God is Omnipotent: Genesis 18:13-14

There are many things that I wish I could do but simply do not have the ability.  I’ve always wanted to be able to dunk a basketball, but at 5’9” and white, it is simply not going to happen on a ten-foot goal.  God knows no such limitations.  There is nothing that “God cannot do” if He so desires to.  We are speaking here of God’s omnipotence, which refers to the truth that God is able to do whatever He pleases (all His holy will).  When we considered God’s independence, we were emphasizing His freedom to do whatever He pleases.  In God’s omnipotence, we are emphasizing God’s ability to do whatever He pleases. 

In Genesis 18:13-14, God Himself affirms His ability to keep His promises to Abraham and Sarah.  In response to Sarah’s laughter over God’s promise of a son in their old age, God says the following: [13] The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ [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.” (Genesis 18:13-14 ESV)

Today, I want us to consider why we should believe that God is omnipotent from the pages of the Bible and what difference believing and knowing the omnipotent God should make in our lives. 

I.              The Reality of God’s Omnipotence (Genesis 18:14)

The question, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” is rhetorical and is meant to be a declaration that nothing is too hard for God.  This is a declaration of God’s omnipotence.  Again, He is not limited in any way in His ability, or power, to do what He decides to do.  He is all-powerful.  He does not grow tired or weary (Is. 40:26-31).  He is “able to do all His holy will.” [1]  There is no obstacle that is too great when it comes to what God purposes to do and how God purposes to do it. 

In this passage, the obstacle that appears “too hard for the LORD” to do is causing Sarah to have a child when she is beyond childbearing years.  18:11 confirms, “the way of women has ceased to be with Sarah.”  We learn in Genesis 17:17 that Abraham is nearly 100 years old (99) at this point and Sarah is 90 years old!  This obvious reality is why both Abraham and Sarah to laugh at the news that they will have a child.  But their age and inability to procreate was no obstacle to the God who is omnipotent.  Nothing is too hard for God.  It is interesting that to this couple that God affirms His omnipotence, God had revealed Himself as “God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1). 

Scripture is full of illustrations and declarations of God’s omnipotence.  Creation is one of the most riveting examples of God’s omnipotence.  That nothing existed but God was no obstacle to Him speaking everything into existence out of nothing.  Hebrews 11:3: [3] By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Or think of the awesome power of God displayed in the flood of Genesis 6-9 or the confounding of languages at the tower of Babel in Genesis 11.  Another mighty display of God’s power is the events of the Exodus in Exodus 3-18 (burning bush, signs, plagues, paring of Red Sea, manna, water from the rock, etc.).  Or what about the battles of the Old Testament, where God’s people were clearly out matched or out numbered?  Jonathan summarized the reality of God’s omnipotence in the battles of His people in 1 Samuel 14:6: [6] Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”  When God is part of the equation, Goliath is no match for puny David!  When God is part of the equation, 1,000 Philistines are no match for a man with a donkey’s jawbone!  When God is part of the equation, 135,000 Midianite soldiers are no match for Gideon and 300 Israelites.  No warrior or army of any size is an obstacle to God. 

Not even the sinfulness and rebellion of God’s own people will be an obstacle to God restoring and redeeming them.  When God promises restoration and redemption for His people in Jeremiah 32, He points to His omnipotence as the guarantee that God will in fact do everything He is promising to do.  “[27] “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27 ESV)  God then proceeds to promise a day when God will make an everlasting covenant with His people and restore them forever.  How would He do this?  He would do something even more incredible than causing a 90 year old woman to conceive by her 99 year old husband.  He would cause a virgin to conceive and give birth to God the Son.  When Mary asked Gabriel how this could be, Gabriel reminded Mary of God’s Omnipotence:    [35] And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. [36] And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:35-37 ESV) The virgin born Son of God would establish His identity of being God’s promised Messiah through wielding the omnipotent power of God throughout His earthly ministry (miracles), and God the Father would establish His identity by exercising His omnipotence in raising Him from the dead. 

Conversion is also a manifestation of the God’s omnipotence.  In Mark 10:23-27, Jesus described how difficult it is for a rich person (or any other person for that matter) to enter into God’s kingdom.  He said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (25).  His disciples then ask, “Then who can be saved?” (26), to which Jesus responds: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”  I believe that what Jesus is saying is that salvation is impossible with man, but that God can do the impossible and save sinners, even rich sinners.  There is no obstacle that can stop God from saving the most wicked sinner because with God all things are possible. 

The end of history will also witness the omnipotence of God displayed as He reins judgment upon the earth once again in a time of great tribulation (Rev. 6-19), concluding with the final judgment (Rev. 20).  His power will then further be displayed in bringing about a new creation (Rev. 21-22) where His redeemed people will dwell with Him and enjoy Him forever.  Simply put, the story of the Bible presents us with a God for whom no obstacle can stand in the way of what He wants to do. 

II.            The Rewards of Knowing the Omnipotent God (Genesis 18:13-14)

In our base text, we also see that there are certain rewards to knowing and embracing the truth of God’s omnipotence.  In Genesis 18:13, God asks Abraham “Why did Sarah laugh…?” and the implication seems to be that she would not have laughed if she had truly believed that nothing was too hard for God.  Both Abraham and Sarah laugh, apparently in disbelief that God could give them a child at their age.

Now, there is both an appropriate way to question God and an inappropriate way to question God.  Admittedly, we are taken back at miracles like this because, outside of God’s intervention, situations like this are impossible.  It was not possible, outside of the work of God, for Sarah to have a child at her age.  The text makes that plain (18:11).  So it is not inappropriate to question how God is going to do something that is impossible.  Mary does this in Luke 1:34.  What is inappropriate is to question if God can do the impossible in disbelief.  Our questioning becomes inappropriate when we begin to think that any task is too great for Him to accomplish.  God has already revealed Himself as “God Almighty” to Abraham and Sarah and their laughing implied that He wasn’t “All-mighty.”  

God’s question here implies that truly believing that God is omnipotent will produce a different inner disposition in God’s people.  This inner disposition is what I mean by reward.  Belief in this attribute should cause senior citizens not to laugh at the prospect of having a child.  Belief in this attribute will cause puny shepherd boys to take on giants.  Belief in this attribute will cause God’s people to live in ways that will cause an outside world to shake their head and question their sanity!  The rewards of embracing the reality of God’s omnipotence are radical faith, hope, and confidence in God’s people.  There is no obstacle I will ever face that can stop God from accomplishing His purposes and promises in my life! 

Consider the application this truth has for missions.  Jesus commissioned the church to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and Jesus Himself guaranteed the success of the mission due to His own omnipotence (Matthew 16:18, 28:18).  It is because all power and authority belong to Him that He can say with certainty that He will build His church and nothing will prevail against it!  So believing this should erupt in fearlessness in sharing my faith and even going to hostile mission fields. 

I think the most obvious way that this fleshes out is in our prayer lives.  How grand should our prayer requests before such an omnipotent God?  Ephesians 3:20 calls God, “him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”  This attribute should revolutionize our prayer lives. 

“Nothing is too hard for Him. If God were stinted in might and had a limit to His strength we might well despair. But seeing that He is clothed with omnipotence, no prayer is too hard for Him to answer, no need too great for Him to supply, no passion too strong for Him to subdue; no temptation too powerful for Him to deliver from, no misery too deep for Him to relieve. “The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psa 27:1).”[2] 

Speaking of the power and majesty (greatness) of God, J. I. Packer says, “But this is knowledge which Christians today largely lack: and that is one reason why our faith is so feeble and our worship so flabby.  We are modern people, and modern people, though they cherish great thoughts of themselves, have as a rule small thoughts of God.  When the person in the church, let alone the person in the street, uses the word God, the thought is rarely of divine majesty.

A well known book is called Your God is Too Small; it is a timely title.  We are poles apart from our evangelical forefathers at this point, even when we confess our faith in their words.  When you start reading Luther, or Edwards, or Whitefield, though your doctrine may be theirs, you find yourself wondering whether you have any acquaintance at all with the mighty God whom they knew so intimately.”[3]

Christians who really wrap their heart around this truth that without God they can do nothing and that with God nothing is impossible would shake the world with their prayers and would live with the kind of radical confidence that Paul speaks with in Romans 8:28-39:

 [31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] 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? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. [34] 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. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [36] As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

[37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] 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.  

This is the God who is before you today.  Stand in wonder of Him!  Come and surrender to the One who has and is exercising His omnipotent power today in overcoming your sin and rebellion by bringing you here to hear about the good news of His Son Jesus Christ. 

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[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 216

[2] Pink, Arthur W. (2010-04-05). The Attributes of God (p. 55).  . Kindle Edition.

[3] J. I. Packer, Knowing God, 83

God is Omniscient, Omnipresent: Psalm 139:1-24

How many of you remember the song, “Santa Clause is Coming to Town”?  I won’t burst anyone’s Santa bubble today, but I do want you to consider some of the attributes that we are attributing to good ole St. Nick in that song.  We are giving children the impression that he knows everything (is omniscient) and is ever present (is omnipresent).  I have a newsflash for you: only God knows everything and only God is everywhere at all times. 

 Today we are going to look at these two of God’s attributes together: His omniscience and omnipresence, one being a communicable attribute and the other being an incommunicable one.  The reason we are considering two attributes today is because these two particular attributes often appear together in scripture and they go hand in hand.  Actually, few of God’s attributes appear alone in the Bible because God is such a gloriously complex being.  Psalm 139 celebrates God’s intimate knowledge of His people, and does so by emphasizing His omniscience and omnipresence:  

[139:1] O LORD, you have searched me and known me! [2] You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. [3] You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.[4] Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. [5] You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. [6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

[7] Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? [8] If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! [9] If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, [10] even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. [11] If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” [12] even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. [13] For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. [14] I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. [15] My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. [16] Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

[17] How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! [18] If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. [19] Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! [20] They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. [21] Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? [22] I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

[23] Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! [24] And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!  (Psalm 139 ESV)

I.              The Wonder of God (Psalm 139:1-16)

a.     God’s Omniscience (1-6, 13-16)

When we say that God is omniscient, we mean that He is not limited in any way with regards to knowledge.  He is “all-knowing.”  He “knows everything” (1 John 3:20).  Job 37:16 describes God as “him who is perfect in knowledge.”  Wayne Grudem defines God’s omniscience as follows: “God fully knows Himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.”[1]  This is a very helpful definition because along with stating that God knows everything, it also points out that God does not and cannot learn anything because He has always fully known everything “in one simple and eternal act.” 

“If he (God) should wish to tell us the number of grains of sand on the seashore or the number of stars in the sky, he would not have to count them all quickly like some kind of giant computer, nor would he have to call the number to mind because it was something he had not thought about for a long time.  Rather, he always know all things at once.  All of these facts and all other things that he knows are always fully present in his consciousness.  He does not have to reason to conclusions or ponder carefully before He answers, for he knows the end from the beginning, and he never learns and never forgets anything.  Every bit of God’s knowledge is always fully present in his consciousness; it never grows dim or fades into his nonconscious memory.”[2]

Psalm 139 begins with a declaration of God’s perfect, infinite knowledge, but does so on a more personal level.  In Psalm 139:2-4, we see that God knows and is well “acquainted” with all of our ways (our sitting down, rising up, lying down, our path).  God even knows and “discerns” our thoughts (2b)!  Also, God knows altogether what we are going to say before we say it (4). 

In Psalm 139:11-16, we see that God sees and knows where we would hide, that He has perfect knowledge of our existence and time in our mother’s womb, and that He has perfect knowledge of our future because He has perfect knowledge of THE future.  “My frame” was not hidden from Him, even when there was no frame to hide (15).  Every one of the days formed for my life are already written down in His book, even though they haven’t come to pass yet (16).  God knows everything.

b.    God’s Omnipresence (5, 7-12)

God is also not limited in any way with regards to space.  God Himself does not have size or spatial dimensions. Like time, God also created space and is no way bound by it.  He existed before there was any such thing as space.  And much like we said about God’s relationship with time, God’s relationship with space is uniquely and qualitatively different than ours.  1 Kings 8:27 says that “heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain” God, and yet His omnipresence also means that He is present at every point of space with His whole being.  Now He does manifest Himself differently in different places, but He is fully present in all places nonetheless. 

God’s omnipresence is richly described in this passage.  This section offers four hypothetical situations, but communicates one truth: GOD IS EVERYWHERE!  Each hypothetical situation is establishing an answer to the question: “Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee you’re your presence?”  If one ascends to heaven or to “Sheol” (hell), God is there (8).  Yes, God is present even in hell; His presence is just manifested in a different way.  If a person could move at the fastest speed imaginable (“the wings of the morning”), it would not be fast enough to get away from God (9a).  If one were to dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, God is even there (9b-10).  Notice that this truth of God’s presence means comfort, security, and guidance to David (10).  Finally, it one was to find the darkest hiding spot in the universe, God would still be there, we would be found, and God wouldn’t need a flashlight to find us (11-12)! 

Remember that the writer of these words, David, is a man who knows how to be a fugitive!  But this man who knows how to be a fugitive also knows that there is nowhere to hide from God.  As we will see, this can be either a wonderful or a dreadful truth.

II.            The Worship of God (Psalm 139:18-24)

a.     These Truths are Precious to God’s People (17-18)

Meditating upon God’s omniscience and omnipresence moves David to praise (17-18) and prayer (19-24).  This is the same thing we saw last week with Moses in Psalm 90:1-17. Three times David calls God’s knowledge and works “wonderful” (6,14). In Psalm 139:17-18, David calls God’s thoughts “precious” and vastly innumerable. 

These truths are wonderful and comforting for a child of God.  When we contemplate who God is, we too should be filled with such wonder and praise.  We should feel the security and comfort that David does as well, like a child sleeping in their parent’s bedroom at night.

Think of the manifold applications of these truths!  Believers should never feel lonely.  Believers can approach God at any time, in any place.  Believers should be at peace, understanding that God has perfect knowledge of everything they face.  Believers should glory in the love, mercy, and grace of God, because God has infinite knowledge of all of their imperfections and rebellion and can rest in the fact that all of it has been atoned for on the cross of Jesus Christ.  There will be no failure, past, present, or future, that can separate us from God because He knew everything about us when He called us to Himself.

b.    These Truths are Perilous to God’s Enemies (19-22)

While these truths are wonderful for God’s people, they are dreadful for God’s enemies.  The wicked are never safe and should never feel so.  They cannot hide themselves, their thoughts, or even their intentions from God.  When Jeremiah confronted the wicked priests and prophets in his day, he did so by pointing to the omnipresence and omniscience of God: [23] “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? [24] Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:23-24 ESV)

Much like this Psalm, Jeremiah puts forth three rhetorical questions that all have “no” for their answer.  God is a God who is both “at hand” and “far away.”  God does “fill heaven and earth.”  And because of this, there is absolutely nowhere that man cannot hide.  There is nowhere that God cannot see him.  There is nothing that man can keep from God. 

Consider A.W. Tozer’s quote concerning what these truths means to both the wicked and the righteous: “That God knows each person through and through can be a cause of shaking fear to the man that has something to hide – some unforsaken sin, some secret crime committed against man or God.  The unblessed soul may well tremble that God knows the flimsiness of every pretext and never accepts the poor excuses given for sinful conduct, since He knows perfectly the real reason for it.  “Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.”  How frightful a thing to see the sons of Adam seeking to hide among the trees of another garden.  But where shall they hide?”[3]

This truth will be seen in the final judgment as well, where God will make every word, action, thought, motive, etc. manifest and display that everyone condemned is getting exactly what they deserve (Revelation 20:11-15). There are no secrets with God and there will be no secrets on judgment day.  What will this day mean for you? 

My hope is that all of us would turn to God with as devastating a prayer as David prays in Psalm 139:23-24.  Here he lays his heart bear before God.  He is not asking God to know something that He doesn’t already know, because God already knows David’s heart and thoughts.  I believe David is asking God to put His heart and mind on trial.  He says, “try me…and see if there be any grievous way in me.”  Wow.  That is a devastating prayer because there are grievous ways in every human heart, ways in which we are not even aware of.  David is asking God to bring them into the light so they can be confessed and repented of. 

He then asks God to lead him “in the way everlasting.”  This is a humble and devastating prayer because David assumes that God’s assessment of himself is more accurate than David’s himself would be and asks God to change those things about himself that are grievous to God.  David desires to live in a way that is “everlasting.”  He is stating a desire to dwell eternally with God, to have eternal life.  There is only one such way, and His name is Jesus Christ.  So in some sense, for a Christian, this prayer is a plea to draw them to Jesus Christ who is there only hope.

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[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 190

[2] Ibid. 192

[3] A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 57

How should God's independence affect our day?

[5] I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 ESV)

A few weeks ago, we considered God’s attribute of independence.  We stated that God’s independence means that that God has no dependency upon anyone or anything (Acts 17:24-25) and also that He is free to do whatever He pleases (Psalm 135:5-6).  On the contrary, we as human beings are utterly dependent beings.  We see this truth in John 15:5, that without Him (Christ), we “can do nothing.”  What I would like us to consider is how we can flesh out this idea of our being completely dependent upon the God who is completely independent. 

One very helpful way is to meditate upon this truth in daily prayer before God.  As each of our days begin, get alone with the Lord to pray something like this:

“Father, thank you for this day that is a grace in and of itself.  I confess that I am utterly dependent upon the finished work of Your Son Jesus Christ in His life, death, and resurrection to even be able to approach Your throne as your son/daughter today.  I also confess that I am utterly dependent upon Your Holy Spirit’s empowering grace to be able to do anything that is pleasing to you today.  I cannot love my neighbor as myself today without You loving them through me.  I cannot love my wife as You love the church today without You loving her through me (or submit to my husband as the church is to submit to Christ without You cultivating that submission).  I cannot bring up my children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord in a way that honors You unless You are bringing them up through me.  I also cannot hear from You clearly in Your Word unless Your Holy Spirit gives me understanding when I spend time in Your Word today. 

Father, I also confess that I am a coward when it comes to sharing my faith.  I cannot speak the gospel to the lost today without Your making me bold and helping me make the gospel clear.  Even then, I am utterly dependent upon You to open up the eyes of those whom I witness to in order to see Your glory and need for You.  My coworkers don’t need to see me today, they need to see You, and I cannot show You to them without You.  Father, truly I can do nothing without You today, but with You nothing is impossible.  So I ask You to be with me this day, empowering me to do Your will and I will act in faith that You are going to answer this prayer.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.” 

May God bless you in such a daily affirmation of your need for Him!