Pigeon River Mennonite Church
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Ephesians 1:15-23 NIV
The Doctrines Series
1. The Doctrine of Scripture.
2. The Doctrine of God.
3. The Doctrine of the Holiness of God.
4. The Doctrine of God’s Sovereignty.
5. The Doctrine of God’s Omnipotence.
6. The Doctrine of Creation.
7. The Doctrine of the Image of God in Man.
8. The Doctrine of Sin.
9. The Doctrine of Justification.
10. The Doctrine of Sanctification.
11. The Doctrine of the Perseverance and Glorification of the Saints.
12. The Doctrine of Eternity.
The Doctrine of God's Omnipotence:
“God is omnipotent, almighty in power. He can do, without effort, whatever he wills at any time and in any place, he chooses to exercise his power. This is the highest possible definition of power. This means God is utterly and completely unique in power. There is nothing in heaven or on earth that is comparable in power to God. God’s power has no limits. There is nothing that God cannot do, according to his holy will and pleasure, and nothing that can inhibit or stop God’s exercise of his power."
Utterly Unique in Power:
"Everything on the creature side of the line is limited in power. No person has the power to do anything he or she wants to do. No animal has unlimited power. Everything on this side of the creature-Creator line suffers from weakness, inability, and limits. God is utterly unique in power. There are no comparisons to be made. There are no categories to put him in. There are no workable analogies to be made. To say that God is omnipotent is to say that God is God. The consideration of the power of God will always lead us to that age-old rhetorical question, ‘Who is a God like our God?’”
Two Focal Points of God's Omnipotence:
1. The Power of Creation
2. The Power of Resurrection
Humans are creative:
“Human beings are creative, but we do not have the power to create. Everything we ‘create’ begins with raw material. Even the microbiologists, who claim that they can generate life in a petri dish, always begin the process with the mixing of chemical substances. They haven’t actually created anything; they have simply manipulated created substances to generate something new. They are very skilled and creative scientifically, but it would be disingenuous for them to claim they have the power to create. There are few better definitions of almighty power than the power to create a world using no raw material whatsoever.”
Not Even Death...
“Here’s what it means to be almighty: no effort was required for Christ to rise again. There was no consideration of whether or not it was possible. There was never a flash of doubt at any point in God’s mind. There was no consideration of a plan B. Resurrection was the plan, and God had the power because God is God. Almighty means that not even death has the power to defeat you. Omnipotent means that raising the dead is within the scope of what you are able to do. Resurrection power means your power is unique and unparalleled. The power to resurrect is the highest form of power. Resurrection power means that the most powerful created thing is very, very small and very, very weak when compared to you. Omnipotent means that there is nothing and no one like you. The resurrection is a finger that points to the omnipotence of God. The power to resurrect separates God from us and everything else. Only Almighty God has the power to bring life out of what was once dead."
In Light of God's Omnipotence:
1. We are all tempted to doubt the power of God.
2. It is vital that the power of God become a key way you interpret your world and your identity as his child.
3. We all need to understand the power of God for our everyday living.
4. We all need to abandon our delusions of autonomy and self-sufficiency.
a. "You will be like God" (autonomy)
b. "The tree was desired to make one wise." (self-sufficiency)
5. Our problem is with the limits of our faith, not with God's power.
6. You and I will not always be happy with the way God exercises his power.
7. God's power is essential to his fathering care for us.
Beware of Secular Naturalism:
“A biblical worldview, which has an omnipotent God at the center of all things, ruling in power and glory, is absent in the conversation of the culture that beams into your home and into your heart everyday. We must also realize that the biblical worldview is not just absent, but it has been replaced by a polar opposite way of making sense out of life. The view of life that dominates today says that everything in life has a scientific or natural explanation. This is the view of life that public schools teach our children from the earliest grades. Scientific naturalism underlies what students at secular or state universities are taught, no matter what one’s major is.”
To Be a Christian Means:
"To be a Christian means you are the child of this omnipotent one. It means his power is not just an expression of who he is, but now, by grace, is a gift to you as his child.”
“God meets our weakness with his power. If you really believe that, not only will you have hope but you will also change the way you think about and deal with the hard places in your life.”
Discontentment:
“The drama of our lives is not about the power of God or his willingness to exert it for our rescue, provision, protection, and transformation. No, the daily spiritual drama is about whether we will respond with gratitude or complaint when we experience what his power provides for us and where his power leads us. God’s people have not always been content with how he chooses to exert his power.”
רַחַם racham, compassion (in the plur.); by extens. the womb (as cherishing the fetus);
CMC Statement of Theology "God"
“God is the one and only true God, eternal, perfect and infinite in His being, holiness, love, wisdom, mercy, righteousness and power; transcendent above the world as its Creator, yet immanent in the world as the Preserver of all things. God is self-existent and self-revealing in three divine persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – who are distinct in function, but equal in power and glory.”
CMC Statement of Theology "The Kingdom"
“The kingdom of God is the realm where God reigns. It is a present reality and is visible on earth, especially in the church, giving believers release from the power and penalty of sin. The kingdom is extended on earth by evangelism and is expressed in Gospel preaching, compassionate ministries, peacemaking based on reconciliation to God through faith in Christ, and in supernatural demonstrations of God’s power. As participants in the kingdom, God’s people follow Christ in the way of live, peace, and non-resistance in relating to all people, including personal and national enemies. The final fulfillment of the kingdom is awaited, when God’s people will be free from the presence of sin and the kingdom of Satan will be judged and doomed to everlasting destruction.”
“Here’s where the theology of the omnipotence of God should lead you. In response to the weakness, which none of us can honestly deny, what God gives us is himself. He is what we need. He comes to us to dwell inside of us and to unleash his power in the places where we are weak and unable. The truth of God’s creation/resurrection power is not an abstract impersonal thing. It is your daily hope. Resurrection power is yours right now. Your potential is not restricted by your weakness, because it’s no longer you (alone) who lives, but Christ lives (in almighty power) in you.”
Reflection Questions/ Sunday School Discussion:
1. What is the role and importance of doctrine of God's omnipotence in your life? How has this doctrine impacted your faith in the last week?
2. What does it mean to you that God is omnipotent in His creative power?
3. What does it mean to you that God is omnipotent in His resurrection power?
4. How does discontentment in your life skew your view of God's omnipotent power?
5. The Hebrew word for compassion used in Psalm 103:13 comes from the root word for womb and thus suggests that this is the compassion of a parent for an unborn child. In what ways does this speak to you in our modern cultural/political climate?