www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6l7zUeOTKY
Early Christianity on the
Omnipotence of God the Father
Post-Apostolic Church
INTRO
This is the seventh video in a series on what
the Pre-Nicene Christians believed about the Divinity. And this is the
fourth video about God the Father.
To be omnipotent means to be all-powerful. A common belief in Christianity is that God
is omnipotent. What have we heard people
say about it? Diving into
what it means to be omnipotent, some might say, “God
can do all things and nothing in impossible for Him; if something was
impossible for Him, He wouldn't be all-powerful.” Others might ask the philosophical question, “Can God create a rock so heavy He
could not lift it?” This question
certainly causes each person to stop and think about it. But at the core, the real question is, “If God is all-powerful, then is there
anything He cannot do?” We will answer
this question, but first, can we establish that God is indeed omnipotent?
PRE-NICENE CHRISTIANS: GOD IS OMNIPOTENT
Clement of Rome wrote,
For nothing is impossible with God. (Clement of Rome. AD
96. ANF, vol 1, page 12.)
One of God’s more popular titles is
all about His omnipotence, it is: God is The Almighty. But the best example to prove God’s
omnipotence is His creation. Theophilus wrote,
Fashioner and Maker, because He is creator and maker of
the universe. The Highest, because of
His being above all. And Almighty,
because He Himself rules and embraces all. For the heights of heaven, and the depths of
the abysses, and the ends of the earth, are in His hand, and there is no place
of His rest. For the heavens are His
work, the earth is His creation, the sea is His handiwork; man is His formation
and His image; sun, moon, and stars are His elements, made for signs, and
seasons, and days, and years, that they may serve and be slaves to man. And all things God has made out of things
that were not into things that are, in order that through His works His
greatness may be known and understood.
(Theophilus. AD 175. ANF, vol 2, page 90.)
Origen even gave God the title of “The Omnipotent,” writing,
For nothing is impossible to the Omnipotent. (Origen.
AD 225. ANF, vol 4, page 347.)
After Lactantius wrote about what the secular philosophers and
polytheistic writers said about the universe, pointing out their inconsistencies
with their own words, he wrote,
Therefore, it is proved by these witnesses [of secular
philosophy and polytheism], so numerous and of such authority, that the
universe is governed by the power and providence of one God, whose energy and
majesty Plato in the Timaeus asserts to be so great, that no one can either
conceive it in his mind, or give utterance to it in words, on account of His
surpassing and incalculable power. And
then can anyone doubt whether anything can be difficult or impossible for God,
who by His providence designed, by His energy established, and by His judgment
completed those works so great and wonderful, and even now sustains them by His
spirit, and governs them by His power, being incomprehensible and unspeakable,
and fully known to no other than Himself?
(Lactantius. AD 310. ANF, vol 7, page 17-18.)
SCRIPTURES: GOD IS OMNIPOTENT
There are plenty of examples of God’s
miracles throughout all the Scriptures that prove God’s omnipotence. We have mentioned creation. Here are two explicit statements from
Scripture that sum up the belief that God is omnipotent.
When the angel Gabriel was telling Mary how she would have a child, she
was confused and told Gabriel that she is a virgin. Gabriel explained it to her and reminded her,
Nothing will be impossible for God. (Luke 1:37)
Jesus, the One from God who best reveals God to us, said,
With God all things are possible. (Matt 19:26)
PRE-NICENE CHRISTIANS: GOD CANNOT DO WRONG
Now let’s address the previous question, “If God is all-powerful, then is
there anything He cannot do?” The answer
is yes. It is not possible for God to do wrong.
Earlier, Clement of Rome wrote that
nothing is impossible with God. Here is his full statement.
He who has commanded us not to lie, will much more
Himself not lie; for nothing is impossible with God, except to lie. (Clement of Rome. AD
96. ANF, vol 1, page 12.)
DOING NO WRONG MEANS NOT OMNIPOTENT?
Someone still might say, “Technically, God is not all-powerful because
there are things He cannot do.” Origen
argued that this argument is illogical. Firstly, if God were able to do
wrong, then He would cease to be God.
This is because another attribute of God is His perfect goodness. Secondly, Origen points out that God cannot do things that are non-existent or
against His design. For example, God
cannot make a four-sided circle nor can God ever make 1 equal 2. Origen wrote,
We do not take ourselves to a most absurd refuge, saying
that with God all things are possible. For
we know how to understand this word “all” as not referring either to things
that are “non-existent” or that are inconceivable. But we maintain, at the same time, that God
cannot do what is disgraceful, since then He would be capable of ceasing to be
God. For if He does anything that is
disgraceful, He is not God…. Therefore,
things which are done by God, although they may be, or may appear to some to be
incredible, are not contrary to nature.
(Origen. AD 248. ANF, vol 4, page 553.)
In order for God to be God, He must be all-powerful while at the same time
being all-good. It is in this way that
God can do all things except do wrong.
As to this point, stay tuned for a later video about what early
Christianity believed about the Perfect Goodness of God.
I’m curious who would make an argument, saying: because God cannot do
wrong, this limits His power. Would any a person want a God
that fits into that mold of omnipotence?
A God who commits injustice, harbors hatred, or tells lies? A God that shows favoritism, loves punishing people, and accepts bribes from
people? With this kind of God, we
ourselves would be forced to determine which of His qualities are good and
which ones are bad. I am glad that the
God of Christianity excels in both attributes: His omnipotence AND His perfect
goodness. And on the flip side, a positive argument could be made,
saying: it is actually a display of infinite power for a Being to be perfectly
good. That is, because God can do absolutely
no wrong, then that in itself would make God all-powerful.
SCRIPTURES: GOD CANNOT DO WRONG
Here is a list from Scripture of things that God cannot do. As we look at these, let us be thankful that
this list exists!
God is not as a man to waver, nor as the son of man to be
threatened. Will He say and not
perform? Will He speak and not keep to
His word? (Num 23:19 (Brenton))
God will not turn nor repent [or change His mind], for He
is not as a man to repent. (1Sam 15:29
(Brenton))
He cannot deny Himself.
(2Tim 2:13)
God…, who does not accept [or show partiality toward]
persons, nor will He by any means accept a bribe. (Deut 10:17 (Brenton))
Now I [Peter] really understand that God doesn’t show favoritism. (Acts 10:34)
There is no favoritism with God. (Rom 2:11)
…[He is] the One who judges impartially based on each
one’s work. (1Pet 1:17)
And finally,
God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt
anyone. (Jam 1:13)
CONCLUSION
We saw how Origen called God “The Omnipotent.” Here is the rest of his statement.
For nothing is impossible to the Omnipotent, nor is
anything incapable of restoration to its Creator: for He made all things that
they might exist [in Him]. (Origen. AD 225.
ANF, vol 4, page 347.)
Notice that the purpose of Origen
writing this, is to explain how God’s omnipotence is about being able to
reconcile anyone and anything to God. When Origen and Clement of Rome
said, “Nothing is impossible,” they were referring to something Jesus said. What was the context of this reference where Jesus
said this about God’s omnipotence? After His encounter with the rich
young ruler and teaching how hard it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom
of God, Jesus’ followers asked the important question: “Then who can be
saved?” You might have asked that
question about yourself, “Is God really able or powerful enough to save me?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God
all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26)
God is omnipotent, all-powerful,
yes. He has proven it with
creation. And what does God call our
attention to when it comes to His omnipotence?
Our salvation… God’s ability to save us in every way. God is powerful enough to make us physically
exist in the world. And God is also
powerful enough to make us spiritually exist in Him.
Blessings and so forth.
