The All-Powerful God … (August 2024 Update)
Every superhero has a weakness. Superman may be powerful, but he is not all-powerful. Superman can still be defeated even by something as seemingly harmless as a rock from his planet Krypton. This is true of every superhero. But it is not true about God. He is truly All-Powerful in every sense of the word. And because He is all-powerful, we can have confidence that what He has planned for us will always come to pass. That’s why we can trust in Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for the god of those who love him, who have been called according to His purposes.” If God were not all-powerful, then this promise would be empty because we could never be sure that God can indeed work all things together for good.
But since God is omnipotent, our chaotic and constantly changing world doesn’t seem quite so scary. No matter how weak or ill-equipped we feel, no matter what challenges or problems we face, we can rest in this truth: God is matchless in His power, unconquerable, and always victorious. Our all-powerful God reigns supreme over all and He holds us securely in His hand.
When we say that God is omnipotent (omni=all, potent=power), we are proclaiming that He not only has ultimate power over all things, but He is also the source of all power. Though He sets limits on all of creation, He Himself is limitless in strength, wisdom, love, holiness, and the ability to perform His sovereign will. He has the power to accomplish all that He plans and all that He wants. No one can resist His will, and all of His plans will succeed because He is all-powerful. He alone is the All-mighty One! William Gurnall aptly put it this way: “One Almighty is more than all mighties!”
But what does it mean that God is almighty or infinite in power? In His book, Show Me Your Glory, Stephen Lawson gives 7 explanations of what it means for God to be Almighty or All-Powerful. I have modified and adapted these for this article.
First, the omnipotence of God means that He is The All-Powerful One. In Genesis 17:1, God is called El Shaddi which means the all-mighty God. In Matthew 26:64, Jesus even calls God “the Power,” “Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Psalm 62:11 reminds us that “the power belongs to God.” He is the All-powerful one.
Second, the omnipotence of God means that He is The All-Creating One . One aspect of His power is in creation. He can create something out of nothing. When nothing existed, He simply spoke a word and it came into existence! Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” In Jeremiah 32:17, we read about the creating power of the Lord: “‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” He is the all-creating one!
Third, the omnipotence of God also means that He is The All-Sustaining One. He not only creates everything; He holds everything together. Isaiah 40:26 tells us that not one of the stars is missing because of His great power: “Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.” The same is said about Jesus in Colossians 1:17: “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” The word consist in the Greek means “holds together.” God created everything by His power – but His power also keeps everything from falling apart. He is the all-sustaining one.
Fourth, the omnipotence of God means that He is The All-Controlling One. This speaks about His providence. Basically, God directs the flow of history through His sovereign power. In Ezra 1:1, we see that He directed the heart of the Persian King Cyrus to allow Israel to return to Jerusalem. In Daniel 2:21, we read that “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings….” We see that God directs Kings throughout the OT. In John 19:11, Jesus even told Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.” Proverbs 21:1 tells us, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Through His power, God can even control the hearts of pagan kings. He is the All-Controlling One.
Fifth, the omnipotence of God also means that He is The All-Victorious One. The omnipotence of God means that He is always victorious in every situation. In Psalm 2, the Psalmist asks why the nations rebel and fight against God. In verse 4, He tells us how almighty God responds: “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.” God’s omnipotence means that we too will be victorious through Him. In 1 John 4:4, John says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Because He is all-powerful, He is always victorious!
Sixth, the omnipotence of God means that He is The All-Saving One. God’s omnipotence also applies to His power to save. In Matthew 19:26, when the disciples ask, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus responds by saying, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” God is able to open blind eyes and soften hard hearts and draw people to the gospel of Jesus so that even the “chief of all sinners” can be saved. His power is not only over creation and history – it extends to saving even the worst sinners!
Finally, the omnipotence of God means that He is The All-Strengthening One. Because God is at work within believers, He can give us strength for anything that He calls us to do. In fact, Jesus tells his disciples in John 15:5, “apart from me, you can do nothing.” This power also comes from the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This is why Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
So God is all-powerful – nothing is impossible for Him. But there are some things that God cannot do.
First, He cannot Be Tempted to sin. James 1:13 tells us: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”
Second, He cannot Lie. Titus 1:2 tells us: “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began….” This is a great comfort to believers. He has promised that those who believe in Him will have everlasting life. He will never break that promise because He cannot lie.
Third, He cannot Deny His Character. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor the son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not do it?” All men lie and change their minds – God cannot or He would no longer be immutable and He would no longer be truth. He cannot do anything that would deny His own character. Often when talking about the power of God, skeptics will ask, “Can God make a rock so big that He cannot lift it?” He could, but if He did, He would no longer be God. He cannot do anything that denies His own character.
Finally, He cannot Deny Himself. In 2 Timothy 2:13 , Paul quotes from a faithful saying that was used among early Christians, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” We make many promises to God that we do not keep, but God never does. If He ever broke one of His promises, He would not be faithful to us. He is faithful to us, even when we are not always faithful to Him – because He cannot deny Himself.
So what are the implications of God’s omnipotence?
First, because He is all powerful, God can Keep His Word! (Number 23:19). Second, because God is omnipotent, nothing is impossible with God! (Matthew 19:26). Third, because He can give us power to do whatever He asks, I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me! (Philippians 4:13). And finally, because God has all power, He can accomplish all His plans, Therefore I can trust His plans!
In short, God Almighty means that we have a God who is bigger than all our problems. Jeremiah 32:17-18 puts it best: “Ah, Lord GOD! Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!”
Teaching Ministry …
Summer has been a very busy time for me. I was able to finish grading papers from the Research and Writing class (online – Kyiv Theological Seminary) that ended at the end of June and attending the GSI Conference in July. Now I am getting ready for Fall classes. Usually, I teach 3-4 classes in the fall. One class will be taught by someone else, but I will still be teaching the other two. I’m preparing for that one right now. It looks like I will also have 2-3 classes in the Spring again. I’m working with Ukrainian professors to help them to eventually teach these classes without me but it looks like I will be teaching for at least another academic year. Be praying for me as I work on these classes for the fall.
In addition to teaching seminary classes in Ukraine, I will also be preaching almost every Sunday in September and October. Most of the time, I will be preaching at the nursing home in Fayetteville but also at a few local churches too. My biggest challenge right now is getting my office ready so I can work in my office. Right now, it is the “storage room” with all the boxes that we have not emptied out yet. This next month, I hope to build bookshelves and try to get the office set up.
The GSI (GlobalServe International) Conference was great. It really helped me to understand more about what they are doing and how they are doing it. They are sending missionaries to countries that are closed to missionaries. GSI was founded by the grandchildren of the New Tribes (Ethnos 360) Mission. They follow the same principles of working with unreached people groups to translate the Bible into their language. This organization was founded because New Tribes only works in countries where they can send missionaries. GSI sends missionaries to countries where missionaries are not allowed. And they spend 15-20 years doing translation work so that the unreached people group can have access to the gospel in their own language. Pray for this group as they attempt to reach people that have no access to the gospel due to cultural and political barriers.
Family and House …
Because I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had much time to work on the house. But there is still a lot to be done. It’s doubtful that I’ll get much done in September and October because of teaching responsibilities but I hope I can keep working on a few things.
Also in July, we celebrated Nadia’s 9th birthday. Katya made her a special ice cream cake and we had outdoor activities for her party. Also, for her birthday, we were able to get tickets for a piano and violin concert at Crystal Bridges. Before the concert, we viewed an art exhibit made entirely from bugs and animals. It was amazing! And the girls decided to collect dead bugs and make their own art from the bugs.
The girls also attend Vacation Bible School at our church, and Katya and I helped by serving at the Bible School. Finally, when we didn’t have a lot else going on (seldom), the girls and Katya got to relax and enjoy swimming at the pool.
Pray for Ukraine …
Please continue to be praying for Ukraine. The war continues and Ukraine has decided to open a new front by invading Russia. This is a risky move, but it brings the war home to Russia. We continue to pray for an end to this war that has cost so many lives, Russian and Ukrainian. But most of all, we continue to pray for our friends there who continue to share the gospel in spite of all kinds of obstacles. Pray for them as they minister to the many physical needs of refugees as well as sharing the gospel which alone can give peace.
Thank you for supporting us and praying for us. It looks like I will be teaching at least another academic year, and I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I continue to train Ukrainians for ministry. Also, pray for our support. Since we have moved back to the US, we have had some supporters shift support to other missionaries and we are also trying to adjust to the much higher cost of living here in the states. If the Lord leads you, please consider becoming a part of our support team and helping with finances as we make the transition to the states. It’s been nearly 2 ½ years now and we can definitely say that we have seen the Lord to be the Almighty one for us time and time again!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
Also, some have asked about how to support us. You can send checks to Teaching Resources International, PO Box 100, Goshen, AR 72735 (note: new address) or pay through PayPal on our website. Just put “#1000 Ehrhard” in the memo so our treasurer knows where to allocate the funds.
Some have also asked about our personal address now that we are in the states. Our new address is 14680 Magnolia Ridge, Fayetteville, AR 72701.
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