Doctrine of God (Part 17): Practical Applications of God’s Omnipotence

b. Practical Applications of God’s Omnipotence

We’ve been talking about God’s attribute of omnipotence. I suggested that the doctrine that God is omnipotent doesn’t mean that you can say God can do “_______” and just fill in the blank with any sort of words like “make a round square” or “sin” or “act contrary to his nature.” I suggested that a rough-and-ready definition of “omnipotence” would be that there is no state of affairs that God is unable to bring about due to a lack of power on his part, and that God can bring about any state of affairs which is logically possible for someone in that situation to bring about. That would mean that the limits to God’s power are simply those of logic. When people talk about logically impossibilities they are not really talking about things that God cannot do because those are not things at all. They are just contradictory combinations of words.

So when the Scripture says that God can do all things, the authors are not thinking about logical impossibilities. I think that what Scripture implies is what this definition implies – his power is unlimited and he can bring about any state of affairs which is logically possible to bring about for someone in such a situation. In every case it is simply a matter of logic that circumscribe the limits of God’s power. And that makes him omnipotent.

Let me say something now about what practical application the attribute of divine omnipotence has to our lives. I have three that I wanted to mention.

1. The first application is that you are a walking stick of dynamite because the same power that brought the universe into being out of nothing and that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you to do God’s will. Look at 2 Corinthians 4:6-10 for Paul’s affirmation of this truth. Paul says,

For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” [the God who spoke the universe into being in Genesis 1] who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Our bodies are frail, mortal, and wasting away. Yet, while death is at work in these mortal bodies there is the powerful transcendent life of God that is resident there and is working through us. It gives us strength to endure every affliction and trial such as Paul describes.

If you look at Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, Ephesians 1:19-21, you’ll see there that Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians that they might know

what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Just as Paul says in 2 Corinthians that it is the God who spoke the world into being whose transcendent power is in work in us, so here in Ephesians Paul says it is the immeasurable greatness of the power of him who raised Jesus from the dead that is now at work in us.

Flipping over to Ephesians 3:20-21, Paul gives this wonderful doxology:

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

I firmly believe that we limit God through our reduced vision of what he can do in our lives. Paul says the power of God at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. We need to ask and think for greater things from God – for him to do great works through us and not to limit him because of our limited vision of what he can do through his power within us. Even though we ourselves may be weak and impotent, Christ living in us gives us tremendous power.

Look at the interesting contrast between John 15:5 and Philippians 4:13. John 15:5 is Jesus’ metaphor about the vine and the branches. In John 15:5 Jesus says, “He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” That shows how much power we have on our own! Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” of any spiritual significance. Yet, turning over to Philippians 4:13, Paul affirms this: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” What a wonderful paradox that is. Apart from Christ you can do nothing, but I can do all things through him who strengthens me. So it is through that abiding power of Christ within us that we can accomplish God’s will for our lives.

The remarkable thing about this is that God’s power works through our weakness, not just simply in spite of it. Paul, as you may know, suffered from some sort of debilitating chronic disease or disability that hindered him in his travels and ministries. He speaks about this in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10,

Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me [he wanted to be healed of this physical condition];  but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Isn’t that a remarkable affirmation on Paul’s part? He rejoices in his weakness because in his weakness the power of God is made all the more manifest.

I imagine you have seen, as we have, Christians in whom this truth is exemplified. I think, for example, of our friends, Fred and Elaine. Fred was a vibrant Christian man, active in his church and in his apartment community that he helped to manage. Then he suffered a massive stroke that left him half-paralyzed, seriously debilitated. He had to go into a nursing home and then into an assisted living facility. He is now fortunately at home, but he cannot care for himself. When you see how Fred’s life has been utterly changed (and Elaine’s as well) I think to myself it would be so easy to lapse into deep depression, if not even despair, over having one’s life ruined in this way. Yet, in the midst of this, Fred and Elaine have begun to minister to other people. They started a Bible study in the assisted living facility, where they are a bright light for Christ to others in such a condition. I look at Fred and I think, there is a man in whom the power of God is so evident because I know in my strength I couldn’t do such a thing if such an accident befell me. Yet the power of God in Fred and Elaine shines through all the more brightly because of the terrible weakness that he now suffers.

That is the first point that I wanted to share. The power of God is at work within us, and we must not underestimate that. When we are weak, when we go through afflictions and hard times, those are the times when that power can be most manifest in our lives.

2. The second practical application is that nothing can defeat God’s purposes. In Ephesians 1:11 Paul says this: “In him [Christ], according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will,” and the sentence then continues. That phrase “him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will” – all the will of God – will be done. It will be accomplished, and nothing is going to be able to defeat God’s purposes. If God wants something for you, you will get it. If he wants you to accomplish something, then as you trust in him and rely upon his power you will accomplish it.

You can see this, for example, in the life of a biblical character like Joseph. God had a plan for Joseph, didn’t he? That he would save his family from famine by rising to be the right-hand man of Pharaoh when the famine hit Canaan. Even beyond that, God’s plan to have Israel be in Egypt for those four hundred years until the land of Canaan was ripe for judgment and it was time for God to bring Israel out of Egypt into Canaan. God’s purpose would be accomplished. But along the way, look at the disasters that befell Joseph. Being sold to a caravan of traders. Being betrayed by Potiphar’s wife on false charges. Thrown into prison. It seemed like nothing was going right for Joseph at times; that God’s plan wasn’t being accomplished. But all of it fit in to God’s ultimate providential purposes for Joseph despite how seemingly disastrous it may have seemed.

As we trust in him, walk with him, and rely upon his power, we can have confidence that God’s purposes for our lives will be accomplished.

Here a note of caution, I think, is necessary because I have come to understand that God’s will for your life can include failure. When I say “nothing will defeat God’s purposes” that doesn’t mean you are going to be a success in everything you undertake. In a spiritual sense you can be a success, but in a worldly sense God may lead you into failure. The will for some Christians’ lives is to suffer persecution and die in Afghanistan or in Ukraine under horrible conditions. For others it may be to lose your job or business position, or to be a failure as a pastor in a church. God’s will for your life can include failure because he has things to teach you through failure that you would never learn through success. His long-range purposes may be accomplished through bringing failure and defeat and suffering into your life. But this is all under the providential plan and guidance of an omnipotent and sovereign God.

This is the central failing, I think, of the health and wealth gospel which says that if you just believe God, then God is going to give you great success (in a worldly sense) in this life. That is a false gospel that is not promised biblically and it certainly is not true when you look at Christians around the world, many of whom are suffering terribly and die in horrible conditions because of their faithfulness to Christ. But what we can trust God for is that as an omnipotent, provident governor of the world his providential purposes will not be thwarted. Therefore when we go through these difficult times of affliction and failure and defeat, we go through them in the confidence that God is still on the throne and that his purposes will be done.

3. Finally, third, God is adequate to all your needs. We serve an omnipotent God. He is adequate to all of your needs. There is no prayer too hard, no need too great, no temptation too strong, no misery too deep but that God is adequate to meet your needs in that situation. We need to remind ourselves as we go through life that we serve an omnipotent God who, through the indwelling power of Christ works within us and through us to accomplish his will.

I want to just end this application section by quoting again from Ephesians 3:20-21:

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

The next section of the class is going to consider God’s moral attributes. Insofar as God is a person, we’ve looked at his intellectual attributes (his omniscience), his volitional attributes (his omnipotence), and now we are going to turn to a discussion of God’s moral attributes. We will explore the doctrine of the holiness of God and what implications that has for us.