- Does “The Omnipotence Paradox” strip God of His title? Or does it simply highlight the finite nature of human intellect?
Perhaps you have heard someone ask this somewhat rhetorical question about God:
“Can God create a boulder so large that He cannot lift it?”
To our way of thinking, the question certainly poses a dilemma: if God cannot create such a boulder, then His creative power is limited . . . meaning, He cannot be omnipotent, and therefore cannot be God. If He can create such a boulder, He is once again limited by His inability to lift it – and again cannot be God. No matter how you approach the question, all conceivable answers appear to de-throne Him.
As we shall see in the pages ahead, this type of “lets-tie-the-hands-of-God” dilemma has existed in the minds of lesser beings for a very long time – and one lesser mind in particular. We’ll tell you up front: dilemmas like these are based upon false premises. An omnipotent God cannot be put in a box! Unraveling the deception begins with an understanding of God’s attributes. He describes many of them in His Word – and they are all important to understand. But for the purposes of our present discussion, we’re going to examine three of them here.
Omnipotence
Inherent to the boulder example above is the premise that there are no limits to God’s power – that He is “omnipotent.” If any higher power than Him were to exist, then that being would claim the title of “God” instead. And indeed, the Bible confirms omnipotence to be an attribute of God:
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Lu 1:37, emphasis added)
“I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent . . .” (Eze 24:14, emphasis added)
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Mt 28:18, emphasis added)
The language in these (and many similar) passages of scripture cannot be fully grasped by our finite minds. Everything about us is limited: our perceptions, our longevity, our strength, our intellect . . . everything. God speaks in absolutes above – and He speaks in terms of the infinite. No matter how large or powerful a thing we may conceive, God tells us there will always be something more powerful – namely, himself:
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:9)
Understanding God’s omnipotence – as much as we can understand it – seems to begin with an acknowledgement of our limited faculties.
Holiness
Webster’s defines the word “holy” this way:
“Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.”
Once again, we find absolute terms being used: this is not just any “goodness” or virtue – but “perfect” goodness . . . perfect virtue.
The Bible is full of references to God’s holiness and perfection:
“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex 15:11)
“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Is 6:3)
“He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (De 32:4)
“As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried . . .” (Ps 18:30)
As with omnipotence, true perfection is beyond our faculties – so none of us has ever experienced it. Yet if the Bible is the truth, it exists – in the person of God himself.
Contained within God’s attribute of holiness is His perfect sense of justice. One of Webster’s definitions of the word “just,” is: “acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good.” Speaking of His Father, God the Son declares:
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (Joh 5:30)
Speaking of the justice – or judgment – against those who commit evil, God’s Word tells us:
“But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.” (Ro 2:2)
Immutability
Simply stated, this attribute means that God does not change. When God declares a truth, gives a gift, decides to do something . . . it stands forever:
“For I am the LORD, I change not . . .” (Mal 3:6)
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (He 13:8)
There are powerful implications associated with bringing all of these attributes together in the same person. If God were to ignore evil in any form, anywhere or at any time – where His omnipotence assures His power to rectify it – then His virtue would no longer be perfect. If He did nothing about evil, He would effectively become an accomplice to it – and would be anything but “just.” (Think about it: if you had been lawlessly crippled by an assailant – who now stood before a judge in a courtroom – and the judge released the assailant with no penalty whatsoever . . . would that be “just?”)
If God changed His mind about what constituted evil, He would no longer be immutable. What He declared to be evil yesterday is evil today . . . and will be tomorrow.
So . . . what, exactly, constitutes “evil?” Webster’s defines it as, “morally reprehensible: sinful, wicked.”
OK – that’s a start, if not a bit open-ended. We certainly find the word “sin” throughout the Bible . . . but what is that? Webster’s tells us (among other definitions) it is a “transgression of the law of God.” In the case of Christianity, we see this “law” laid down by God in the Old Testament – many think of “The Ten Commandments” as an example of such law. We can find these in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20, where we read of God commanding us to love Him, not to lie, steal or commit murder, for example. Essentially, what we see is that contradicting God in thought, word or action constitutes “sin,” or “evil.”
Here is the key point to take from this discussion: Combined, God’s omnipotence, holiness and immutability do not allow Him to remain passive in the presence of sin. Doing so would violate His attributes and He would cease to be God – a complete impossibility.
So allow us to risk an answer to the original question: “Can God create a boulder so large that He cannot lift it?” We say that the answer is: “God can create an infinitely large boulder – and He can lift an infinitely large boulder – because God’s attribute of omnipotence cannot be violated.” The inviolability of God’s attributes is important to keep in mind as we consider the universe He originally created, here.