Omnipotent God:
Is There Anything Too Hard For Him?
TCF Sermon
September 25, 2005
I want to start with a little demonstration here this morning. I have here a precious coin (it’s really just a quarter, but pretend with me). I have a friend who has entrusted this coin to me to keep and protect for her. This friend knows I’m a good guy. This friend knows I care deeply about her, and would do anything to help her. This friend trusts my love for her, and knows I’m reliable and won’t lose it.
But there’s one thing this friend doesn’t know, and that’s what we’ll demonstrate here.
(pick one person from the congregation to help – ask him or her to try to take the coin from you - assume the first one can’t because you pick someone much smaller than you)
Now, it seems that not only am I a good guy, and that I love my friend, but, I’m also able to protect her precious possession. Yet, what if someone bigger than (name) came to try to take this coin. How about Dave Troutman? Dave’s certainly bigger than me. (call Dave forward, and Dave is able to take the coin).
Now, this friend trusted me. I’m a good guy, I care about my friend, and would do anything I can to protect her possession. But there’s one problem. I’m not strong enough, not powerful enough. Oh, I do love my friend dearly, and I really want to protect her possession, just as she trusted me to do. But even though I can protect it against some who would try to steal it, I’m not all-powerful. There’s always likely to be someone stronger than me.
So, the question is, based on what we’ve learned by this illustration, can my friend really trust me? She might trust my intentions, she might trust my love for her, but she can’t trust my power, my strength, my might. It’s not for lack of desire that I can’t do what I said I’d do, it’s for lack of power and strength.
So, consequently, she can’t really trust me. That’s not my fault, but I’m not omnipotent.
When it comes to the things of God, the question of trust is a critical one. As believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we’re trusting not only in His love for us, but we’re trusting in His wisdom, and we’re trusting in His power, and His sovereignty.
If any of these foundational truths about our great God -
1. He is infinitely powerful and sovereign
2. He is infinite in His wisdom
3. He is absolutely perfect in His love
- if any one of these things about God are not true, we cannot trust God….He isn’t completely worthy of our trust. What’s more, if we don’t really believe that all three of these things are true, then, again, we are not able to trust God. If they’re just not true, or if we just cannot believe these things are true, then we cannot trust Him.
This is where we must turn to the Word of God, and this morning, we’re just going to look at one aspect of that trust…the aspect we illustrated a moment ago.
The power, or in this case, the omnipotence, the all-encompassing power, of God. He’s omnipotent, and I’m not.
Let’s start by noting that, though this doctrine is under attack today, even by people within the church (as we’ll look at in a moment), this is a truth that is clearly taught in scripture. We’ll see that as we reference several passages of scripture this morning, starting with:
Genesis 17:1 (NIV) When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty;
Note: this is the first reference to God as Almighty.
Genesis 18:14 (NIV) Is anything too hard for the LORD?
Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV) "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Now, for my friend, who entrusted that coin to me, to truly trust me, she’d have to be able to say and believe about me, what God claimed about Himself here in Jeremiah, what God said about Himself in both passages from Genesis, she’d have to be able to say, “Bill, I know that you are the boss, the big cheese of all mankind; nothing is too hard for you.” Of course, that’s not true. There are a lot of things that are too hard for me.
Yes, I know the Word says we can do all things through Christ, but work with me here. In the context of these passages of scripture, we’re referring clearly to the omnipotence of God.
So, while I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I don’t think any of us would abuse that passage by saying it means: “I am omnipotent through Christ.”
I’m not omnipotent. And thus my friend cannot say about me that nothing is too hard for me. We just proved that wrong, because my plan, my best intention, was to keep the coin safe for my friend, and Dave thwarted that plan….apparently it was too hard for me.
Job recognized the truth of God’s omnipotence. After God asked Job a series of questions about creation Job could not answer, Job said to God:
Job 42:2 (NIV) "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
It might help to understand where this all started, that is, the process through which God directed this Word for this morning. A few weeks ago, reading about Christians’ response to hurricane Katrina, I saw an article by an evangelical speaker and author named Tony Campolo. Now, I have a couple of his books on my bookshelf, and though he is a controversial author, he’s generally considered an evangelical Christian.
Let me read to you what he wrote about the hurricane.
Perhaps we would do well to listen to the likes of Rabbi Harold Kushner, who contends that God is not really as powerful as we have claimed. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does it say that God is omnipotent. Kushner points out that omnipotence is a Greek philosophical concept, but it is not in his Bible. Instead, the Hebrew Bible contends that God is mighty. That means that God is a greater force in the universe than all the other forces combined.
To this, I must say, and I must say it quite emphatically….
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
The four passages of scripture we just read are all Old Testament passages. I don’t know how else to read or interpret those, except to say that they teach the omnipotence of God. What does almighty mean if it doesn’t mean omnipotent? All mighty. All powerful. What part of all does Tony Campolo, or Harold Kushner, not understand?
The word omnipotent is defined by the biblical word, “Almighty.” This word occurs 345 times in the Bible, and is never used of anyone but God. The doctrine of God’s omnipotence is assumed everywhere in the Bible. The actual word omnipotent is not in our modern translations, but it is found in the King James Version of Revelation 19:6
“The Apostle John heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and loud peals of thunder shouting out: “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
You may recognize that last phrase. Classical composer Handel composed the Hallelujah Chorus around this verse. So, we have this Christian author and speaker, undermining, outright denying, a critical doctrine of scripture, a doctrine the church has taught for 2000 years. Worse still, he’s using an unbeliever’s reasoning to deny it.
Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a book more than 20 years ago called, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In it, he explains suffering essentially by suggesting that God is a good God, that he loves us, but as for circumstances in the world, He’s just doing the best He can under the circumstances, because He’s not the all-powerful God we’ve always been taught He was.
Rabbi Kushner wrote that:
the author of the book of Job, “forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good…chooses to believe in God’s goodness. God wants the righteous to live peaceful, happy lives, but sometimes He can’t bring that about. It is too difficult even for God to keep cruelty and chaos from claiming their innocent victims.”
Then, Jerry Bridges, in his excellent book Trusting God, Even When Life Hurts, and I might add it’s a book from which a lot of these ideas are drawn, comments on the rabbi’s thoughts:
Rabbi Kushner is not alone in his denial of the sovereign control of God over the events of our lives. Christians as well as non-Christians frequently speak of misfortune and accidents, of circumstances beyond our control (and presumably beyond God’s), of things happening by chance. The implicit assumption in the minds of many is: If God is both powerful and good, why is there so much suffering, so much pain, so much heartache in the world? God is either good and not all powerful, or He is powerful and not all good. You can’t have it both ways (goes the thinking).
The bible teaches we do have it both ways. God is sovereign (all-powerful) and He is good.
And he adds, part of the problem here is that:
We are reluctant to attribute “bad” things to God’s power.
We might note that the rabbi’s interpretation of scripture is suspect as well, because Job did not come to the conclusion the good rabbi said he did.
Job said to God:
Job 42:2-6 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3You asked, ’Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4"You said, ’Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
So, Job’s conclusion was exactly the opposite of what Kushner said. He said, “I know that you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted.” He stated in his own words that God is omnipotent. So, was Job wrong?
Job realized that his analysis of His own suffering – his attempt to explain God’s working in his life, was so far off that he needed to repent.
Let me note that the sovereignty of God, and the omnipotence of God, are two closely related concepts. You can’t really completely separate one from the other. That’s why, in two weeks, next time I preach, we’ll look more closely at the attribute of God’s sovereignty, while today, we’re examining His omnipotence.
But for the purposes of our message this morning, omnipotence has to do with God’s power and ability to accomplish what He wills. Sovereignty has to do with His purposes and His will, and of course, He accomplishes His purposes by His power (omnipotence).
As we look at these things, there’s going to be some inevitable overlap. That is, this week, as we look at God’s omnipotence, we cannot help but also reference His sovereignty. Next time, as we look at God’s sovereignty, we can’t help but reference His power to accomplish His purposes. You might think of omnipotence as His power, and sovereignty as His purpose, accomplished by His power.
Here’s one Bible Dictionary’s definition of omnipotence:
OMNIPOTENCE (ahm’ nih po tihnce) The state of being all-powerful which theology ascribes to God. Scripture often affirms that all power belongs to God (Psalm 147:5), that all things are possible for God (Luke 1:37; Luke 19:26), and that God’s power exceeds what humans can ask or think (Ephes. 3:20). For Scripture, God’s omnipotence is not a matter of abstract speculation but a force to be reckoned with. God’s power is revealed in God’s creating and sustaining the universe (Psalm 65:6; Jeremiah 32:17; Hebrews 1:3), in God’s deliverance of Israel from Pharaoh’s forces (Exodus 15:1-18), in the conquest of Canaan (Deut. 3:21-24), in the incarnation (Luke 1:35), in Christ’s death on the cross (1 Cor. 1:17-18; 1 Cor. 1:23-24), and in the ongoing ministry of the church (1 Cor. 2:5; Ephes. 3:20).
So, power, in the Word of God,
is the ability or strength to perform an activity or deed
So, when we say that God is omnipotent, we’re saying that He has the ability, or the strength, to perform anything He needs to perform, to accomplish His purposes. In other words, He is able. Here’s another definition, from theologian Henry Thiessen:
By the omnipotence of God we mean that He is able to do whatever He wills; but since His will is limited by His nature, this means that God can do everything that is in harmony with His perfections. There are some things which God cannot do: (1) Such as are contrary to His nature as God, as, for example, look upon iniquity
(Hab. 1:13), deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13), lie (Heb. 6:18), or commit sin (Jas. 1:13), and (2) such as are absurd or self-contradictory, as, for example, making a material spirit, a sensitive stone, a square circle, (a rock He can’t lift) etc. These are not objects of power and so denote no limitation of God’s omnipotence.
So, God’s omnipotence….His state of being all-powerful, is seen as a force to be reckoned with, throughout scripture, throughout the history of His chosen people, and throughout the history of the church.
Since we are the church, it’s safe to say that His omnipotence is still a force to be reckoned with, that is, unless we’d venture to say that, maybe in His old age, He’s not as strong as He used to be. Anyone want to take that one on?
But apparently, some have decided to do just that. Now, this isn’t a new occurrence, as people have wrestled with theodicy, which is the fancy word to describe the attempt to reconcile God’s goodness with the fact that evil, and suffering, exist.
What people have done, in their struggle to understand the why’s of suffering, is take God off His throne. Jerry Bridges noted that one Christian writer wrote of her pain as being utterly frustrating to God, and she gives thanks to God for being her devoted, caring, frustrated heavenly Father.
Now, thinking back to our opening illustration for a moment. Do you think my friend would feel any better, with me having lost her precious coin to Dave, knowing that I really cared about losing the coin, I was devoted to her, and the fact that I lost that precious possession really frustrated me?
No, it wouldn’t make her feel any better. She wouldn’t feel any better, because she thought I had the ability to keep it safe, and I didn’t.
Now, of course, when circumstances cause us misery, God does care. He cares deeply for us. But to say He’s frustrated about things that happen is unbiblical. I don’t think I can serve a God who is frustrated by what’s happening on the earth.
I’d rather struggle with the question of why…I’d rather come to rest at a place where I say, “I cannot fully understand why this happens, but I can trust the Omnipotent God who does understand why.”
The Bible leaves no doubt. God is never frustrated:
Daniel 4:35 (NIV) All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"
So, while we may lack complete understanding, or in some circumstances, any understanding of the ways of God, I think we must consider the implications of a God who is not omnipotent, before we’re willing to just write off this very important doctrine for the sake of explaining evil and suffering in the world. Let’s think about what if He’s not omnipotent.
If He’s not omnipotent, then,
- Everything that happens is random…all natural disasters, wars, life, death, accidents, illness, any suffering, etc.
- Nothing has a purpose, either now, or ultimately…
If He’s not omnipotent,
- there’s no guarantee any of the prophecies or promises of scripture are true.
How about his promise: “I’ll never leave you or forsake you?” If He’s not omnipotent, how can we be sure He’s able to carry out that promise?
If he’s not omnipotent, He’s not able to accomplish all He promised. That means:
- no coming in the clouds to take us home
- no defeat of the devil
- no new heavens and new earth
If he’s not all powerful, omnipotent, how do we know with certainty He can make those things happen? How do we know with certainty He can make anything happen? How do we know He really defeated sin and death at the cross, if he’s not omnipotent?
How do we know it’s not just a temporary victory, how do we know the devil won’t make a comeback in the fourth quarter?
How do we know He created the universe, flung the stars, lit up the sun? Maybe the Darwinists and naturalists are right, if God’s not all powerful?
How can we take anything in the Bible for granted, if he’s not all powerful? We might as well call it historical fiction at best, total fiction at worst.
On the other hand, if He is omnipotent, He’s worthy of our trust, and worthy of our obedience.
This is such a critical doctrine, it calls into question everything we believe if it’s not true. Since this message was prompted by a denial of God’s sovereignty or power over the weather, let’s take a moment to look at that idea in scripture.
Job 37:3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.
Job 37:6 He says to the snow, ’Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ’Be a mighty downpour.’
Job 37:10-13 The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.
11He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. 12At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them. 13He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love.
Psalm 147:8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
Psalm 147:16-18 He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
17He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? 18He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
Jeremiah 10:13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Amos 4:7 "I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
Now, as always, you can choose to believe scripture or not, but this small sampling of scripture, though they include some of those hard truths we spoke of a few weeks ago, make it clear that: God controls the weather…and indeed all of nature. God allows, or causes it to happen. Isn’t it interesting in the passage from Isaiah 45, that God not only accepts responsibility for disaster, but he claims it.
Jerry Bridges writes:
All expressions of nature, all occurrences of weather, whether it be a devastating tornado or a gentle rain on a spring day, are acts of God. The Bible teaches that God controls all the forces of nature, both destructive and productive, on a continuous, moment-by-moment basis. We must allow the Bible to say what it says, not what we think it ought to say.
I’m afraid that’s our tendency, isn’t it? To make the Bible say what we think it ought to say.
Theologian Albert Mohler, responding directly to the comments from Tony Campolo, wrote this:
The Bible simply does not leave room for the suggestion that God is doing His best under the circumstances. Nowhere is an event -- tragic or otherwise -- explained as due to God’s inability to prevent what happened. Biblical Christianity does not find refuge in redefining God’s power or in flippant interpretations of God’s will. Instead, it points us to the fallenness of the created order and the created order’s need for redemption. The Bible claims that God is both omnipotent and all-loving. The fact that these twin truths sometimes lead us into intellectual difficulty is no excuse for surrendering the Bible’s assertion of unlimited divine power and authority. The problem lies with our limited understanding -- not with any limit on God’s power.
It’s a matter of trust. And since trust is absolutely foundational to our faith, we want our trust to have the right foundation under it, don’t we? The apostle Paul wrote about how he trusted God. Paul knew that suffering was part of his existence as a follower of Christ. Indeed, a part of the human experience.
But Paul knew…no, Paul was convinced, that God is entirely and completely trustworthy.
2 Tim. 1:12 (NIV) That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
He is able. He has the power to guard what we’ve entrusted to Him. And of course, here it’s talking about our salvation – our eternal life. He’s able, because our great God is an omnipotent God.
Jerry Bridges wrote:
…that which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful, all loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God’s eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives that which is for His glory and our good.
If there is a single event in all the universe that can occur outside of God’s sovereign control, then we cannot trust Him. His love may be infinite, but if His power is limited and His purpose can be thwarted, we cannot trust Him. You may entrust your most valuable possessions to me. I may love you and my aim to honor your trust may be sincere, but if I do not have the power or ability to guard your valuables, you cannot truly entrust them to me.
So, you may not be able to entrust your most valuable possessions to me. I care. I love you. I want to guard your most precious possessions, but I don’t have the absolute ability to protect them. I’m not able. God, however, does have the ability. He is able. We can trust God. Let’s not, in our sometimes inability to understand His purposes, take God off the throne.
By way of transition to the sermon in a couple of weeks, which will look more closely at God’s sovereignty, even as it’s related to His omnipotence,
let me read this great quote from 1800s English preacher John Daniel Jones, from his sermon The Sovereignty of God.
"The value of a religion depends on the truth and sufficiency of its idea of God." Not only on the truth of it, you notice, but on the sufficiency of it as well. If we start with a little God, we shall have a little peddling religion, utterly insufficient to meet the greater needs and wants of man.
For the idea of God is the ground plan in religion. If the ground plan is cramped and meager, the building erected upon it is bound to be cramped and meager too. You cannot build a bigger building than your base will safely carry. On a narrow base, a big building would simply topple over. And in exactly the same way, you can never build a big religion upon a little God.
A great religion demands a great God for its starting point. If we are to believe that it will win its way to the ends of the earth, we must start with a great idea of God.
And perhaps that is what we need for a revival of our faith and courage-an enlarged conception of God.
Our doubts and timidities and despairs arise from the fact that we have made Him altogether like ourselves. If that’s all He were, we might well despair. But our God is a great God and a great King above all gods. The Lord reigneth-that is our confidence. We need a vision of the sovereign Lord. The triumph of the church does not depend on us, but on Him.
We have lingered perhaps too long among the gentleness of God; we need today the bracing vision of His majesty and power. Perhaps we have dwelt overmuch on the meek and lowly Jesus; the vision we need to see today is that of the glorified Christ, with His sword upon His thigh, marching on prosperously because of truth and righteousness, the mighty to save. The vision of the Throned Lord is the antidote to fear.
Do you remember that antithesis at the close of Mark’s gospel? "Then the Lord was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went. . . everywhere" (16:19,20). The Lord on the throne - the servants out in the field. The Lord in the place of power - the disciples flinging themselves with resistless dash and courage on all the strongholds of heathenism. A true vision of the King produces exactly the same effect today.
My prayer is that, in addition the ability to trust in Him, a true vision of the King may produce the same effect in us, that it did in His disciples --- pray
