Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What does it mean that God is omnificent?
Answer: The word omnificence refers to the ability to create all things or to have unlimited power to create. Though an uncommon English word, omnificence rightly describes God’s unlimited power to create all things as noted in the Bible’s first verse: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).Colossians 1:15–17 similarly affirms God’s omnificence, specifically in Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”God’s omnificence is part of His omnipotence, His quality of being infinite in power. God is stronger and more powerful than any created being or object. In Job 37:23 Elihu says, “The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.” Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” God has the power to do all things.Another attribute of God related to omnificence is His omniscience, the quality of God that identifies Him as infinite in knowledge. God’s omniscience worked hand in hand with His omnificence in creation: “By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place” (Proverbs 3:19). Being omnificent, and having created all things, God naturally knows all things. First John 3:20 says that God is greater than our hearts and He knows all things. Isaiah 46:10 says that God knows the future as well as the past: “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.” He knows us through and through; He knows our very thoughts, even before they are formed in our minds: “Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely” (Psalm 139:4).The Bible reveals many other attributes of God as well. In many ways God’s creative work is an expression of His attributes. For example, “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20).Psalm 104 is full of praise for our omnificent God: “How many are your works, Lord!In wisdom you made them all;the earth is full of your creatures.There is the sea, vast and spacious,teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small” (verses 24–25).The psalm also praises God for the creation of light, the clouds, the wind, the seas, the mountains, the valleys, the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky, the trees, the sun and moon, and the very rhythm of life. All is proof of God’s omnificence.Psalm 40:5 wonders at the depth of God’s omnificence: “Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. . . . None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” God’s creative power is unlimited and beyond our ability to fully comprehend. He is our omnificent Creator, our Sustainer, and our only source for eternal life. “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).