Omnipotence

1. The doctrine of God's omnipotence has two distinct interpretations that can cause much confusion if they are not understood. The first interpretation of  God's omnipotence is that God can do anything without any restriction. The second is that God's omnipotence is only one of the many attributes of God and therefore God can only do anything within the restrictions of His other attributes. An example that can help explain the different interpretations is found in the often asked question "Can God make a square circle?". Holders of the first interpretation of God's omnipotence would say "yes'" while holders of the second interpretation of God's omnipotence would say "no" because it would contradict God's attribute of being the Logos. The Bible takes the second interpretation of God's omnipotence as it tells us that there are things that God can not do. For example, Titus 1:2 tells us that God can not lie. If God could lie than it would contradict His attribute of being Truth. (7/26/13)