Omnipotence,
a study in God’s Incommunicable Attributes
by
Jack Kettler
The
incommunicable attributes of God are those
that
belong to God alone. For example, such
attributes as omnipotence, omniscience
and omnipresence are incommunicable. These
attributes are distinct from God’s
communicable
attributes such as knowledge, creativity,
love, forgiveness. Man can share in
the communicable attributes whereas the
incommunicable attributes, he cannot.
In
this study we will focus on God’s
Omnipotence. How can omnipotence be
defined?
That
perfection of God whereby he has the power
to
execute his will; his infinite power by
which he has the ability to do
everything that is possible except for those
acts that are contrary to his nature.*
An
attribute of God alone. It is the quality of
having
all power (Psalms 115:3). He can do all
things that do not conflict with His
holy nature. God has the power to do
anything He wants to. **
From
Scripture, God's Omnipotence is seen in
the following verses:
“I know
that thou canst do everything, and that no
thought can be withholden from thee.” (Job
42:2)
“These
things hast thou done, and I kept silence;
thou
thoughtest that I was altogether such a one
as thyself: but I will reprove
thee, and set them in order before thine
eyes.” (Psalms 50:21)
“Before
the mountains were brought forth, or ever
thou
hadst formed the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting thou
art God.” (Psalms 90:2)
“For all
the gods of the nations are idols: but the
Lord made the heavens.” (Psalms 96:5)
“They
shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea all
of
them shall wax old like a garment; as a
vesture shalt thou change them, and
they shall be changed: But thou art the
same, and thy years shall have no end.”
(Psalms 102:26-27)
“Ah Lord
God! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and
the earth by thy great power and stretched
out arm, and there is nothing too
hard for thee. (Jeremiah 32:17)
“I will
not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I
will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am
God, and not man; the Holy One in
the midst of thee: and I will not enter the
city.” (Hosea 11:9)
“For I am
the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of
Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)
“But
Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with
men
this is impossible; but with God all things
are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
“All
things were made by him; and without him was
not
anything made that was made.” (John 1:3)
“I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and
which is to come, the Almighty.”
(Revelation 1:8)
The Triune God
and
Omnipotence:
All
three members of the triune God have the
attribute of omnipotence. For example,
all three are all powerful: the Father in
Jeremiah 32:27. The Son in Matthew
28:18 and the Holy Spirit in Romans 15:19.
Digging deeper
from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words:
Omnipotent * For OMNIPOTENT
(Revelation 19:6) See Almighty
[1, G3841, pantokrator]
almighty, or ruler
of all" (pas, “all,” krateo,
“to
hold, or to have strength”), is used of God
only, and is found, in the
Epistles, only in 2 Corinthians 6:18, where
the title is suggestive in
connection with the context; elsewhere only
in the Apocalypse, nine times. In
one place, Revelation 19:6, the AV has
“omnipotent;” RV, “(the Lord our God,)
the Almighty.” The word is introduced in the
Sept. as a translation of “Lord
(or God) of hosts,” e.g., Jeremiah 5:14;
Amos 4:13. (1)
Westminster
Shorter Catechism Question 4 focuses on
God’s power or Omnipotence:
Q: What
is God?
A: God is
a Spirit, 1 infinite, eternal, and
unchangeable, in his being, 2
wisdom, 3power,
4
holiness, 5 justice, 6
goodness, 7
and truth.8
1.John
4:24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship
him must worship him in spirit and
in truth.
2.Psalm
90:2. From everlasting to everlasting, thou
art God; Malachi 3:6. For I am the
Lord, I change not; therefore are ye sons of
Jacob not consumed; James 1:17.
The Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning.
; 1 Kings 8:27. But will God indeed dwell on
the earth? Behold, the heaven and
heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how
much less this house that I have
builded? ; Jeremiah 23:24. Can any hide
himself in secret places that I shall
not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill
heaven and earth? Saith the Lord. ; Isaiah
40:22. It is he that sitteth upon the circle
of the earth, and the inhabitants
thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth
out the heavens as a curtain, and
spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
3.Psalm
147:5. Great is our Lord, and of great
power: his understanding is infinite. ;
Romans
16:27. To God only wise, be glory through
Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
4.Genesis
17:1.
And when Abram was ninety years old and
nine, the Lord appeared to Abram,
and said unto him, I am the Almighty God;
walk before me, and be thou perfect.
; Revelation
19:6. And I heard as it were the
voice of a great multitude, and as the voice
of many waters, and as the voice
of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
5.Isaiah
57:15. For thus saith the high and lofty One
that inhabiteth eternity, whose
name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a
contrite and humble spirit, to revive the
spirit of the humble, and to revive
the heart of the contrite ones. ; John
17:11. And now I am no more in the
world, but these are in the world, and I
come to thee. Holy Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast
given me that they may be one, as
we are. ; Revelation 4:8. And the four
beasts had each of them six wings about
him; and they werefull of eyes within: and
they rest not day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which
was, and is, and is to come.
6.Deuteronomy
32:4. He is the Rock, his work is perfect:
for all his ways are judgment: a God
of truth and without iniquity, just and
right is he.
7.Psalm
100:5. For the Lord is good; his mercy is
everlasting; and his truth endureth
to all generations. ; Romans 2:4. Or
despisest thou the riches of his goodness
and forbearance and longsuffering; not
knowing that the goodness of God leadeth
thee to repentance?
8.Exodus
34:6. And the Lord passed by before him, and
proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord
God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth.
; Psalm 117:2. For his merciful kindness is
great toward us: and the truth of
the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the
Lord.
Point
number four is highlighted because it lists
the
scriptural proof texts for God’s
Omnipotence.
Commentary
Evidence from an Old Testament passage:
Jeremiah
32:17; from John Gill's Exposition
of the
Entire Bible:
Ah Lord
God! Which the Vulgate Latin version repeats
three times, “Ah, ah, ah”, as being greatly
distressed with the trouble that
was coming upon his people; and, it may be,
not without some doubts and
temptations about their deliverance; or, at
least, was pressed in his mind with
the difficulties and objections started by
the Jews that were with him in the
court:
behold,
thou hast made the heaven and the earth by
thy
great power and stretched out arm; with
great propriety is the making of the
heaven and the earth ascribed to the mighty
power of God; for nothing short of
almighty power could have produced such a
stupendous work as the heavens, with
all the host of them, sun, moon, and stars,
the terraqueous globe, the earth
and sea, with all that in them are; and all
this produced out of nothing, by
the sole command and word of God: and with
great pertinency does the prophet
begin his prayer with such a description of
God; both to encourage and
strengthen his faith in him touching the
fulfilment of the above prophecy, and
to stop the mouths of the Jews, who objected
the impossibility of it: wherefore
it follows,
and there
is nothing too hard for thee; or “hidden
from thee” (z); so the Targum; which his
wisdom and knowledge did not reach, or
his power could not effect: or which is "too
wonderful for thee" (a);
there is nothing that has so much of the
wonderful in it, as to be above the
compass of his understanding, and out of the
reach of his power, as such things
be, which are beyond the power and skill of
men; but there is no such thing
with God, whose understanding is
unsearchable, and his power irresistible;
with
him nothing is impossible; and who can think
there is that observes that the
heaven and earth are made by him?
(z) “non
est
absconditum a te quicquam”, Pagninus;
“non potest occultari tibi ulla res”, Junius
& Tremellius. (a) “Non
mirabile est prae te ullun verbum”, Schmidt; “non
est ulla res abscondita a te, sive
mirabile”, Calvin; “non
mirificabitur
a te ullum verbum”, Montanus. (2)
Commentary
Evidence from a New Testament passage:
Revelation
1:8; from
Barnes' Notes on the Bible:
I am Alpha
and Omega
- These are the first and
the last letters of the Greek alphabet, and
denote properly the first and the
last. So in Revelation 22:13, where the two
expressions are united, “I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the
end, the first and the last.” So in
Revelation 1:17, the speaker says of
himself, “I am the first and the last.”
Among the Jewish rabbis it was common to use
the first and the last letters of
the Hebrew alphabet to denote the whole of
anything, from beginning to end.
Thus, it is said, “Adam transgressed the
whole law, from 'Aleph (א)
to Taw
(תּ).”
“Abraham
kept the whole law, from 'Aleph
(א)
to Taw (תּ).”
The language
here is what would properly denote
“eternity” in the being to whom it is
applied, and could be used in reference to
no one but the true God. It means
that he is the beginning and the end of all
things; that he was at the
commencement, and will be at the close; and
it is thus equivalent to saying that
he has always existed, and that he will
always exist. Compare Isaiah 41:4, “I
the Lord, the first, and with the last”;
Isaiah 44:6, “I am the first, and I am
the last; and beside me there is no God”;
Isaiah 48:12, “I am he; I am the
first, I also am the last.” There can be no
doubt that the language here would
be naturally understood as implying
divinity, and it could be properly applied
to no one but the true God. The obvious
interpretation here would be to apply
this to the Lord Jesus; for:
(a) it is
he who is spoken of in the verses preceding,
and
(b) there
can be no doubt that the same language is
applied to him in Revelation 1:11.
As there
is, however, a difference of reading in this
place in the Greek text, and as it can. not
be absolutely certain that the
writer meant to refer to the Lord Jesus
specifically here, this cannot be
adduced with propriety as a proof-text to
demonstrate his divinity. Many mss.,
instead of "Lord," κυρίος
kurios, read “God,” Θεὸς
Theos
and this reading is adopted by Griesbach,
Tittman, and Hahn, and is now
regarded as the correct reading. There is no
real incongruity in supposing,
also, that the writer here meant to refer to
God as such, since the
introduction of a reference to him would not
be inappropriate to his manifest design.
Besides, a portion of the language used
here, “which is, and was, and is to
come,” is what would more naturally suggest
a reference to God as such, than to
the Lord Jesus Christ. See Revelation 1:4.
The object for which this passage
referring to the “first and the last - to
him who was, and is, and is to come,”
is introduced here evidently is, to show
that as he was clothed with
omnipotence, and would continue to exist
through all ages to come as he had
existed in all ages past, there could be no
doubt about his ability to execute
all which it is said he would execute.
Saith the
Lord - Or, saith God, according to what is
now regarded as the correct reading.
Which is,
and which was, - See the notes on Revelation
1:4.
The
Almighty - An appellation often applied to
God,
meaning that he has all power, and used here
to denote that he is able to
accomplish what is disclosed in this book. (3)
The
Best Gem for last:
OMNIPOTENCE
from the International
Standard Bible
Encyclopedia:
om-nip'-o-tens:
1. Terms
and Usage:
The noun
“omnipotence” is not found in the English
Bible, nor any noun exactly corresponding to
it in the original Hebrew or Greek
The
adjective “omnipotent” occurs in Revelation
19:6
the King James Version; the Greek for this,
pantokrator,
occurs also in 2 Corinthians 6:18;
Revelation 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7,14;
19:15; 21:22 (in all of which the King James
Version and the Revised Version
(British and American) render “almighty”).
It is also found frequently in the
Septuagint, especially in the rendering of
the divine names Yahweh
tsebha'oth and 'El
Shadday. In pantokrator, the element of
“authority,” “sovereignty,” side by
side with that of “power,” makes itself more
distinctly felt than it does to
the modern ear in “omnipotent,” although it
is meant to be included in the
latter also. Compare further ho
dunatos,
in Luke 1:49.
2.
Inherent in Old Testament Names of God:
The
formal conception of omnipotence as worked
out in
theology does not occur in the Old
Testament. The substance of the idea is
conveyed in various indirect ways. The
notion of “strength” is inherent in the
Old Testament conception of God from the
beginning, being already represented
in one of the two divine names inherited by
Israel from ancient Semitic
religion, the name 'El.
According to
one etymology it is also inherent in the
other, the name 'Elohim, and in this case the
plural form, by bringing out the
fullness of power in God, would mark an
approach to the idea of omnipotence.
See GOD,
NAMES OF.
In the
patriarchal religion the conception of
“might”
occupies a prominent place, as is indicated
by the name characteristic of this
period, 'El
Shadday; compare Genesis
17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:24,25;
Exodus 6:3. This name, however,
designates the divine power as standing in
the service of His covenant-relation
to the patriarchs, as transcending Nature
and overpowering it in the interests
of redemption.
Another
divine name which signalizes this attribute
is
Yahweh
tsebha'oth, Yahweh
of Hosts. This name, characteristic
of the prophetic period, describes God as
the King surrounded and followed by
the angelic hosts, and since the might of an
oriental king is measured by the
splendor of his retinue, as of great,
incomparable power, the King Omnipotent
(Psalms 24:10; Isaiah 2:12; 6:3,5; 8:13;
Jeremiah 46:18; Malachi 1:14).
Still
another name expressive of the same idea is
'Abhir,
“Strong One,” compounded with
Jacob or Israel (Genesis 49:24; Psalms
132:2, 5; Isaiah 1:24; 49:26; 60:16).
Further, 'El
Gibbor, “God-Hero” (Isaiah
9:6 (of the Messiah); compare for the
adjective gibbor, Jeremiah 20:11); and
the figurative designation of God as Tsur,
“Rock,” occurring especially in
the address to God in the Psalter (Isaiah
30:29, the King James Version “Mighty
One”). The specific energy with which the
divine nature operates finds
expression also in the name 'El
Chay,
“Living God,” which God bears over against
the impotent idols (1 Samuel 17:26,
36; 2 Kings 19:4, 16; Psalms 18:46; Jeremiah
23:36; Daniel 6:20, 26). An
anthropomorphic description of the power of
God is in the figures of “hand,”
His “arm,” His “finger.”
See GOD.
3. Other
Modes of Expression:
Some of
the attributes of Yahweh have an intimate
connection with His omnipotence. Under this
head especially God's nature as
Spirit and His holiness come under
consideration. The representation of God as
Spirit in the Old Testament does not
primarily refer to the incorporealness of
the divine nature, but to its inherent
energy. The physical element underlying the
conception of Spirit is that of air in
motion, and in this at first not the
invisibility but the force forms the point
of comparison. The opposite of “Spirit”
in this sense is "flesh," which expresses
the weakness and impotence
of the creature over against God (Isaiah
2:22; 31:3).
The
holiness of God in its earliest and widest
sense
(not restricted to the ethical sphere)
describes the majestic, specifically
divine character of His being that which
evokes in man religious awe. It is not
a single attribute coordinated with others,
but a peculiar aspect under which
all the attributes can be viewed, that which
renders them distinct from
anything analogous in the creature (1 Samuel
2:2; Hosea 11:9). In this way
holiness becomes closely associated with the
power of God, indeed sometimes
becomes synonymous with divine power equals
omnipotence (Exodus 15:11; Numbers
20:12), and especially in Ezk, where God's
“holy name” is often equivalent to
His renown for power, hence, interchangeable
with His "great name"
(Ezekiel 36:20-24). The objective Spirit as
a distinct hypostasis and the
executive of the Godhead on its one side
also represents the divine power
(Isaiah 32:15; Matthew 12:28; Luke 1:35;
4:14; Acts 10:38; Romans 15:19; 1
Corinthians 2:4).
4.
Unlimited Extent of the Divine Power:
In all
these forms of expression a great and
specifically divine power is predicated of
God. Statements in which the
absolutely unlimited extent of this power is
explicitly affirmed are rare. The
reason, however, lies not in any actual
restriction placed on this power, but
in the concrete practical form of religious
thinking which prevents abstract
formulation of the principle. The point to
be noticed is that no statement is
anywhere made exempting aught from the reach
of divine power. Nearest to a
general formula come such statements as
nothing is “too hard for Yahweh”
(Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17);
or “I know that thou canst do everything?”
or “God .... hath done whatever he
pleased” (Psalms 115:3; 135:6), or,
negatively, no one “can hinder” God, in
carrying out His purpose (Isaiah 43:13), or
God's hand is not “waxed short”
(Numbers 11:23); in the New Testament:
“With God
all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26;
Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27); “Nothing is
impossible with God” (the Revised Version
(British and American) “No word from God
shall be void of power,” Luke 1:37).
Indirectly the omnipotence of God is implied
in the effect ascribed to faith
(Matthew 17:20 “Nothing shall be impossible
unto you”; Mark 9:23 “All things are
possible to him that believeth”), because
faith puts the divine power at the
disposal of the believer. On its subjective
side the principle of inexhaustible
power finds expression in Isaiah 40:28: God
is not subject to weariness.
Because God is conscious of the unlimited
extent of His resources nothing is
marvelous in His eyes (Zechariah 8:6).
5. Forms
of Manifestation:
It is
chiefly through its forms of manifestation
that
the distinctive quality of the divine power
which renders it omnipotent becomes
apparent. The divine power operates not
merely in single concrete acts, but is
comprehensively related to the world as
such. Both in Nature and history, in
creation and in redemption, it produces and
controls and directs everything
that comes to pass. Nothing in the realm of
actual or conceivable things is
withdrawn from it (Amos 9:2, 3; Daniel
4:35); even to the minutest and most
recondite sequences of cause and effect it
extends and masters all details of
reality (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7). There is
no accident (1 Samuel 6:9; compare
with \1Sa 6:12; Pr 16:33\). It need not
operate through second causes; it
itself underlies all second causes and makes
them what they are.
It is
creative power producing its effect through
a
mere word (Genesis 1:3; Deuteronomy 8:3;
Psalms 33:9; Romans 4:17; Hebrews 1:3;
11:30). Among the prophets, especially
Isaiah emphasizes this manner of the
working of the divine power in its
immediateness and suddenness (Isaiah 9:8;
17:13; 18:4-6; 29:5). All the processes of
nature are ascribed to the causation
of Yahweh (Job 5:9; 9:5; 3948/A>; Isaiah
40:12; Amos 4:13; 5:8, 9; 9:5, 6);
especially God's control of the sea is named
as illustrative of this (Psalms
65:7; 104:9; Isaiah 50:2; Jeremiah 5:22;
31:35). The Old Testament seldom says “it
rains” (Amos 4:7), but usually God causes it
to rain (Leviticus 26:4;
Deuteronomy 11:17; 1 Samuel 12:17; Job
36:27; 6548/A>; Matthew 5:45; Acts
14:17).
The same
is true of the processes of history. God
sovereignly disposes, not merely of Israel,
but of all other nations, even of
the most powerful, e.g. the Assyrians, as
His instruments for the
accomplishment of His purpose (Amos 1:1-2:3;
9:7; Isaiah 10:5,15; 28:2; 45:1;
Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6; 43:10). The prophets
ascribe to Yahweh not merely relatively
greater power than to the gods of the
nations, but His power extends into the
sphere of the nations, and the heathen
gods are ignored in the estimate put upon
His might (Isaiah 31:3).
Even more
than the sphere of Nature and history, that
of redemption reveals the divine
omnipotence, from the point of view of the
supernatural and miraculous. Thus Exodus 15
celebrates the power of Yahweh
in the wonders of the exodus. It
is God's exclusive prerogative to do wonders
(Job 5:9; 9:10; Psalms 72:18); He
alone can make “a new thing” (Numbers 16:30;
Isaiah 43:19; Jeremiah 31:22). In
the New Testament the great embodiment of
this redemptive omnipotence is the
resurrection of believers (Matthew 22:29;
Mark 12:24) and specifically the
resurrection of Christ (Romans 4:17, 21, 24;
Ephesians 1:19); but it is
evidenced in the whole process of redemption
(Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Romans
8:31; Ephesians 3:7, 20; 1 Peter 1:5;
Revelation 11:17).
6.
Significance for Biblical Religion:
The
significance of the idea may be traced along
two
distinct lines. On the one hand the divine
omnipotence appears as a support of
faith. On the other hand it is productive of
that specifically religious state
of consciousness which Scripture calls “the
fear of Yahweh.” Omnipotence in God is
that to which human faith addresses
itself. In it lies the ground for assurance
that He is able to save, as in His
love that He is willing to save (Psalms
65:5, 6; 72:18; 118:14-16; Ephesians
3:20).
As to the
other aspect of its significance, the divine
omnipotence in itself, and not merely for
soteriological reasons, evokes a
specific religious response. This is true,
not only of the Old Testament, where
the element of the fear of God stands
comparatively in the foreground, but
remains true also of the New Testament. Even
in our Lord's teaching the
prominence given to the fatherhood and love
of God does not preclude that the
transcendent majesty of the divine nature,
including omnipotence, is kept in
full view and made a potent factor in the
cultivation of the religious mind
(Matthew 6:9). The beauty of Jesus' teaching
on the nature of God consists in
this, that He keeps the exaltation of God
above every creature and His loving
condescension toward the creature in perfect
equilibrium and makes them
mutually fructified by each other. Religion
is more than the inclusion of God
in the general altruistic movement of the
human mind; it is a devotion at every
point colored by the consciousness of that
divine uniqueness in which God's
omnipotence occupies a foremost place.
LITERATURE.
Oehler,
Theologie des A T (3), 131, 139;
Riehm, Alttestamentliche
Theologie, 250; Dillmann, Handbuch
der
alttestamentlichen Theologie, 244;
Davidson, Old Testament Theology, 163;
Konig, Geschichte der alttestamentlichen
Religion, 127, 135, 391, 475.
Geerhardus
Vos (4)
In
closing:
Surely,
man cannot claim to share this attribute:
“They
shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea all
of
them shall wax old like a garment; as a
vesture shalt thou change them, and
they shall be changed: But thou art the
same, and thy years shall have no end.”
(Psalms 102:26-27)
The goal
of this study is to help us magnify the Lord
God for his marvelous grace that made us
children of God through no merit of
our own. It is my prayer that this goal has
been attained.
“But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)
Nothing
in us caused or merited this supreme act of
love on God’s part!
“Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy
2:15)
Notes:
1.W.
E. Vine, An
Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, (Iowa Falls, Iowa,
Riverside Book and Bible House), p. 40.
2.John
Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New
Testaments, Jeremiah, 9 Volumes,
(Grace Works, Multi-Media Labs), 2011, p.
520.
3.Albert
Barnes, THE AGES DIGITAL LIBRARYCOMMENTARY,
Barnes’
Notes
on the Bible, Revelation, p.
4980-4981.
4.Orr,
James, M.A., D.D. General Editor, “Entry for
'OMNIPOTENCE,'” “International
Standard
Bible Encyclopedia,” (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Eerdmans, reprinted
1986), pp. 2188-2190.
“Not by
works of righteousness which we have done,
but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5)
“To God
only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ
forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:27) and “heirs
according to the promise.” (Galatians
3:28, 29)
Mr.
Kettler has previously published articles in
the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea
attend the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church.
Mr. Kettler is the author of the book
defending the Reformed Faith against
attacks, titled: The
Religion That Started in a
Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com
For
more study:
* For a
great source of theological definitions go
to
Rebecca writes at Rebecca Writes:
http://www.rebecca-writes.com/theological-terms-in-ao/