Dr. Jack L. Arnold Equipping Pastors International The Person of God

Lesson 4

God is Omnipotent

Recently a person who has heard some of the messages on the Person of God said to me, “I detect in your sermons that you have an arbitrary God, a God who does as He pleases.” I answered, “Yes, I do have a God that does as He pleases because He is omnipotent. God has authority in all things because He is all-powerful.” It seems to me that a God who cannot do what He will and perform all His pleasure cannot be God. How vain would be the eternal counsels of God if power did not step in to execute them.

One of the most thrilling verses in all Scripture is Revelation 19:6 which says, “Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns.” God reigns because He is omnipotent. God is power and power is God and they cannot be separated.

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62)

One of God’s names in the Old Testament is El-Shaddai which means “God Almighty.” Over fifty times in the Bible God is called The Almighty.

OMNIPOTENCE EXPLAINED

The Bible says that God’s “wisdom is profound, his power is vast” and his strength “is mighty” (Job 9: 4, 19) and that “power belongeth unto God” (Psa. 62:11 KJV). Omnipotence means that God has all power. God possesses what no creature can possess: an incomprehensible amount of power, a potency that is absolute. God is infinite power in Himself, and He is the great central source and originator of all power.

The practical outworking of the omnipotence of God is that He has the power to execute His will. God’s power is like Himself: infinite, eternal and incomprehensible; it can neither be checked, restrained, or frustrated by the creature.

There is absolutely nothing that God cannot do if He wants to do it because He has infinite power to do as He pleases. “Well,” says the skeptic, “If God can do anything, then He can sin.” Not so, for God does nothing but that which is consistent with His holy character. God cannot do anything inconsistent with the perfection of His Divine nature. In view of this, there are three things God cannot do: He cannot lie; He cannot deny Himself: and He cannot sin. All other things are possible to God.

OMNIPOTENCE IN CREATION

God is the Creator of this universe. When God created, He began with nothing, and by His Word alone out of nothing He made all things.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

“The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth: you founded the world and all that is in it. You created the north and the south . . .” (Psa. 89:11-12a)

“For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” (Psa. 33:9)

God is the first cause of all matter and force. Nature itself gives evidence of the eternal power of God.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:20)

All God’s creation originated with Him. God did not have to create anything. After creation, He may destroy His creation if He chooses to do so.

Again the skeptic says, “To accept the fact that God is behind the universe is to believe in the miracle of creation and miracles are not possible.” The Christian’s answer to the skeptic is that an omnipotent God is the only basis for miracles. Since God sovereignly created this world and stands outside of His creation, He can intervene into it supernaturally whenever and however He pleases. The question of real miracles is actually a question of a real God. If there is a God, then He is all-powerful and miracles are within the realm of possibility.

OMNIPOTENCE IN PROVIDENCE

God’s providence is seen in that He upholds everything in this universe by the Word of His power.

“. . . sustaining all things by his powerful word . . .” (Heb. 1:3)

God preserves and sustains all things that go on in the world by His infinite power. He brings the rains, causes the sun to shine, controls the seas and brings the harvest by His omnipotent hand. One of our present day problems is that modern man is suffering from a secular mentality, for the unsaved man ascribes to natural law what the Bible ascribes to God. What science calls fixed natural law is simply God’s power in providence being manifested. Natural law shows the trustworthiness of God in nature.

God, in His providence, also restrains the devil. Scriptures tell us that “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8). Yet, Satan can do no more harm than what God permits. God bridles the devil to a large extent and hinders him from carrying out in totality his evil designs. We know that God is more powerful than Satan because in the historical story of Job, Satan is restrained by God.

“The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.” (Job 1:12)

God, in His providence, also restrains the corruption of men. If natural man were left completely unrestrained, this world would be as evil as hell itself. Because of God’s restraint of sin, this world is tolerable and livable.

OMNIPOTENCE IN JUDGMENT

God alone has the authority and power to judge men for their sins. God’s wrath burns hot against sin and He is angry with sinful men. Because of God’s power to judge sin, men should not fear what men can do to them, but should fear God who has the power to judge them.

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10:28)

Think of it! God has salvation and damnation in His power. He has the key of justice to lock up whom He will in hell, and He has the key of mercy to open heaven to whom He pleases. God alone has the power to forgive sins and it has pleased Him to forgive sins through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. God has power to forgive sins, but He will not put forth His power to an unrepentant sinner. Christ is God’s answer to the sin problem and all those outside of Christ should shake with fear when they think about the fact that they have no Savior.

“Should you not fear me?” declares the LORD. “Should you not tremble in my presence?” (Jer. 5:22)

OMNIPOTENCE IN SALVATION

God is most certainly all-powerful in salvation. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, God has sovereignly intervened into your life. He has broken through to give you spiritual life and the ability to believe.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Eph. 2:1-5)

“But God” tells us that the Almighty has saved us by a supernatural new birth. He has saved us from the horrible consequences of sin. Did you realize that it takes more power for God to save a soul than it did for Him to create the world? When God created the world, He met with no opposition. Creation in no way opposed Him. But when God converts a sinner, He meets with strong opposition. At first, the sinner is angry with the converting grace of God, but because God is omnipotent, He breaks through and the sinner is made willing to believe that Jesus died for his sins and was raised for his justification.

God not only created all men but He is recreating some men spiritually in Christ. Every Christian is God’s creation and He is working in one’s heart to make him the kind of person He wants him to be.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)

Since God is omnipotent and every Christian is His spiritual creation, then let us be careful not to harden our hearts against God. No man ever hardened his heart against God and came out the victor. To start a spiritual war against the Almighty is pure folly.

“He (God) is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?” (Job 9:4 KJV)

Christian, do not fight God for you cannot win. It is better to meet God with tears in your eyes than with weapons in your heart. You can never conquer God by resistance and you can only move His power by repentance and faith.

OMNIPOTENCE AND CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE

What a comfort for a Christian to know that he is preserved in salvation by the power of God Almighty.

“Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Pet. 1:5)

No power in earth or hell can rob the Christian of his eternal salvation in Christ and there is no power in heaven that wants to rob the Christian of salvation. Only God could remove our salvation, but He will not, for He has bound Himself to His promise to eternally secure every person who has trusted in Jesus Christ.

What a comfort it is to know that the power of the omnipotent God is not only working in the Christian, but is also working for the Christian.

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

Yes, God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask or think. What an incentive to move us to a more diligent prayer life. The Christian has the power of God going for him, and he can say, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31)

What a comfort it is to know when friends and loved ones are still unsaved and hardened to the gospel that “Nothing is impossible for God.” A God of infinite power can conquer the strongest rebellion in man. God can soften hard hearts and make the spiritually dead come alive. All things are possible with God. Oh, how men need to learn to unleash the sovereign power of God through prayer and believe what the Scriptures say, “Is anything too hard for me?” (Jer. 32:27)

What a comfort it is to know that God’s power is in no way limited if He chooses to set it forth. If God were limited in power, we might despair and give up in discouragement. But we know and serve an omnipotent God – no prayer is too hard for Him to answer; no need too great for Him to supply; no passion too strong for Him to subdue; no temptation too powerful for Him to deliver from; and no misery too deep for Him to relieve.

The Christian who worships the true God of Scripture finds wonderful strength for his inner life. He longs to fellowship with his Creator through Christ and to experience God’s power in his daily life. His faith is stayed on an infinitely powerful God.

CONCLUSION

For you without Christ, you should tremble at the very thought of the Almighty. To be indifferent to the true God, who can snuff out your life in a moment of time and cast your soul into hell, is the very height of insanity.

Remember, however, that God cannot lie. He has stated that any person who receives His Son, Jesus Christ, shall have eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. God has limited His power of salvation to His own promise.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)

If you will trust Christ, God cannot lie and He will not forsake you. God’s power to save is in Christ Jesus.

“Yet to all who received him (Christ), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)