The Eighth Attribute of God: His Omnipotence

His Omnipotence.

The next attribute is the omnipotence of GOD: for we told you, that this infiniteness of GOD consisted in four things.

First, in the infiniteness of his presence.

Secondly, in the infiniteness of his power.

Thirdly, in the infiniteness of his wisdom.

Fourthly, in the absoluteness of his will. The first of these we have spoken of his omnipresence: now we come to speak of his omnipotence.

I will not stand to prove it. It is observed by some divines, that God is almighty, is expressed seventy times in the Scripture. Matthew 19:26, Luke 1:39: To God nothing is impossible. He does whatever he will: and in Genesis, it is said, The God almighty be with you, etc. (Genesis 28:3).

In handling this attribute, I will show you what it is, and the reasons of it, and the objections against it, as I have done in the rest.

The omnipotence of God lies in this, that he is able to do whatever is absolutely, simply, and generally possible to be done. Other things can do what is possible to do in their own kind; as fire can do what belongs to fire to do; and a lion can do what is possible for him to do: so men, and angels: but no creature can do what is simply and absolutely possible to be done. Now whatever can be done, when the nature of the thing is not repugnant to it, without any limitation, that the Lord is able to do: and herein is his omnipotence seen. And the ground of it is this.

Because all creatures are put into their several kinds; a man is one kind of creature, he is not an angel; angels are another kind, they are not men; and as they are put in several kinds, and hedged in, and limited with bounds and definitions, so is their power limited; they can do what is in their own sphere, and according to their essence and being, such is their power: but the Lord is a being without all limits and restraint, an absolute being, and an unlimited essence; and therefore he can be said not only to do things within such a compass, within this or that kind, but whatever is simply, and absolutely possible to be done; even that his power reaches to, and this is properly his omnipotence.

There is no attribute of GOD, that does need a greater degree of faith than this: therefore reasons are not unnecessary. The first reason therefore is this.

First, consider, that he that made these great things, he that made the highest heavens, and those heavens that you see, he that made the earth, and the deep sea, he that made the wind, and the treasures of snow, and hail, he that made the angels, he that wrought so many miracles, you must think that he that does these things can do the like: as he that has made a fair picture or statue, he can make another; he that makes a fair house, you are ready to say, that he is able to build another. Look then upon his great works, and you will think that he is able to do the like. This is an argument very frequent in Scripture, when there is any occasion of expressing God's great power to bring any thing to pass: as he that made heaven and earth, he that brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, he that divided the Red Sea, he that wrought the wonders in Egypt before Pharaoh and all his host; and such like.

Secondly, consider the manner how the Lord did all these things. You know he did no more, but say, Let there be light, and there was light: Let the trees bring forth, let the fishes multiply, and the air be filled with fowl, and it was so. Now to do such things with a word, with such facility, is a sign of an infinite power: for when one can do great things, with his breath, or little finger, we are apt to say, what could he do if he put his whole strength to it? So the manner of his working does show the infiniteness of his power.

Thirdly, the further any thing is off from being, the more power it requires to bring it to being. As take base materials, and there is greater power required, to make a fair building of them; to make a goodly statue of a crooked piece of wood, is harder, than that which comes nearer in propinquity to it. Now no being at all is in a thousand times greater distance, than the basest materials are from such or such a being, and therefore the power must be infinitely greater that brings it to being. Now the Lord has done this, therefore his power must be infinitely great. To make this more plain to you; consider what it is that restrains man's power, so that he can go no further: it is because the matter will not permit him. If you give him clay, and straw, he can make brick; but if you give him nothing, he can do nothing: so if you give him timber, he can make a house; but if you give him none of these, he can do nothing. But suppose now, there was such an architect, such a builder, that if he did but imagine the model or frame of a house in his mind, he could set it up of nothing, or make materials at his pleasure, he could make it as big as he could conceive it, then also he could make as many houses as he could think of, and in as great and large a manner, as he could conceive, if there were such a one, there would be no restraint to him. Now the Lord is such a builder, whatever he conceives, he can make it without any thing, as he did the heavens and the earth: and therefore there is no restraint in his power, as there is in the creature.

Fourthly, consider that the attributes of God are equal, and needs must be so, because every attribute is his essence, and we do but distinguish them in our understanding: his omnipotence is but the active power, his will, the commanding; and his understanding, the directing: we distinguish them thus. But in him they are all one. Hence I reason thus: the wisdom of God, the largeness and infiniteness of his understanding and knowledge, what is it not able to conceive? You know men are able to think much, and Angels more than men, but God is able to conceive infinitely beyond them: for his thoughts are above ours, as the heavens are above the earth. Now whatever he can conceive, his power is able to act it. In man it is not so; he imagines and wills many things, but his power falls short, because his faculties are not as large as the object: but God can imagine infinitely, and his power is as large and infinite as his wisdom: therefore he must be able to do things that are infinite. So (Psalm 135): He does whatever he wills, to show that his power is as large as his will: which cannot be said of any creature. Consider these things; for when you are in distress, and put to it, you shall find need of them to persuade you that God is Almighty.

Now I come to answer the objections which are made against this, which are these.

Objection 1: First, why does God produce no infinite thing, no infinite effect? All his effects are finite: therefore we cannot see by anything he does, that he is omnipotent.

Answer: It is true in natural causes, and such causes as produce things only like to themselves, which are called univocal causes (but I will not trouble you with that distinction); there the cause goes not beyond the effect: as fire begets fire, and it cannot but beget it, and it cannot go beyond it, for it is a natural cause, and produces effects like to itself; so a Lion begets a Lion, because it is a natural cause.

But there are causes wherein it is not so; wherein you must not say, that there is no such effect, and therefore the cause does not go beyond it: that is, in voluntary causes, wherein the cause does not work necessarily, but by the liberty of his will, and he may be able to do much more than he does.

Objection 2: There are some things which God cannot do, as things that are past, and have been, he cannot cause them not to have been, etc.

Answer: The reason why God cannot do these things, is not because there is a restraint of his power, but because the things are not possible to be done; because he cannot make truth to be falsehood, or things that are, not to be; whatever implies a contradiction, he cannot do: and the reason is, because the things are not to be done: but in things simply possible, therein consists his omnipotence: as when it is not contrary to the nature of the thing, as when the predicate is not repugnant to the nature and essence of the subject; as a Lion being a Lion cannot be a man, this is a thing that cannot be done: therefore it is no impeachment to his omnipotence not to do it.

Objection 3: God cannot sin, God cannot deny himself, he cannot lie, etc.

Answer: We need not answer this: for even for this cause he is omnipotent, because he cannot do these things. As if I should say, the Sun is full of light, it cannot be dark. These are the expressions which the Scripture uses: as (Titus 1:2) God cannot lie: and (2 Timothy 2:13) God cannot deny himself.

Finis.