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The Omnipotent God
God is a perfectly rational being who can do anything He wills. God is omnipotent (Revelation
19:6).
A correct response to questions like “Can an irresistible force move an immovable object?”
or “Can an immovable object resist an irresistible force?” or “Can a married man be (and
not become) a bachelor?” would logically be given in the negative since the immovable
cannot be moved, the irresistible cannot be resisted, and a married man cannot simultaneously
be a bachelor, so long as we are referring to these statements in the same sense and
at the same time. Likewise, the answer to the questions “Can impenetrable armor and
a sword which can penetrate all material exist at the same time?” and “Can God create
a set of armor which He cannot destroy?” would be “No” if we are always referring
to the same sense at the same time.
Taking Scripture in context would readily reveal the intended meaning of ‘omnipotent’
as utilized in its pages. “God can do anything He wills” is clearly the intended meaning
of “With God all things are possible” as used in Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27. The
biblical fact that God cannot do anything contrary to His nature is made clear from
the following scriptures: “God…cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), “God cannot be tempted
by evil” (James 1:13), and “He cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). God is omnipotent
in the sense that He can do anything He wills (Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27) and He is not
omnipotent in the sense that He cannot do anything contrary to His nature (2 Timothy
2:13), which does no violence to the principle of contradiction. “He cannot deny himself”
(2 Timothy 2:13) means that God can do nothing contrary to His nature so, when the Scriptures
assert anything to the effect, “With God all things are possible,” (for example,
Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27), we know that it excludes those things contrary to His nature
and includes those things that He wills to do.
God is omnipotent in the sense that He can do anything He wills (Matthew 19:26 and Mark
10:27) and is impotent in the sense that He cannot do anything contrary to His nature
(Titus 1:2; James 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:13). God’s own nature constrains Him; there is no power
that restrains Him. God’s own nature constricts Him; there is no power that restricts Him.
The fact that God could swear by no one greater (Hebrews 6:13, 14; Genesis 22:16, 17) demonstrates
His power, not diminishes it. God is omnipotent (Revelation 19:6).