The word omnipotent comes from omni- meaning “all” and potent meaning “power.” As with the attributes of omniscience and omnipresence, it follows that, if God is infinite, and if He is sovereign, which we know He is, then He must also be omnipotent. He has all power over all things at all times and in all ways.
Nowhere is God’s omnipotence seen more clearly than in creation. God said, “Let there be…” and it was so (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, etc.). Man needs tools and materials to create; God simply spoke, and by the power of His word, everything was created from nothing. “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6).
God’s power is also seen in the preservation of His creation. All life on earth would perish were it not for God’s continual provision of everything we need for food, clothing and shelter, all from renewable resources sustained by His power as the preserver of man and beast (Psalm 36:6). The seas which cover most of the earth, and over which we are powerless, would overwhelm us if God did not proscribe their limits (Job 38:8-11).
Although the Scriptures say that God can do all things it seems intuitively obvious that there are certain things that God cannot do. For example, can God act contrary to his own nature? If God has certain essential properties then how could God possibly act in a way that would be contrary to his own essence or nature? For example, could God create another god and then worship it? That seems absolutely inconceivable. God cannot be created so
God couldn’t create another God. It would be idolatrous and blasphemous for him to worship some other god.
Can God do something that is logically impossible? For example, could God have made it true that Jesus both came and died on the cross and that he did not come and die on the cross? These are logical contradictions. Could he make a logical contradiction come true? Could God make a round square, for example? There is no such “thing” as a round square that God is incapable of making. These are just logical contradictions verbally and therefore are not things that God’s power needs to encompass.
God can bring about any state of affairs which is logically possible for anyone to bring about in that situation.If anyone in that situation would be capable of bringing about that state of affairs then God must be capable of bringing about that state of affairs.
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