The God who Can and Does

Open: The current state of the US legislative branch. For all the candidates’ promises and assurances and along with the inherent power of the offices they hold, our senator and representatives are basically gridlocked.

Transition: Human power is often limited, even with the best of intentions. God, however, has no limits in this regard. One of His names in Scriptures is God Almighty () and He is able to accomplish what He sets out to do.

The Attribute of Omnipotence

According the the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, the word omnipotent means that “God is able to do whatever He wills in the way in which He wills it.”

Omnipotence means that God is Free

This means that first of all that God is FREE. There is no power higher than God that is able to constrain Him or force Him to do something. We are told in Scripture that “Our God is in the Heavens; he does all that He pleases.” (. He is able to do each and everything that He desires, and He does not have to answer to anyone or anything. An example of this is the act of Creation. The Triune God enjoyed perfect Unity and Harmony in Eternity Past. There was no lack in Himself, and nothing forced Him to create the Universe. He freely chose to bring things into existence and Creation took place through His power.

In His omnipotence, God has voluntarily constrained Himself

To be true to who God is, God has placed specific constraints upon Himself. As theologian Wayne Grudem states it, “God cannot will or do anything that would deny His own character.” He continues by saying this means “He cannot cease to exist, or cease to be God or act in a way inconsistent with any of His attributes.” (Systematic Theology, Grudem, p. 217)

Illustration: We have policies in place for the Hiddenite Food Pantry. When helping a client, I sometimes allow myself to get “talked into” giving extra due to being swayed by a hard luck / sob story. And, there is a high probability that I get snowed most of the time. Not so with God. In His omnipotence, which acts according to other attributes like His justice, God is not going to allow anyone to “talk his way” into Heaven if his name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life

God cannot lie ()

God cannot deny Himself ()

God cannot do the illogical (He cannot create a square circle)

Comprehending the Majesty and greatness of God

In his classic work, Knowing God, J.I. Packer asks the question, “How may we form a right idea of God’s greatness?” His answer is given as a 2 step process. “The first is to remove from our thoughts of God limits that would make Him small. The second is to compare Him with powers and forces we regard as great.” (Knowing God, J.I. Packer, p. 85)

In the first step Packer deals with the issues we have previously covered, namely that God is omniscient, eternal, and infinite. He is at once all places and He knows all things ().

In the second step Packer deals with our attempting to comprehend the power of the Almighty. While we cannot do so in complete comprehension, we can do so in ways that prevent us from thinking about God as similar to our strengths and abilities. As previously noted, God is in a separate category by Himself. He is not just a better, more improved version of humanity!

1. Thinking of God as Creator and Sustainer.

Reflecting upon the power necessary to create out of nothing is a reminder of the power that belongs to God. We believe that God created, but we don’t really understand the forces involved. Also, we are told that Jesus is the power that holds everything together. Without the conscious thought of Jesus, the universe would simply come apart at the seams.

“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Col 1:17)

“He is the radiance of the Glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.” ()

2. Realizing that God holds the power of life and death and He can exercise it at His pleasure

While most in the modern world would not give credence to this thought, it remains true. God has the power to remove our next breath.

“In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind () See also and Acts 17:25

3. Remembering His Greatness and His Majesty

“nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to mankind life and breath and everything.” ()

3. Remembering His Greatness and His Majesty

Scripture contains a vast treasure that helps us comprehend the vast gulf between us and God by describing some of His powerful actions. The end of the Book of Job (chapters 38-41) focus on this subject, as does . Both are instructive, but we are going to focus briefly on the Isaiah passage. At the time of the prophecy, the Israelites were facing perilous times politically and spiritually. They were despondent, thinking that God had left them alone. God responded with a message of hope and comfort by reminding them who He was

Look at His deeds. Could we do them? (v. 12)

Look at the nations. Are we fearful of them? They are nothing to God (v. 15)

Look at the world. The shear size of it dwarfs us. Not God (v. 22)

Look at the great world leaders. Do they intimidate us? Not God (v. 23)

Look at the night sky. Do we feel small in comparison? Not God (v. 26)