You may have heard this question before: “Can God create a rock so large that He is unable to lift it?” It is a well-known and challenging question because the Bible teaches that God is all-powerful and has complete control (Omnipotence). Therefore, if you answer ‘No, He cannot make a rock too large…’ you feel awkward saying that God is unable to do so. But, if you answer ‘Yes, He can make a rock too large…’, then once again you are saying that God is unable to do something. In this sermon we shall attempt to answer this question as we learn what the Bible teaches about God’s omnipotence.
- Omnipotence does not mean that God can do everything. This may sound strange, but it is true and biblical. Hebrews 6:18 tells us that “it is impossible for God to lie.” God cannot lie because He cannot sin. Deuteronomy 32:4 says of God: “His work is perfect; all His ways are entirely just. A faithful God, without prejudice, He is righteous and true.” We also learn from the Bible that the Lord cannot and will not change (Mal 3:6). God is good and will always be good. Therefore we learn that God’s omnipotence does not mean that He can do “everything” because God cannot do “everything” and continue to be a good, holy, and righteous God.
- Omnipotence does not mean that your actions are insignificant. If God is all-powerful and has total control over all things, do our actions matter? Omnipotence does not cancel responsibility. For example, Jesus’ first sermon included the command to “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Paul, in a great combination of God’s omnipotence and man’s responsibility, wrote that Christians are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). James, writing to Christians who claim faith in Christ but refuse to do these good works, said: “Can such faith save him?” (James 2:14) The answer is ‘No’ because true, saving faith is demonstrated in obedience. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commands” (John 14:15). You are given good work to do and you are held accountable to do that good work.
- Omnipotence means that God reigns forever. In Revelation 19:6 a great multitude shouts: “The Lord our God the Almighty reigns”. Omnipotence means that God rules as King forever with no rival to His authority and none of His plans can be thwarted (Job 42:2). It means that you are secure in Christ because your union is held by His strength, not yours (John 10:28-29). Our omnipotent, all-powerful God is more powerful than anything and we confess Romans 8:38-39 boldly: “For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!”
God’s omnipotence is glorious and wonderful because “greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Do you worship the all-powerful, omnipotent God of the Bible? Are you allowing fears to keep you from obedience? Confess your sins to God and walk boldly in Christ’s strength.
P.S. The question is based on the false premise that God can do everything. Can cannot do everything (see point #1). Omnipotence means that God has no rival and nothing is more powerful. Not even God can make something more power than He.
First Baptist Scott City, MO 