Scripture affirms God’s omnipotence by saying that God does whatever he is pleased to do (Psa 115:3; cf. Isa 55:11 and Jer 32:17). Nothing is too hard for him (Gen 18:14). His word is never void of power, so when he speaks, everything in creation obeys him (Isa 55:11). Of course, creatures do disobey him in one sense; that is the essence of sin. But God has control even over sinful actions (Psa 105:24-25, Gen 45:5-8, Exod 4:21, Psa 105:24-25, Rom 9:18, Acts 2:23, 4:28). He ordains sinful, disobedient actions for his good purposes. So his word always prevails, and we can trust that His prophecies always come to pass (Deut 18:21-22).

Often we infer from these passages that God “can do anything.” But that doesn’t quite reflect the full biblical teaching. There are things that God cannot do. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2, cf. Num 23:19), nor, similarly, can he perform any immoral action. Since God is perfectly holy and good, he cannot do anything evil. And, since he is perfect truth, he cannot do things that are logically contradictory, like making round squares. His truth is a perfect consistency of thought and action. Nor can God do things inappropriate to his nature as God, like buying shoes or celebrating his birthday.

So how should we define God’s omnipotence more precisely? I think the most helpful definition of God’s omnipotence is this: that he has complete and total control over everything. This includes the smallest details of the natural world, like the falling of a sparrow or the number of hairs that grow on your head (Matt 6:26-30, 10:29-30). Even the events we call random, that we ascribe to chance, are really God at work (Prov 16:33). That includes not only the small things, but also the big things (which, after all, are accumulations of small things). He determines what nations will dwell in which territory (Acts 17:26). He decides what king is to rule, and when, and where (Isa 44:28). He decides whether the purposes of a ruler will stand or fall (Psa 33:10-11). And he decided, once, that wicked people would take the life of his dear Son, so that we sinners might live (Acts 2:23-24).

God rules not only the important events of human history but also the lives of individual people. He knits us together in our mothers’ wombs (Psa 139:13-16). He decides whether we will travel or stay home (Jas 4:13-17). He controls even the decisions of wicked people, as we saw above. But he also exerts his power to save sinners, to bring forgiveness and new life (Eph 2:8-10). Our salvation is entirely the work of God’s power, not at all our own work. We believe in Christ because he has appointed us to eternal life (Acts 13:48) and because he has opened our hearts to believe (Acts 16:14-15; cf. John 6:44, 65, Phil 1:29).

So his power is universal: it controls everything in the universe (Lam 3:37-38, Rom 8:28, Eph 1:11, Rom 11:33-36).