Is there anything God can't do?

[BBAS 64]

God can do anything. However, He chooses not to do many things. He could lie if He wanted to, but He chooses not to. He could also go against His character if He wanted to, but He chooses not to. He also chooses not to breech our free will. There are plenty of things that He won't do, ever, but He could if He wished to.

Good Day, SoulifieD

Under what circumstance would God be put into a position to lie? How do you reconsile your view with the view of Scripture that clearly states God CANNOT lie, not that he would not? If he was inclined to Lie on what bases would an aframation from his will alow him to do so?

Peace to u,

BBAS

 

[BBAS 64]

Of course not.

Good Day, Jim

Can he misrepresent the truth? Can he flood the world with Rain?


For His Glory Alone!

BBAS

 

[Jim B]

Good Day, Jim

Can he misrepresent the truth? Can he flood the world with Rain?


For His Glory Alone!

With God all things are possible.

 

[Svt4Him]

Ok, could God make a rock so big that even He couldn't pick it up?

 

[cyberwing]

For those curious as to the scriptures being referred to:

Num 23:17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken?


Num 23:18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:


Num 23:19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?


Num 23:20 Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

This is from the Blue Letter Bible a wonderful research resource for bible study. Be blessed this day dear ones!
~Cyberwing

 

[Jim B]

Ok, could God make a rock so big that even He couldn't pick it up?

Sure. But don't ask me how.

 

[Svt4Him]

Sure. But don't ask me how.

That is not true, as it is limiting God's power. It is impossible for God to do some things that are against His character. It is the same as saying we can have anything we pray for, as long as we pray in Jesus' name. This is untrue. A correct understanding of what that means clears it up. As for the verse, that isn't the correct one, it's

Hebrews 6
18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

So is it possible for God to lie and this is false, or is it not, and the understanding of the aforementioned verse about with God, all things are possible, is incorrect.

 

[victoryword]

The Omnipotence of God: Could He Make a Stone So Heavy He Couldn’t Move It?​

By Dr. Norman Geisler​

Some critics have alleged that the theistic view of God is incoherent, since it claims God is omnipotent or all-powerful. They argue:​

1. An all-powerful Being can do anything.​

2. An all-powerful Being can make a stone so heavy that he cannot move it.​

3. Hence, an all-powerful Being cannot do everything.​

4. But premises 1 and 3 are contradictory​

5. Hence, it is contradictory to hold that God is all-powerful.​

No sophisticated theist really believes premise 1 in an unqualified way. What informed theists believe is that:​

1a. God can do anything that is possible.​

2a. It is not possible to make a stone so heavy that it cannot be moved.​

3a. Therefore, it is not possible for God to make a stone so heavy that he cannot move it.​

God cannot literally do any task we can imagine. He cannot contradict his own nature.​

Hebrews 6:18 declares, "It is impossible for God to lie." Neither can God do what is logically impossible; for example, make a square circle. He cannot make two mountains without a valley between. And he cannot deny the law of noncontradiction.​

Further, God cannot do what is actually impossible. For example, he cannot will not to create a world he has willed to create. Of course, he could have willed not to create. But once he willed to create it was impossible for him to will not to create. Neither can God force free creatures to believe things against their will. Forcing someone to freely do something is a contradiction in terms. For if it is free, it is not forced. And if it is forced, then it is not free.​

It is actually impossible to make a stone so heavy it cannot be moved. What an omnipotent Being can make, he can move. A finite creature cannot be more powerful in its resistance than the infinite Creator is in his power not to be resisted. If God brought it into existence, he can take it out of existence. Then he could recreate it somewhere else. Therefore, there is no contradiction in believing that God is omnipotent and that he can do anything that is possible to do. The critic has set up a straw-man argument and has not shown any incoherence in God’s attribute of omnipotence.​

 

[BBAS 64]

With God all things are possible.

Good Day, Jim

Intresting exergises of scripture am I to assume that though God you can flood the world with rain? Scripture clearly states that there are things that are impossible "CANNOT" do from God's view. For some reason you have not dealt in an effective manner with the implcations of that verse.

Peace to u,

BBAS

 

[BBAS 64]

That is not true, as it is limiting God's power. It is impossible for God to do some things that are against His character. It is the same as saying we can have anything we pray for, as long as we pray in Jesus' name. This is untrue. A correct understanding of what that means clears it up. As for the verse, that isn't the correct one, it's

Hebrews 6
18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

So is it possible for God to lie and this is false, or is it not, and the understanding of the aforementioned verse about with God, all things are possible, is incorrect.

Svt4Him,

Thank you for the refence to Scripture.

BBAS

 

[Svt4Him]

The Omnipotence of God: Could He Make a Stone So Heavy He Couldn’t Move It?​

By Dr. Norman Geisler​

Some critics have alleged that the theistic view of God is incoherent, since it claims God is omnipotent or all-powerful. They argue:​

1. An all-powerful Being can do anything.​

2. An all-powerful Being can make a stone so heavy that he cannot move it.​

3. Hence, an all-powerful Being cannot do everything.​

4. But premises 1 and 3 are contradictory​

5. Hence, it is contradictory to hold that God is all-powerful.​

No sophisticated theist really believes premise 1 in an unqualified way. What informed theists believe is that:​

1a. God can do anything that is possible.​

2a. It is not possible to make a stone so heavy that it cannot be moved.​

3a. Therefore, it is not possible for God to make a stone so heavy that he cannot move it.​

God cannot literally do any task we can imagine. He cannot contradict his own nature.​

Hebrews 6:18 declares, "It is impossible for God to lie." Neither can God do what is logically impossible; for example, make a square circle. He cannot make two mountains without a valley between. And he cannot deny the law of noncontradiction.​

Further, God cannot do what is actually impossible. For example, he cannot will not to create a world he has willed to create. Of course, he could have willed not to create. But once he willed to create it was impossible for him to will not to create. Neither can God force free creatures to believe things against their will. Forcing someone to freely do something is a contradiction in terms. For if it is free, it is not forced. And if it is forced, then it is not free.​

It is actually impossible to make a stone so heavy it cannot be moved. What an omnipotent Being can make, he can move. A finite creature cannot be more powerful in its resistance than the infinite Creator is in his power not to be resisted. If God brought it into existence, he can take it out of existence. Then he could recreate it somewhere else. Therefore, there is no contradiction in believing that God is omnipotent and that he can do anything that is possible to do. The critic has set up a straw-man argument and has not shown any incoherence in God’s attribute of omnipotence.​

This I agree with totally, although I heard a good way to expalin it before.

 

[sOuLifieD]

Good Day, SoulifieD

Under what circumstance would God be put into a position to lie? How do you reconsile your view with the view of Scripture that clearly states God CANNOT lie, not that he would not? If he was inclined to Lie on what bases would an aframation from his will alow him to do so?

Peace to u,

BBAS

I'm not saying that God ever will lie, but He surely could if He chose to.
God is faithful because He chooses to be, God is truth because He chooses to be, God doesn't change His character because He chooses not to. If He chose to be a liar, if He chose to change His character, He absolutely could. He wouldn't, because He has chosen not to be/do any of those things, but if He chose to change His character, He could be a liar, an unmerciful God, a vengeful God...anything.
He has limitations because He chooses to put them there. It is by His grace and mercy that He is good, not because He is under some obligation. God answers to no one but Himself. There is no higher power keeping Him in line.

I'm under the belief that God is the creator of all things, including love and truth, which are in His character. He could choose for them to be defined another way, or for them to not exist at all.
If you disagree, that's fine. But these are my beliefs.

 

[Svt4Him]

If you believe that, then how do you explain:

Hebrews 6
18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.


It seems pretty simple and clear to me that God can't lie. This is just common sense, it clearly says it's impossible for God to lie. Either this is a lie, or it's true. So is it a lie?

See, I equate this to my .999...=1 theory. You can't understand it, you try and twist it, but .999...=1. It doesn't almose equal one, point nine repeating equals one. But the mind has a hard time understanding it, but it doesn't make it any less true.

 

[crystalpc]

That is a good point. I think that someone posted it earlier, God cannot lie, because every thing that he says becomes truth. It would immediately be a truth. I think the illustration was that God says the moon was made of cheese, it would automatically be made of cheese!
I will go one further, since God dwells in eternity (outside of time) if he said the moon was cheese, there would never be any record of it ever having been made of anything else.

 

[sOuLifieD]

If you believe that, then how do you explain:

Hebrews 6
18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.


It seems pretty simple and clear to me that God can't lie. This is just common sense, it clearly says it's impossible for God to lie. Either this is a lie, or it's true. So is it a lie?

See, I equate this to my .999...=1 theory. You can't understand it, you try and twist it, but .999...=1. It doesn't almose equal one, point nine repeating equals one. But the mind has a hard time understanding it, but it doesn't make it any less true.

God has limitations because He chooses to put them there. If God is the creator of all things, including truth, which HE has made a part of His character, there is nothing that is equal to Him. Stating that there is something that God cannot change or that He did not create, is stating that there is something higher than God, or that He is a liar. God is the creator of all things, there is nothing higher, there is nothing out of His control.

 

[semper_baptist]

GOD HAS NO LIMITS, WE ARE THE LIMITED BY SIN. GOD HAS ALL HOLINESS, WE DONT.
HE WONT SIN BY CHOICE, NOT LIMIT.

 

[Svt4Him]

God has limitations because He chooses to put them there. If God is the creator of all things, including truth, which HE has made a part of His character, there is nothing that is equal to Him. Stating that there is something that God cannot change or that He did not create, is stating that there is something higher than God, or that He is a liar. God is the creator of all things, there is nothing higher, there is nothing out of His control.

Last post here, as it seems like we keep going around the same bush. If God said He can't lie, then can He lie?