Doctrine In Practice 4: God Really Is Omnipotent

Don’t Judge Others

The omnipotence of God not only inspires faith; it demands even more than that. Because God alone has the power to save and destroy, He alone can ultimately judge; the fact there is only one law giver means there is only one judge (James 4:12 RV). To judge, therefore, is to ‘play God’ in a blasphemous way, arrogating to ourselves the role of lawgiver and judge. Yet apart from God we are powerless, totally and utterly. Our powerlessness needs to be reflected upon more deeply. We simply cannot judge. The omnipotence of God alone precludes it.

No Trust In Wealth

God has ‘spoken twice’, an idiom for Divine emphasis upon something, that all power belongs to Him, God is omnipotent- and exactly because of this, David says, we should not set our heart upon riches if they happen to increase (Ps. 62:10,11). As the world economy develops more and more wealth, increase in riches is a temptation which faces many believers, both relatively rich and relatively poor, in most countries of the world. I’d guess that well over 50% of Christians have experienced an increase in riches over the past 20 years. The temptation is of course to ‘set our heart’ upon them, and the illusion of freedom which increased wealth brings. This most insidious temptation, David says, can be overcome by a deep sense of how important it is to believe that all power is of God alone. This means that money is not equal to power; because all power is of God. Don’t set your heart upon money because power is from God… these simple, inspired words dramatically torpedo this world’s most crucial principle: that money = power. It doesn’t. Quite simply, because all power is of God.