The objective of this research paper is to demonstrate the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of God and how these relate to the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation does mention on the Omnipotence, Omnipresence and Omniscience of God. This paper will walk us through first from the OT, NT and then the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
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In the beginning of creation in Gen 1:1-3, when He created the world, it shows God is Omnipotence, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. It shows. He is the all-powerful Lord who has created all things and sustains them by the Word of His power. The Bible reveals that God is all powerful and in the final sense is the ruler of history and nature.
Omnipotent in the Old Testament and New Testament
Omnipotence refers to God’s unlimited power. In the Old Testament, El Shaddai is translated Almighty God (Gen 17:1; Job 5:17). God is descried as performing natural wonders (Gen 1:1-3; Isa 44:24; Heb 1:3) and spiritual wonders (2 Cor 4:6; Eph 1:9; 3:20). In Gen 18:14, God is able to create new thing and nothing is impossible to Him. Then in Ps 115:3, He does whatever pleases him. And in Ezek 36:26, He is able to create a new heart. God manifestation acts include creation, nature, history, providence, and redemption. Thus in Daniel 4:35; Amos 9:2, 3 show that nothing evades God’s omnipotence.
It is also demonstrated by the work of the Holy Spirit, in Scripture compared to wind, water, and fire: The ordinary manifestations of these elements afford no criterion of the effect they are able to produce. Wind – Pentecost was the analogue of the wind – Spirit, who bore everything before Him on the first day of creation (Gen 1:2; Eze 37:10; John 3:8; Acts 2:2). The power of resurrection John 11:25; Rom 1:4; Eph 1:19-20.
God cannot do that which is self-contradictory or contradictory to His own nature, because His omnipotence is of His own essence, and He is all-Being out which all existence must arise.
God’s omnipotence is also revealed in Philippians 1:21 because we read that He is able to subdue all things. We see Paul rejoicing in Romans 8:32-39 because, if God is for us, then who can be against us? God is not limited in what He can do and nothing can overpower God. Furthermore, there is nothing that God cannot overpower. Hence it is written in Colossians 2:9-10, “… Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”
Omnipotent in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ
In the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, He demonstrates that he had all authority of heaven and earth Matt 28:18, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” And in Mark 2:5, 7, 10 states that Jesus had the power to forgive sins, something only God can do.
In the New Testament the great embodiment of this redemptive omnipotence is the resurrection of believers (Matt 22:29; Mk. 12:24) and specifically the resurrection of Christ (Rom 4:17, 21, 24; Eph 1:19ff). God’s power is evidenced in the whole process of redemption (Mat 19:26; Mk 10:27; Rom 8:31; Eph 3:7, 20; 1 Pet 1:5; Rev 11:17).
Further in Matt 3:9, “…out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” Again, He has the power to create new things.
Omniscience in OT
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Omniscience refers to God’s superior knowledge and wisdom, His power to know all things. God is the Lord who knows our thoughts from afar. He is acquainted with all our ways, knowing our words even before they are on our tongues (Ps 139:1-6, 13-16). He needs to consult no one for knowledge or understanding (Is 40:13-14). He is the all-knowing Lord who prophesies the events of the future, including the death and resurrection of His Son (Isa 53) and return of Christ at the end of this age when death will be finally overcome (Rom 8:18-39; 1 Cor 15:51-57). Only the all knowing and all powerful God can guarantee real freedom from sin, decay, and death. He can begin a process of change in believers during the present age; “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor 3:17). Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, General Editor. Ronald F. Youngblood. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986.
Scripture declares that God’s eyes run everywhere, in orther words God watches and knows everything (Job 24:23; Psalms 33:13-15; 139:13-16; Proverbs 15:3; Hebrews 4:13; Jeremiah 16:17; Daniel 2:22; and Ezekiel 11:5). He searches all hearts and observes everyone’s ways (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalms 139:1-6, 23; Jeremiah 17:10; Luke 16:15; Romans 8:27; Revelations 2:23) in other words, he knows everything and everybody all the time. Also, he knows the future no less than the past and the present, and possible events that ever happen no less than actual events that do ( 1 Samuel 23:9-13; 2 Kings 13:19; Psalm 81:14-15; Isaiah 48:18). (God understand all things. His understanding is limitless. It cannot measure). All His knowledge is always immediately and directly before his mind (Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 46:9-10; Psalms 139:1-6; Isaiah 40:13-14; 28: cf. Romans 11:33-36 – look through). In Job 23:10, and Psalm 103:14 talk about God knowing our needs.
In Gen 16:13, God is referred to as “the God who sees.” Prov 15:3 teaches: “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Similarly, Ps 34:15 affirms, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry. Job realized: “God’s eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step. There is no dark place no deep shadow where evildoers can hide. (34:22-23). God is described in Zech3:9 as having 7 eyes to illustrate his omniscience, and the prophet Ezekiel depicted God as having eyes all around him (Ez 1:18). And in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus affirmed, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten (12:6).
God’s omniscience is seen in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira. When Ananias brings the gift, God had seen right through his pretense. No one would know, they thought. And in Hebrew 4:13; teaches that nothing is hidden from God. All we do and think is uncovered, and displayed before God to whom we must give account.
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Acts 15:18; Rev 2:23, Psalms 33:13, Jeremiah 38:17-20, Romans 4:17, Job 34:22-23; Ps 139;
Omniscience in the life and Ministry of Jesus
The omniscient God sent an angel to the mother of our Lord to reveal a specific program. “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:30-33).
The bible declares that Jesus was indeed omniscient. Jesus demonstrated it in the NT is the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6 Jesus was talking about the lilies of the field and warned his disciples not to worry because He knows that we need them and He will take care of them.
He knew specific details about a woman’s life whom He had never met (John 4:16-19). He also had all knowledge about Nathaniel in John 1:47-49. In Matthew 17:27 about Jesus knowing of a certain coin in a fish’s mouth before the fish is caught!
Jesus Christ had knowledge of specific details about His own death. Then in Matthew 16:21, Jesus said that He would go to Jerusalem, suffer many things at the hands of the scribes and the elders, be killed, and then be resurrected the third day. He repeats this prophecy in Matthew 20:19.
In John 13:1; Matthew 12:26, and Mark 8:17 proofs that Jesus’ knowledge in these instances is that of his human intellect.
We will be able to realize that Jesus is indeed omniscient. In Matthew 17:27, Jesus knew that the first fish that Peter will catch will have a piece of money in its mouth that they could use to pay the temple tax.
In John 2:25 goes so far as to assert the omniscience of Jesus, “he did not need man’s testimony, for he knew what was in a man.” Then in John 1:47, Jesus knew Nathanael is a man “in whom there is no guile!” Jesus also knew that the Samaritan woman whom he met at the well in S amaria has no husband (John 4:17-18). Jesus also knew that it will be Judas Iscariot who is going to betray him and that he also knew Peter will deny him thrice (Mark 14:3). John 16:30, His disciples recognized His omniscience. Matthew 16:21; 17:22; 20:18-19; 26:1-2, His prediction of His death demonstrate His omniscience
Matthew 24:36 says “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven but my father only.” This verse has been a century of debate among leaders of religious groups and has raised controversy as to the Omniscience of Jesus.
Even theologians have diverse stands on this issue. It is therefore important to look back at the nature two natures of Jesus: his human and divine nature. With this, we can say that if Jesus does not know the time of his return, it does not mean that it contradicts his omniscience, which is attributed to his divine nature.
Matthew 11:21-23 “………………………………………. (Jesus knew what Tyre and Sidon would have done had the gospel been preached to them.
OMNIPRESENCE IN OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT
http://allanturner.com/omni.html
Allan Turner
Omnipresence – a theological term that refers to the unlimited nature of God or His ability to be everywhere at all times. God is not like the manufactured idols of ancient cultures that were limited to one altar or temple area. God reveals Himself in the Bible as the Lord who is everywhere. God was present as Lord in all creation (Ps 139:7-12) and there is no escaping Him. He is present in our innermost thoughts. Even as we are formed in the womb, He knows all the days of our future. God sees in secret and rewards in secret, as Jesus taught His disciples; He looks not only on outward actions, but especially on the inner attitudes of a person’s heart (Matt 6:1-18). Because God is the Creator and Sustainer of time and space, He is everywhere. Being everywhere, He is our great Comforter, Friend and Redeemer. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, General Editor. Ronald F. Youngblood. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986.
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Omnipresence means God is everywhere present. Omnipresence may be defined as “God, in the totality of his essence, without diffusion or expansion, multiplication or division, penetrates and fills the universe in all its parts.” Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology. Page 194. In Ps 139:7-16; Prov 15:3; Jere 23:23, 24; Amos 9:2; Dt 4:39; 10:14 explains the omnipresence of God. Although sometimes Omnipresence emphasizes His immanence, it frequently contents itself with affirming the universal extent of God’s power and knowledge. Page 596 Bromiley.
The God who is eternal, and therefore not limited by time, is omnipresent, and not limited by space (Psalm 139:7-16; Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 23:23, 24). This means that the unlimited God in His whole being is present at every point of our space. Perhaps a better way to express God’s omnipresence is to say that all space is immediately present before Him.
God’s omnipresence does not prevent Him from manifesting Himself in a localized place. In fact, although His self-existent, eternal, and infinite Being is present to all of space equally, He has, on occasion, entered space at specific points and become present in it for a specific purpose. These “theophanies,” as they are called, most often involved redemption. For example, the pillar of cloud bearing the glory of God that appeared before the Israelites (Exodus 33:9; 40:34; I Kings 8:10ff) is but one example of such a case. Page 596 Bromiley. God’s presence is not confined to a certain sanctuary; it follows that He can be simultaneously in heaven and on earth. Page 596.
Of course, the most dramatic incident of God entering time and space was the incarnation itself (John 1:14; I Timothy 3:16). Consequently, Jesus was called Immanuel, or “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). But, in entering time and space, God, in His self-existent, eternal, and infinite Being, did not cease to be omnipresent. He was, in fact, still present to every point of space, holding everything together by the word of His power (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; Acts 17:24-28). Another example of God interjecting Himself into time and space would be the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), as well as His indwelling of the body of every Christian (I Corinthians 6:19).
In Ps 139:7-10, David exclaims that He cannot flee from the presence of the Holy Spirit; if he ascends to heaven, He is there; if he descends into the depths of the earth, the Spirit is there also. Even if he could fly away swiftly, he could not escape the presence of the Spirit.
Omnipresence in the life and Ministry of Jesus
The Omnipresence of Jesus demonstrates the Omnipresence of God. Bromiley says that “God’s omnipresence is closely related to His omnipotence and omniscience: that He is everywhere enables Him to act everywhere and to know all things, and conversely, through omnipotent action and omniscience knowledge.” page 595. As stated in Matt 28:19-20, In giving the great Commission, Jesus commanded his disciples to go as witnesses everywhere, even to the end of the earth, and he would be with them to the end of the age. Indicate that he is not limited either by space or by time. Only God has the ability to be everywhere at once, yet Jesus Christ claims this ability. . Then in Matthew 18:20, He says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Further in John 14:17, “… But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” Christ’s indwelling of every believer demands that He is omnipresent. The omnipresence of the Spirit is also taught in John 14:17 where Christ taught the disciples that the spirit would dwell them all, an affirmation of the Spirit’s omnipresence. In fact, it is evidently the omnipresence of “God with us” that is the subject of John 3:13, which says, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of God who is in heaven.” Remember, these words were being spoken by Jesus Himself while manifested here on this earth in the person of Jesus Christ.
Recognizing that Jesus has a human nature as well as a divine nature, it should be stated that in His Humanity He is localized in heaven, but in His deity He is omnipresent.
The doctrine of omnipresence is a comfort to the believer who recognizes that no calamity can befall him that God is not present with Him and assures the believer that God is at hand to save in every place where there is any form of danger. It is also a warning to the disobedient person that he cannot escape the presence of God.
How Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence relate to:
Relate to Acts 2: 1-4, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Base on the above scripture, we can see the Omnipotence and Omnipresence of the Spirit of God manifested on the day of Pentecost. As the Breath or wind is a symbol of the Spirit of God. The coming of the Spirit and fire symbolize the divine presence of God. When they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they began speaking in other tongues. It symbolize God’s unlimited power enables them to speak in several languages.
Then in John 8:24 “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
Thus from the above scripture Jesus Knew (Omniscience) what will happen to those who do not believe in Him and that they would die in their sins.
Philippians 2 – Imitating Christ’s Humility
CONCLUSION
BIOLOGRAPHY
Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989.
A.H, Strong Systematic Theology
Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
Thomas C. Oden. Systemic Theology. Volume One: The Living God. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006.
Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Gen. Editor. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Volumes Three: K-P. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,……..
Merrill C. Tenny. Gen Editor. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Volume Four: M-P. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House……..
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology.
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