We continued our series on exploring the big questions of life tonight, looking at the question ‘What Is God Like?’ This meant exploring the attributes of God (the things that make Him God.) We started with the ‘Three Os’ – His omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.
Omnipresence
This simply means that God is everywhere at the same time. Ps 139:7-10 demonstrates this, and Prov 15:3 says, ‘The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. It is difficult for our finite minds to comprehend the idea that God can be everywhere at the same time because we are so used to thinking in terms of time and space, but of course, God is eternal (He is not bound by time) and He can fill all things in every way. (Eph 1:23) The fact that God is omnipresent means that we cannot hide from Him at all, but it also means we are never alone. (Matt 28:20, Heb 13:5)
Omnipotence
This means that God is all-powerful. There are so many examples of His miraculous power in the Bible, from His creative power (Gen 1) to His power to part the Red Sea (Ex 14) to His power to heal, demonstrated so many times in both Old and New Testaments. Every miracle in the Bible is evidence of God’s power, but of course the greatest miracle we see is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (Acts 2:24)
The Bible reminds us repeatedly that Satan is a defeated foe and that God is the ultimate victor. John reminds us that ‘the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) Paul tells us that ‘having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.’ (Col 2:15) We don’t have to fear any human foe and we don’t have to fear Satan, because we serve an all-powerful God. What is even more amazing is that He gives us access to this power (Eph 1:19, John 14:12) God’s omnipotence is not just of academic interest; it has a direct impact on how we live, since we can have access to that power in our own daily lives. Jesus said, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt 17:20) That’s the kind of life we can have, because that’s the kind of God we have.
Omniscience
This means that God knows everything (see Ps 139:1-6). Unlike our knowledge, God’s knowledge has no limitations (Ps 119:96) and His understanding has no limit. (Ps 147:5) God’s knowledge of us, other people, the world and the future mean that we can live ‘care free in the care of God’ (1 Pet 5:7). It means we don’t have to know everything, because God does, and this enables us to relax and live in trust, rather than in anxiety or fear.
