good news

Power alone would be terrifying, but the almighty God is our Father, and his power serves his love. This means his promises are backed by omnipotence: he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. What he has purposed for us, no force can prevent; what he has promised, no weakness can hinder. He is able to keep that which we have committed to him, and able to keep us from falling.

For the weak and the desperate, this is the best of news. When we have no strength, his is made perfect in our weakness. When our problems are impossible, we remember that impossible is exactly his territory. He raises the dead, so no situation is truly hopeless. The hand that upholds all things upholds you, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Nothing that concerns you is too small for his care or too great for his power.

How the omnipotence of God is seen in Jesus Christ

The power that made the world walked among us in Jesus, and creation recognized its Maker. He rebuked the storm and it fell silent; he multiplied bread in his hands; he called Lazarus from the tomb; he opened blind eyes and raised the dead with a word. In him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and he upholds all things by the word of his power.

Yet the deepest display of omnipotence is strange to us: it is power that stoops. The Almighty became a child, was weary, hungered, and died. On the cross the strong Son let himself be bound, having said he could call twelve legions of angels. This is power under perfect control, strength poured out in love. And then, the resurrection: he burst the grave and rose, the mightiest act of all. The Jesus who conquered death is able also to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. His power is at the service of your salvation.

A note offered humbly and for all Christians: God is one, simple, and undivided in his being, and these attributes are not parts of him but the one God seen from many sides. His holiness is loving, his love is holy, his justice is merciful, and his mercy is just. He is also greater than all our words, and no page can contain him. What we can say, we say only because he has graciously revealed it, above all in Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God.

Related: The Sovereignty of God · The Eternity of God · Who is Jesus? · All the attributes of God