Cyber-Discipleship

One of the oldest questions ever asked since the creation of the universe must have been, “Who is God?” From the dawn of civilization, people have posited the fact that this creation must have a Creator. They understood that all this did not come from nothing. According to the Bible, this Creator made Himself known to His creation in the Garden of Eden. But because of man disobedience in the Garden, he has been separated, cut off even, from his Creator. Yet, God did not leave Himself without a testimony. Through over 40 writers on three continents over thirty-five hundred years, God gave His people a personal testimony of Who He is. Over the next few posts, we hope to discover some of God’s self-witness: some of who God says He is. This is by no means an exhaustive list but some of the main attributes of God.

Omniscient.  Omniscience comes from two Greek words, “Omni” and science. Omni means all and science means knowledge. So Omniscience means God has all knowledge or God is all-knowing. In short, He knows everything about everything. As the Creator, He knows everything about His creation. He told Isaiah,

“for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose (Isaiah 46:9b-10),”

He knows what is going on within His creation at all times. He is very aware of the blood that is coursing through your veins at this very instant as well as what a lion is doing in the jungles of Africa, what a bird is eating in Anytown, America, the cries of the hungry in Cambodia, and what’s going on with a dust storm on Saturn. He even knows what is going on in the very hearts of men. Examples of this appear in Matthew 9:4, “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” and Matthew 12:25, Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand…”

Satan reminds me of the king of Syria in 2 Kings 6. The king of Syria was making plans in its war against Israel but God was telling Elisha who told the king of Israel. This happened more than once. So the king of Syria called together his counselors and asked them who was working for the king of Israel because he seems to know the plans the Syrian king makes in his bedchambers. Likewise, the devil really things he is going to outsmart God who knows his plans before he does. If he reads the back of the Book, he will see that he loses. God knows everything about everything.

Omnipresent. God exists everywhere in His creation at all times. There is never anyplace we can be or any time we can be that God is not there. The Psalmist wrote:

“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you (Psalm 139:7-12).”

Omnipotent/Sovereign. God is all-powerful. He can bring about whatever effect He desires in His creation. He is above every king and potentate. In fact, their hearts are in His hands (Exodus 14:8, Revelation 17:17). He controls, not only the hearts of men, but nature itself. He causes the sun to stand still (Joshua 10) or causes the rivers to change their courses (Exodus 14). Job 38-41 tells of God’s sovereignty over His creation.

Omnipotence means that God is all-powerful or fully sovereign over His creation but it does not mean that God can do anything. There are many things God cannot do. God cannot lie. God cannot die. God cannot sin. God cannot look upon sin. God cannot overlook sin. God cannot change His nature. God cannot do anything that is outside of His nature.