(the picture in the video is from Tim Challies)
G.
Omnipotence (including Sovereignty and Providence; purpose)
1. Definition
a.
all-powerful
b. By the omnipotence of God we mean his unlimited
power to do any and all things consistent with his nature and purpose. (Edgar
Young Mullins, The Christian Religion in
Its Doctrinal Expression, pg. 228)
2. Scriptural Data
a. El Shaddai
i. Genesis 17:1: When Abram was ninety-nine years old
the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me,
and be blameless
ii. Revelation 19:6: Then I heard what seemed to be
the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound
of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the
Almighty reigns.
b. God creates out of nothing
i. Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth.
ii. Psalm 33:9: For he spoke, and it came to be; he
commanded, and it stood firm.
iii. Romans 4:17: as it is written, “I have made you
the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who
gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
c. God can
do all things
i. Genesis 18:14: Is anything too hard for the Lord?
At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and
Sarah shall have a son.”
ii. Job 42:1-2: Then Job answered the Lord and said:
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be
thwarted.
iii. Jeremiah 32:17: ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have
made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched
arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
iv. Mark 14:36: And he said, “Abba, Father, all things
are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what
you will.”
d. God has
incomprehensible power
i. Job 26:14: Behold, these are but the outskirts of
his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his
power who can understand?”
3. Consideration and
Reflection
a. 2 modes
of God’s power
i. Absolute power: creation, miracles, revelation,
inspiration, regeneration
ii. Ordered power: providence
b.
Providence
i. Definition: God is continually involved with all
created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining
the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things
in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as
they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes. (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, pg. 315)
ii. Scriptural Data
-Preservation: Hebrews 1:3a: He is the radiance of the
glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe
by the word of his power.
-Concurrence: Job 37:6-13: For to the snow he says,
‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour. He seals up
the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it. Then the beasts
go into their lairs, and remain in their dens. From its chamber comes the
whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. By the breath of God ice is
given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. He loads the thick cloud with
moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his
guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable
world. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to
happen.
-Government: Daniel 4:35: all the inhabitants of the earth
are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or
say to him, “What have you done?”
iii.
Consideration and Reflection
-3
views of God’s providence
-Reformed:
divine omnicausality
-Remonstrant: God causes some things and permits
others
-Molinist: middle knowledge takes into account human
free choices as God orders the world He wants
-God’s providence, however He accomplishes it,
proceeds from the counsel of His will
-Ephesians 1:11: In him we have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works
all things according to the counsel of his will
c. God’s
power requires no means to accomplish its ends
i. We can do very little. God can do whatever He
wills. We, beyond very narrow limits, must use means to accomplish our ends.
With God means are unnecessary. He wills, and it is done. He said, Let there be
light; and there was light. He, by a volition created the heavens and the
earth. At the volition of Christ, the winds ceased, and there was a great calm.
By an act of the will He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, and
raised the dead. This simple idea of the omnipotence of God, that He can do
without effort, and by a volition, whatever He wills, is the highest
conceivable idea of power, and is that which is clearly presented in the
Scriptures. (Charles Hodge, Systematic
Theology, 1:407)
d. God gives
power to us
i. Secondly, all power in us is derived from Him: He
is the absolute source of all causation. It is not simply that He can do all
things; but all things that are done are done by the operation of causes that
owe their efficiency to Him (William Burt Pope, A Compendium of Christian Theology, 1:312)
e.
Sovereignty
i.
Definition
-absolute
authority over heaven and earth
-all
things dependent on Him and subservient to Him
ii.
Scriptural Data
-Psalm 115:3: Our God is in the heavens; he does all
that he pleases.
-Daniel 4:35: all the inhabitants of the earth are
accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or
say to him, “What have you done?”
iii.
Consideration and Reflection
-God’s
will is the cause of all things
-Ephesians 1:11: In him we have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works
all things according to the counsel of his will
-There is a sense of course in which all things that
are to take place may be traced to the Divine will (William Burt Pope, A Compendium of Christian Theology, 1:354)
-God’s
sovereignty is mainly seen in His providence
-This
sovereignty is exercised, (1.) In establishing the laws, physical and moral, by
which all creatures are to be governed. (2.) In determining the nature and
powers of the different orders of created beings, and in assigning each its
appropriate sphere. (3.) In appointing to each individual his position and lot.
It is the Lord who fixes the bounds of our habitation. Our times are in his
hands. He determines when, where, and under what circumstances each individual
of our race is to be born, live, and die. Nations, no less than individuals,
are thus in the hands of God, who assigns them their heritage in the earth, and
controls their destiny. (4.) God is no less sovereign in the distribution of
his favours. He does what He wills with his own. He gives to some riches, to
others, honour; to others, health; while others are poor, unknown, or the
victims of disease. To some, the light of the gospel is sent; others are left
in darkness. Some are brought through faith unto salvation; others perish in
unbelief. To the question, Why is this? the only answer is that given by our
Lord. “Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight.” (Matthew 11:26) (Charles
Hodge, Systematic Theology, 1:440–441)
f. Are there
things that God cannot do?
i.
God cannot act contrary to His nature
-can’t…murder,
lie, commit adultery
-Hebrews 6:18: so that by two unchangeable things, in
which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have
strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
-James 1:13: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am
being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself
tempts no one.
ii.
God cannot do logical impossibilities
-can’t make a…square circle, married bachelor
-Can God make a rock so big He can’t lift it?
-NO:
this is logically impossible
-YES: the biggest possible rock is the size of the
universe. If God made this rock, there would be no space to lift it up into
since the universe would be full of the rock.
-logical impossibilities are absurdities and thus,
nonentities that cannot be done
4. Practical Application
a. God’s
power is at work in us to do His will
i. 2 Corinthians 4:6-10: For God, who said, “Let light
shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this
treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing 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.
ii. Ephesians 1:19-21: and what is the immeasurable
greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his
great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and
seated him 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 the one to come.
iii. Ephesians 3:20-21: Now to him who is able to do
far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at
work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
iv. Colossians 1:29: For this I toil, struggling with
all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
v. We are not limited by our power, because we don’t
work with our own power, but with one whose power is unlimited!
b. Nothing
can defeat God’s purposes
i. Proverbs 19:21: Many are the plans in the mind of a
man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
c. God is
adequate for all of your needs
i. No prayer to hard, no need to great, no temptation
to strong, no misery too deep
ii. Romans 8:31-39: What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own
Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give
us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who
justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that,
who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for
us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it
is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded
as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels
nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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