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This is the fifth sermon in a ten-part series on the attributes of God. This message begins the category of attributes that some theologians refer to as "Relative Attributes," and it focuses on the attributes of omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience.
Written Excerpts:
Today, we are going to continue our study by moving into the next category of attributes.
II. Relative Attributes – Those aspects of God’s being that directly relate to His interaction with the creation. They refer to God’s mode of operation and activity within His creation and with His creatures.
The six attributes we will be talking about in this category include: Omnipotence; Omnipresence; Omniscience; Wisdom; Goodness and Faithfulness.
I plan to try to cover three of these today and the other three next Sunday.
As you may have noticed, the first three of the six attributes I mentioned a moment ago all started with the prefix “omni,” which is the reason I chose the title for the message that is printed in the bulletin.
According to the dictionary, “omni” is a prefix that means “all, everywhere.”
Taking the terms in alphabetical order, we will try to explain each of the three terms that all begin with “omni.”
A. Omnipotence – God is unlimited in power, might and ability.
Jer. 32:16b-17 “…I prayed to the Lord, saying: ‘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.”
Psalm 115:3 “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”
The putting these two verses together led one theologian to explain:
Omnipotence is “that perfection by which God is able to do all that He pleases to do.” (H.O. Wiley)
1. Expressions of God’s power
God expresses His power in creation.
Jeremiah 10:12; Psalm 89:10-11
These and many, many other verses reveal the unlimited, unimaginable power of God that is displayed in creation. When we look around us at the wonders of nature, it certainly reveals the power of God.
God expresses His power in sustaining creation.
Take a good look around at the world of nature here on earth and in the larger picture of the starry heavens, then turn your eyes away from the telescope and look into the microscope.
Our study of molecules and atoms in the tiniest realm of nature demonstrates the unbelievable complexity and design. But it also reveals the awesome power in holding it all together.
Hebrews 1:3
God expresses His power in miracles.
Abraham & Sarah giving birth at their old age; Crossing of the Red Sea (Both of these O.T. examples are used many times in Scripture as the classic examples of God's power in the O.T.)
2. Distinctions about God’s power.
God will not do anything against His own nature or will.
For example, since He obviously created mankind with a free will, He evidently restrains His own power in order to allow humans to exercise their freedom with which they were created.
We believe that God certainly has the power to prevent any human decision or action from thwarting His overall will for things like redemption and the culmination of earthly life (i.e. return of Christ, judgment of mankind, etc).
Yet, we believe that man, being created with freedom to choose either good or evil; right or wrong, can make decisions and take actions that are contrary to the will of God. This is only possible as long as God chooses to limit His sovereign power.
God gives power to His creatures, but He never gives it away.
If His power is infinite, then He cannot relinquish any of His power. It is never diminished. He can do anything as easily as everything else. All of His actions are done without effort. He expends no energy that must be replenished. (A.W. Tozer)
B. Omnipresence – God is present in all space; He is not bound by limitations of space. Last week we spoke of His immensity, which emphasized the “distance” of God beyond the bounds of space. Now, we are emphasizing the “closeness” of God within all space.
You and I cannot go anywhere to “escape” the presence of God, or to suddenly find ourselves beyond the “reach” of His “hand.”
Classic passages on this topic: Psalm 139:7-10; Jer. 23:24
God is not present in the same manner in all places.
Isaiah 63:15 “Look down from heaven, and see from Your habitation, holy and glorious.
Isaiah 64:1 “Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down!
“The omnipresence of God with finite beings or things must ever be different from His presence with Himself in His Glory.” (H.O. Wiley)
C. Omniscience – God is unlimited and infinite with regards to knowledge and understanding.
Psalm 139:1-6
1. God’s knowledge is infinite.
Psalm 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.”
Therefore… He possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn… He has never learned and cannot learn. (A.W. Tozer)
He knows everything actual and everything possible. (A. Pink)
God not only knows every choice we will make, but every alternative choice we could have made. (Dale Yocum)
2. God’s knowledge is founded in eternity.
Acts 15:18 “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.”
Since God’s knowledge is founded in eternity, which is outside the bounds of time, therefore we affirm that God’s knowledge is not “causative.”
How can God know something for certain without causing it to come true? I believe the answer is because His knowledge is founded in eternity. That means, even though God created time, and He certainly can relate to time, and go with us as we mark off time, yet He is also above all restraints of time, and can see and know past, present and future all at once.
He can obviously see every event and detail that is yet in the future as if it was in the present. To explain how he can know for certain what is going to happen without causing it to happen, let me say it like this:
I know with absolute certainty that each of you are sitting here listening to my sermon in the sanctuary of Wayside Community Church
In the same way I believe that God knows with absolute certainty every person that will be saved and every person that will be lost, because He sees the future as well as the present. Yet, He can still give us the choice to accept or reject His grace and the plan of salvation He provided.
To the Christian, it is a great source of comfort to understand that God knows all about us. He understands our deepest desires and motives even when we are misunderstood by others.
“He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust.” Ps. 103:14
To the unbeliever and the hypocrite, it should be a source of great discomfort.
Hebrews 4:13 “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Conclusion:
As we bring this message to a close I just want to emphasize that each of these traits we have discussed today truly reveal the awesomeness of our God. My mind cannot fully grasp or fathom the reality.
When we begin to meditate and dwell on each of them we can certainly understand how comforting and disturbing these thoughts can be, depending on whether we are saved or lost.
The next sermon in this series is: God Is So Good (listed in blog archive on right)
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