Omnipotence in the Bible

Omnipotence is the attribute of God by which he possesses all power and is able to do whatever is consistent with his holy nature and will. The Bible never argues for this truth so much as it assumes and celebrates it from beginning to end. When Sarah laughed in unbelief at the promise of a son in her old age, the LORD asked the searching question, Is anything too hard for the LORD? (Genesis 18:14). The implied answer rings through all of Scripture: nothing is beyond his power. Job, after encountering the majesty of God in the whirlwind, confessed, I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2). The prophet Jeremiah prayed in the same spirit, 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 (Jeremiah 32:17). The God who flung the stars into space holds every circumstance in his hand. Jesus applied this truth to the impossibility of salvation by human effort. When the disciples asked who then can be saved, he looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). The angel Gabriel announced the virgin birth with the same assurance: For nothing will be impossible with God (Luke 1:37). Divine omnipotence undergirds both creation and redemption. Finally, the worship of heaven crowns this attribute. John heard a great multitude crying out, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns (Revelation 19:6). God's omnipotence is not abstract force but the loving, sovereign rule of the Almighty over history. For the believer this means that no enemy, no trial, and no impossibility can finally frustrate the purposes of the God who holds all power in his hands.