Compelled to Worship: Omnipotence

Oldest lighthouse in Scotland

OMNIPOTENCE

Several decades ago there was an epic show called Star Trek. It was widely viewed by millions every week as the space ship Enterprise would go boldly where no man had ever gone before.  As with many shows, they get misquoted and then the misquote receives the most attention in history – but it didn’t even happen…

One of these quotes occurs in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" where actor Jim Carrey speaks into the camera saying, “I can’t do it Captain. I don’t. Have. The power!” Supposedly this was a rip off from ship master Scotty in Star Trek but interestingly Scotty never made the quote. However, Jim Carrey’s misquote retained all the attention.

What does this have to do with God’s omnipotence? Not much – but that the simple sentiment is something we can all relate to.  There are many things we wish we could do but for which we lack the power.  We’d like to cure poverty, hunger, war, disease, and Washington DC, but none of us has the ability to do so. We’d like it if our employees did what we asked but they have a will of their own and frequently do what they want.

Our spheres of influence are small, no matter how elevated our state may be. But God’s sphere of influence is unlimited by any measure – including our will.  Today we’re glancing at God’s omnipotence, what it is, why it is significant, and how it applies to us.

Omnipotence means all-powerful, unlimited power, invincible, and inexhaustible in its essence.  In this attribute of God we can both relate and not comprehend. Certainly all of us understand what power is because we all possess some of it. We have the power to help someone or lash out and strike them, to use our words to build up or tear down, to forgive or to demand recompense.  However, God’s power is infinite and that is where our comprehension ceases.

God’s power is infinite. Psalm 33:6-9 says, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.  He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”

This certainly puts some of His power into human perspective.  He created ALL things. Not by the sweat of His brow, nor by the toil of His rigorous labor, but by His breath.  What is easier than simply breathing? And yet all of creation was made from something explained to us, in human terms, that we do in our sleep.

The known created universe would take 500 billion years, traveling at light-speed (186,000 miles per second), to circumscribe. The sun could contain one million planets the size of earth.  

God made everything with a breath.  I can barely draw a picture of a horse.

The astounding details of God’s creative power only become more staggering and remarkable as we learn more through the sciences and especially astronomy.

His power is unlimited. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

The language of Jeremiah’s praise is similar to the angel’s response to Sarah when she laughed at the idea that she would produce children in old age. The angel replied, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” The obvious answer is, “No, certainly not!”

God’s power is irresistible.  He is unconquerable, always advancing His plan, and invincible in the pursuit of it.

Job 42:2 proclaims, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

But what if my will conflicts with God’s will? He wins. Every. Time. Did Paul win in his opposition to Christ? No.  He was blinded, brought to his knees, and needed to be led around until God saved Him. Did Jonah win when he refused to preach to the Ninevites? Nope.  Thrown off a ship and swallowed by a sea creature for three days until he was washed ashore. Only then did he obey.

-Reformed theology tangent-

Consider the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were complete, walking visibly with the pre-incarnate Christ, enjoying holiness, freedom, and perfect satisfaction in Him.  Yet even in their sinless state, their will STILL, chose to sin against God.  How much more impossible is it then for us who are born into sin, having inherited a sinful nature, and “dead in our trespasses” to make good and righteous choices?  In a word – impossible apart from the work of God.

So why would we ever make the assumption that our sinful, woefully frail, and fickle wills would be considered sacrosanct by a Holy and perfect God? And why do we attribute power to ourselves that the Word never gives to us?

-Reformed theology tangent concluded-

Isaiah 14:27 says, “For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” The answer again is that, “No one can.”

Isaiah goes on in 43:13 to expand on this, “Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”  The answer once more is, “No one has the power to do this thing.”

God’s omnipotence is inexhaustible.  That is to say that His power does not reach a limit, wear out, diminish in its expression or capacity, or fade.  God is not growing old or becoming tired – He is the same as He was when He created the universe.

Isaiah’s familiar fortieth chapter says this (28-31), “The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

For decades Rush Limbaugh has opened his program with a statement professing that his talent is on loan from God.  He says it in an arrogant cheeky way but in a sense he’s absolutely right.  All of our power is on loan from God. We derive our strength from the One who possesses all power, including our own. The same is true of knowledge and logic.

That is why Isaiah implores us in the verses that follow the above quote that, “…those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Strength, willpower, self-control, and ability, are all derived from the one source of it: God.  If we learn to rest in His strength, according to His will and pleasure, we experience something likened unto flying on the wings of an eagle.  In a word: Freedom.  Or ‘Murca if you so desire.

Psalm 102:25-27 utter these important words for us to rest in, “…But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

Have encouragement that your God is never prone to run out of strength and loans it to you in order to fulfill His will which you have been blessed to carry out. If you are walking in His will, then you cannot fail ultimately, because He cannot fail.

His power is also incomprehensible.  No matter how much we conjure, concentrate, devise, or contemplate, we can never grasp the depth, width, or length of His power.

Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

Think about those words.  Him who is able. Able to do immeasurably more. Immeasurably more than all we ask. Immeasurably more than all we … imagine. That means you cannot comprehend His power; not even close. Even your imagination can’t conceive of it.

You might be tempted then to ask the question, “Is there anything that God cannot do?”

Yes. Scripture in fact tells us about these constraints.  God’s power works in perfect conformity with his other attributes so that nothing is out of balance.  His power does not override his love, or justice.  It does not conflict with his sovereignty or his perfect knowledge.

But God cannot go against His own nature.  God cannot die, He cannot contradict Himself, He cannot lie, or violate His own holiness. I won’t belabor these points but Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 bear some of these out succinctly.

What then does all this mean for us?

Sometimes we do not believe that we can do something because it seems too difficult but if the Lord has willed it then we will surely be granted the strength to accomplish it. Resting in His will and power is the only place the believer can find peace. Fretting over what will be and whether one thing or another thing will work out only demonstrates the degree to which we actually believe or doubt this attribute about God.

The Greeks believed in gods that had limited power, who needed humanity to fulfill their plans, and were corrupted in all kinds of folly.  The God of creation (reality) is none of those things.  He does not need us, He has no corruption, and He has no limitations within His nature.  He is all powerful.

That same all-powerful God, also knows all things.  In knowing all things He also knows all about you.  If you are one of His children then He knows you in a different sense – it means that He has an intimacy with you and an infallible love placed upon you from the beginning so that you might be to the praise of His glory both now and in eternity future.

If God knows you, knows your problems, loves you completely, and has the power to do as He pleases, wherever He pleases, whenever He pleases, then you can rest your weary soul in His capable hands.  This all-powerful God has an all-encompassing plan which He is bringing to pass for His glory and for our own good.