Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Omnipotence

God can do all things consistent with his nature — 'nothing will be impossible with God'.

Latin omnis ('all') + potentia ('power'); the creeds' 'Almighty' renders Greek pantokratōr, 'all-ruling'.

Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Job 42:2; Psalm 115:3; 135:6; Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37; Revelation 19:6.

Standard across the traditions. It does not mean God can do the self-contradictory (make a square circle) or act against his own nature (lie — Titus 1:2; deny himself — 2 Tim 2:13); these 'cannot' statements are perfections, not limits. Aquinas: God can do everything that is absolutely possible.

Omnipotence is the ground of providence and of confidence in God's promises; it is always exercised in wisdom, holiness, and love, never as raw force.

Whether omnipotence includes the power to actualise any logically possible state (and puzzles like the 'stone too heavy to lift'); process theism redefines divine power as persuasive, not coercive.

Open in the glossary for related terms and the doctrines this concept appears in.