Saturday, September 28, 2013

Knowing God: 7 - God is All Powerful

While God is certainly "All Powerful" there are many misconceptions about what this actually means.

What is Omnipotence?

Omni = “All”     Potent = Powerful                                               
God has power to do anything that can be accomplished by power*
*No “force” can overcome logic

Omnipotence defined: To have the power to do anything that can be done by force or might.

This means Omnipotence does not mean having the power to do something that cannot be done, such as create something that doesn't exist, or exert a force that cannot be resisted by the One who created it. God cannot create His own god, or exert force on a logical fallacy and make it true. These paradoxes are actually misunderstandings of logic and reality. God cannot create this universe where Jesus came and died on the cross for our sins, and at the same time never have  Jesus die on a cross.  

Somehow people get the false notion that power can somehow overcome logic or fact. Only one western philosopher seriously contemplated that God's power could contradict logic, and he never found a logically sound or provable example (Renee Descarte – his favorite analogy was to make a triangle with more than 3 sides). "Force" cannot act on logic.

We know from other infinite attributes that His power works in perfect harmony with His other attributes such as holiness and immutability, so Omnipotence does not give a “pass” to reality and logic. God cannot be Holy and evil simultaneously regardless of what power is applied to the process. God's nature is perfect, and so is His Power. He would never use His power to assist evil or to contradict His own nature.  So, God can “do” anything that is logically possible that does not contradict His Nature or conflict with His Will. This seems obvious, but all objections raised to God's all powerful sovereignty rests on a false assumption that God can contradict His nature or the nature of reality as He has Willed it.

Yeshua is also all-powerful. To be all-powerful means that He must be God. The fact that He is omnipotent is taught in John 10:18: No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father. The fact that He has the power over His own life, both to take it and to raise it, shows omnipotence of a unique degree. All men have authority to take their own life, but not to raise themselves back to life.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth  HSCB

Philippians 3:20-21  ...but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.  HSCB

Colossians 1:15-17 For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.  HSCB

Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.   HSCB

How is God's Omnipotence important to me?

God’s power, which created the universe out of nothing, is at work in you

2 Corinthians 4:7-9   Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.  We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.  HCSB

God can resurrect the dead!

Ephesians 1:18-21  I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.  He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens—far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.   HCSB

God cannot be stopped!

Ephesians 1:18-21  I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.  He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens—far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  HCSB

God has the power to keep His Promises!

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Scripture citations are from:  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) © 2009 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville TN 

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