The godship of Jesus, fundamental truth of Christian faith. As we just said in Step 24, the summary of faith, for Christians, is to confess Jesus as Lord, and that His Lordship is a divine Lordship. All this means that being a Christian begins with believing and accepting Jesus Christ as the true Son of God. Faith in the godship of Jesus could not be underestimated, because the whole message of salvation is based on that faith: With the heart one believes to righteousness (Romans 10:10), and there is no justification but by this faith (Romans 3:28).
The divinity of Jesus belongs to the level of faith. To recognize Jesus Christ as Son of God is an act of faith. This means that it can not be known by means of reason, nor can it be demonstrated with human proofs and arguments. Faith's level is beyond science and history. Those who a priori (in advance) deny the existence of the supernatural or the divine inspiration of the Scripture, are unable to find in Jesus the God made flesh, precisely because they lack the only means to know that truth, which is faith.
There are sects that do not accept the godship of Jesus Christ. There are some sects that say that they accept the Bible, but as a matter of fact what they do is to interpret it in their own way. According to these sects the Scripture itself is the source that teaches that Jesus is inferior to God, and therefore He is not God. These sects, of course, are not Christians. The quotations they use most often are the following.
Biblical quotations of those who deny the divinity of Jesus. The two texts most frequently used by those who say that they accept the Bible but at the same time deny the godship of Jesus, are: first, My Father is greater than I, of John (14:28); if the Father is greater, then —they say,— Jesus is not God. The second one is this quotation from Paul: Now, when all things are made subject to Him (to the Son), then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him (1 Corinthians 15:28); if the Son will subject Himself to the Father —they say,— it is because the Son is inferior to God, which means that He is not God.
Other texts from which some difficulty originates. In Mark, Jesus says: But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Mark 13:32; compare Matthew 24:36); if there is something the Son does not know, it is because He is not God. There is another argument: Jesus spoke about His second coming (Luke 21:27), and added: Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away, till all things are fulfilled (Luke 21:32). Things didn't happen that way, which is a sign that He didn't know, and hence He was not God. All these texts may have a proper answer, and should be interpreted within the context of all the Scriptures. There is an overwhelming multitude of texts that prove that Jesus is truly the Son of God.
The dilemma before the Scriptures. The dilemma in front of the Scriptures is this: either they are accepted or they are not; what is unacceptable is to choose some texts and to deny others. Belief in the Scriptures is to believe in all the Scripture. Religious sects born at the margin of the biblical message are not Christians.
The God-Man, an incomprehensible mystery. There is an explanation, however, why in all ages there have been so many attempts to deny the godship of Jesus; it is the fact that the event of a God made flesh is always an incomprehensible mystery, and human mind resists believing it. The mystery of God made Man is a reality above everything that the human mind can imagine and understand.
The Jews couldn't believe either. Paul could say to the members of his own religion, the Jews, that they were also unable of recognizing this mystery of the love of God, that His own Son would have been made Man, because, Paul says, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8).
Go to the Steps directory.
There is never enough. Never is there enough spoken about the godship of Jesus. In this volume of Step by Step we have referred to this theme very often, particularly in the Preliminary Step, and in Steps 9, 22, 23 and 24; however, we could add some texts, not quoted yet or not sufficiently explained before.
The gospel of Mark. The testimony of Mark has much value as it was the first gospel to be written. Mark begins his gospel introducing Jesus as the Son of God: Beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1). Although the Old Testament uses the expression "son of God" in reference to men (as we said in Step 23), here undoubtedly Mark is speaking about the only begotten Son of God. The same testimony is heard at Jesus' baptism: You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mark 1:11); and in the transfiguration: This is My beloved Son, hear Him! (Mark 9:7).
Other quotations from Mark. Jesus Himself gives a proof of His divinity when He said to the paralytic: Son, your sins are forgiven. The Jews were reasoning in their hearts: Who can forgive sins but God alone? Then Jesus, confirming that He could forgive sins precisely because He was God, said: But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins —He said to the paralytic,— Arise, take up your bed, and go your way to your house (Mark 2:5-11). Finally, in the announcement of the second coming, Jesus will be "sitting at the right hand of God," which means that He is equal to God: And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:62).
The gospels of Matthew and Luke. Luke and Matthew confirm the testimony that Jesus is the Son of God, at baptism (Matthew 3:17; Luke 3:22), and in the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5; Luke 9:35), and both evangelists confirm the testimony of the divinity of Jesus on the healing of the paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:18-22). Matthew brings up also Peter's confession: You are the Christ, the Son of God (Matthew 16:16). Other, not direct, but implicit, testimony, is that of Jesus saying: All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son (Matthew 11:27). Luke confirms this testimony of Jesus (Luke 10:22).
The forceful testimony of John. The gospel of John is the one that gives us the most direct and powerful proof that Jesus is God, the Word of God. He begins his gospel speaking about the eternal preexistence of the Word, which is an exclusive attribute of God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:1, 3). And this preexistent Word was the One who became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). John names this Word made flesh the only begotten of the Father, in order that the unmistakable meaning of the expression is clear.
John attains the aim of his gospel. As we said in another place (Step 8), John expressly said that his purpose in writing a gospel was to give a testimony of the divinity of Jesus: These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31); he achieved this aim thoroughly. In many places he quotes the words of Jesus speaking about His divine character; and, although Jesus didn't say it directly, He speaks in a way that there is not a minimal doubt about what He is saying. I and My Father are one (John 10:30), and being one with the Father is equal to being God. He talked also about His eternal preexistence, which is God's attribute: Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58). And what happened then? It was so clear that Jesus intended to be considered God, that they took up stones to throw at Him (John 8:59), because he said that He was God.
Peter confirms the testimony of the gospels. The resurrection produced in Peter such a strong impact, that the theme of his first speech was to affirm the divine character of Jesus. God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). In Step 24 we explained the meaning of these words. Years later, when Peter wrote his second letter, he addressed it to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ ((2 Peter 1:1). This text alone wouldn't prove the godship of Jesus, but does confirm what other texts say more clearly.
Paul's testimony at his conversion. The testimony of Paul is of more value since he was a persecutor of those who saw in Jesus something more than a man. Immediately after his conversion, being still at Damascus, he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God (Acts 9:20).
Paul's testimony in Romans. The central theme of Paul's message in his letter to Romans is the divinity of Jesus Christ. At the beginning of this letter, —which is the best one to explain this subject,— Paul sets down the departure point, saying: Paul, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before... concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power... by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:2-4). These words, declared to be the Son of God with power, are an account of what he had experienced at the moment of his conversion: that Jesus was the Son of God. Paul, being consistent with this, attributes to Jesus a kind of glorification which is reserved to God: For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever (Romans 11:36).
Paul's testimony to Philippians. We referred already to the text of Philippians in which Paul names Jesus o Kyrios, The Lord: Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God... and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11). This hymn, which was probably used by Christians when Paul wrote the letter, proclaims openly the divinity of Jesus.
Paul's testimony to Colossians. We find in the letter to Colossians an indisputable testimony of the godship of Jesus, when Paul talks about the preexistence of the Son, and how the fullness of divinity dwells in Him: He is the image of the invisible God... all things were created through Him and for Him... He is before all things, and in Him all things consist... in Him all the fullness should dwell... In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 1:15, 16, 17, 19; 2:9).
The humanity of Jesus, veil of His divinity. We should take into account also that, if the New Testament is so discrete affirming the divinity of Jesus, it is due to His godship being hidden under the veil of His humanship. It was more natural to assign to Jesus divine attributes and functions than naming Him God. This explains also why it was written: My Father is greater than I, of John 14:28; and the Son Himself will also be subject to Him (the Father), of 1 Corinthians 15:28; because, as a man, Jesus was certainly inferior to the Father and was subjected to Him. Some biblicists would prefer to call Jesus divine instead of God.
Go to the Steps directory.
Christians today do not wonder how a man could be God. The family is the primary source of faith for most of the Christians, today; one is born in a Christian family, and continues being a Christian; one learns from childhood that the Baby Jesus is the Baby God, and since then Jesus Christ is always God, without asking, how could a man be God?
The first Christians were converted Jews. Many of the Christians of the first four centuries were not Christians through family tradition, but by conversion from Judaism or paganism. The first Christians were monotheists converted from Judaism, strongly bound to the Law of Moses, and with deeply rooted tradition about the unity of God. For them, to accept a Man who is God was something incompatible with their faith in Yahveh.
The difficulty for pagans were the spirits and the resurrection. The gospel was preached, after the Jews, to the gentiles. The majority of pagans were materialists; they did not believe in spirits, much less in resurrection. To talk about a spiritual God, or about a man who gave His own resurrection as the proof that He was God, was something that they could not understand. We want to know what these things are, they asked Paul (Acts 17:20). And when he preached the message of the risen Jesus at the Areopagus, some mocked, while others said: We will hear you again on this matter (Acts 17:32).
An epoch very dissimilar to ours. Everything seems to indicate that Christians from the first to the fourth centuries were more interested, than today's Christians, in understanding the how and what of God, and how it could be said that Jesus was the Son God; otherwise there is no explanation for the fact that several ecumenical councils were celebrated to elucidate the doctrine regarding the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and to explain how a Man could be called God. The councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Calcedon expounded the doctrine about the uniqueness and trinity of God, and about the Word made flesh. It seems that today almost theologians alone are interested in these themes, and faithful people continue blindly believing what their pastors teach, many times without understanding it.
The Nicene Creed. As a matter of information we present here a synthesis of the facts surrounding those councils, and an explanation of their declarations. That will include reference to terms like substance or nature, hypostasis or person, which are the words used by the Nicene Creed, the creed accepted by the majority of the Eastern and Western Churches, reformed and not reformed.
Constantine is converted and called the council of Nicea. In the year 313 Constantine the Emperor was converted to Christianity, and stopped the persecution Christians had suffered for almost three centuries; he also gave freedom to the church. Using that climate of tranquillity that for the first time reigned in the church, the emperor convened a council of all the bishops (ecumenic council) to resolve the existing dispute between Arius, presbyter of Alexandria, and the bishop Alexander.
Two opinions about Jesus. The first council was convened at Nicea, year 325, at the emperor's palace and presided over by him. Two prevalent opinions among Christians were discussed there: one, that of Arius, who affirmed that Jesus, the Son of God made flesh, was inferior to the Father; the other one, of bishop Alexander, who said that the Son was equal to the Father. The emperor proposed the use of the word homoousios, that means "consubstantial," that is, that the Son has "the same nature of the Father." According to this, the Son is true God, because Father and Son are an unique and same divine nature; that is the meaning of consubstantial. Father and Son are one. All bishops, two excepted, signed the declaration.
Council of Constantinople. The council of Constantinople, year 381, completed the declaration of Nicea and resorted to the word hypostasis, which in English means person, to teach that there are three divine persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The council taught that the Holy Spirit is one only God with the Father and Son, and called Him "Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified." It was thus that the Creed of Nicene or the Nicenus-Constantinopolitanus Creed was formulated, and what has been named the doctrine about the Trinity was completed. The Eastern and Western churches, which had been separated, came together again.
The council of Calcedon and the hypostatic union. The council of Calcedon, year 451, ratified the teachings of Nicea and Constantinople, and affirmed what has been named the personal union or hypostatic union in Christ. According to the Council, the human nature and the divine nature in Jesus subsist in only one person, the divine. There are not two persons in Jesus Christ, one divine and the other one human, but only one person, the person of the Son.
Go to the Steps directory.
God didn't want to reveal dogmas. We must recognize that God didn't want to reveal dogmas nor theological propositions. If we look at the Scripture we can see that the purpose of God when talking to mankind was to let Himself be known in a plain and simple way, and to communicate with men in the sense of coming together in communion with them.
God reveals Himself in and by Jesus Christ. God attained the objectives that we just mentioned (of revealing and communicating) mainly by the incarnation of His Son. God reveals Himself in Jesus Christ and by Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ is the revelation of God and the communion of God with humanity. We read in Hebrews: God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:1, 2). God has spoken to us in His Son who is His Word: He is the revelation of God.
The Scripture is not written in philosophical terms. From the beginning of creation God speaks and reveals Himself to mankind more by deeds than by words; the incarnation of the Son is the most evident proof. It is not surprising then that, when those who had obtained "power" in the church —the bishops,— tried to articulate in words the how of the mysteries of God, and to explain in some way the being of God, they didn't find words in the Scripture to do so; and they had to resort to notions of Greek philosophy, because, as we said, God does not speak in philosophical terms or concepts but mainly by deeds.
Philosophical concepts used by the councils. The main philosophical terms used from Nicea to Calcedon were: substance, and its derivative consubstantial; hypostasis or person, and relation. The dogmas about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were written using these concepts, as well as the dogmas regarding the Son of Man made flesh, Jesus Christ. Let us see what the bishops wanted to say when they used these words in their declarations.
Substance, nature and essence. These three words are practically equivalent; each one means the most intimate of any being, the ultimate reason of their existence or, as philosophers say, "that by which a being is what it is." The essence of God is that by which God is God, that is, what God is in Himself. The essence of God is TO BE: I AM WHO I AM, the Lord said to Moses (Exodus 3:14).
There is only one divine nature. To say that there is only one divine nature means that there is only one who is God. The Greek word to say nature or substance is ousia; the ousia of God is the substance of God. The council of Nicea declared that the Son made flesh, Jesus Christ, was homo-ousios with the Father. As homoousios means consubstantial, what the council said was that the divine nature which was in Jesus Christ, was the same nature of the Father; or, in other words, that the unique and indivisible nature of God was in the Father as well as in the Son, Jesus Christ. Obviously, this is not the way the Scripture speaks.
God has revealed Himself in three persons. Human beings are not able to know how God is, except by what God reveals to them that He is; God is, by Himself, unattainable and beyond anything that man can think, say or imagine. There is however a neotestamentary fact (of the New Testament) that God has revealed as Father, as Son and as Holy Spirit. If God reveals Himself thus it is because the ousia of God, the nature of God, is in some way triune. The councils gave to this trinity in His nature the name of persons, and responded to the problem that the church confronted at that time, namely, to explain how God being one, the Scripture however spoke about Father, Son and Holy Spirit as being God.
Original meaning of the word hypostasis. Etymologically the Greek word hypostasis means "what is under," or "the base or foundation" of something, and is translated into English as person. This word is found in the New and Old Testament, although with different meanings from those given by the council. When the council gave the name of hypostases to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, what the council was saying was that the nature of God was in each one of the three persons. According to the council, the ousia of God (His nature) subsists in three hypostases (persons); and we know it, because that was the way God revealed Himself. The persons do not identify with the ousia, with the essence, but each one stays different and each one expresses everything God is.
The persons are distinguished by the relationship. According to the council of Constantinople, the persons are distinguished by the relationship each one has with the other two. The Father generates or is the generator; the Son is generated, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by inspiration. There are, therefore, three relations: one of paternity of the Father with the Son; another of filiation of the Son with the Father; and another of inspiration of the Spirit by proceeding from, not generation by, the Father.
Controversy about the "filioque." The council of Constantinople affirmed that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father; it didn't say that the Spirit proceeded from the Son, too. By the eighth and ninth century it was introduced in the Latin liturgy the word filioque, "and of the Son" (from the Latin Filius, which means Son; and the suffix que, which means "and"), meaning that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son. This custom was based in what the council of Constantinople had said of the Holy Spirit: "who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified." The controversy about the filioque still persists and divides the churches of East and West.
The union of the divine and human natures in Jesus Christ. A very serious point was still to be clarified after Nicea and Constantinople: if in Jesus was the same nature of the Father, then, who was Jesus? Was He only God? Was he really man? There were some who said that He didn't have a complete human nature, and therefore He couldn't be called man. That was the image of a Jesus dehumanized and "superdivinized," that has brought so many regrettable consequences for Christianity up to our days.
Hypostatical union. The council of Calcedon answered those questions and taught that there was a hypostatical union in Jesus Christ. That was the expression used by the council to explain the union of the divine nature and the human nature in Jesus Christ; it was a union in the person or hypostatical, that is, that in Jesus was only one person, the divine, and that in this divine person subsists the divine nature as well as the human nature of Jesus. Jesus was, therefore, perfect God and perfect Man.
Go to the Steps directory.
The Scripture reveals the being of God. The best means to know God is to revert to the Scriptures, because it is through them that God has revealed Himself. Throughout the Old and New Testament God has revealed Himself with words and in particular with deeds. We are going to refer here just to a few texts that reveal who is God, and to other ones teaching us who is not God, in order that the readers may complete the study by themselves.
God as He revealed Himself to Moses. When God appeared to Moses, Moses wanted God to tell him His name, in order that he could tell it to the children of Israel. In Hebrew culture the names are meaningful and say what the person is; to know the name of God would be equivalent to knowing who God is. God answered to Moses: I AM WHO I AM. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: I AM has sent me to you (Exodus 3:14). These words are very deep and can not be explained here in detail; they express the most intimate of the being of God which is TO BE, or being by Himself. That is the essence of God.
God is the only necessary being. There is no other being that must exist, except God; He is the only necessary being; He is the only One who must exist. All the rest of the beings are contingent, that is, they can be or not to be; God is the only one who must be, and hence is called the necessary being, because His essence is TO BE.
God is the author of everything. God is the creator of everything that exists, because everything that has existence proceeds from God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, are the beginning words of the Bible (Genesis 1:1), and teach us that everything that exists emanates from God.
The Scripture teaches also who is not God. The Scripture not only teaches us who is God, but also who is not God. When God gave the commandments to Moses, the second one was: You shall not make any carved image (Exodus 20:4). Leviticus widened this command, saying: You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up... for I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 26:1). This is at the same time a commandment and a teaching. A commandment, because God does not want that they make an image of Him; and a teaching, because God is telling that He does not have form or figure as creatures do. To make an image or figure of God, even with the imagination, is always a mistake, because God has no body or figure. God does not want that we make images of Him, not even in our mind.
God is infinite or without limit. Another way that the Scripture teaches who is not God is when it teaches, in different ways, that God has no limits or, which is the same, that He is infinite. Everything that hints at or has a limit, is not God. God is not subject to the limits of space or place, as creatures are. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:24). God transcends the space and is not limited by it. Psalm 139 says that we can not flee from the presence of God, because He is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-9)
God is not limited by time. In the same way that God is not limited by space, neither is He limited by time; God transcends time, and is not subjected to the succession of time. God has no past or future, but He lives in a present or eternal moment that has no succession. Creatures exist in a determined moment of time; God is out of time, although wonderfully in contact with time. Your years will not fail, is written in Hebrews (1:12; Psalm 102:27), because time is not running for God: A thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past (Psalm 90:4); or, as Peter said: With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8).
God does not change because He is immutable. Another attribute of God, according to the Scriptures, is that God does not change. He stays in one only being, immutable, without mutation or variation, as James says: With whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17); or, as we read in Psalm 102: You are the same (Psalm 102:27). God has no emotions, as human beings do. When the Scripture talks about "emotions" in God, it is doing so in a figurative style, using a metaphoric language.
God is always active. When we said that God is immutable we didn't mean that He stays in a "status quo," as an immobile one, inactive or static. No, God is action and movement by essence, but without succession as it happens in time. Jesus said: My Father has been working until now, and I have been working (John 5:17). That is a beautiful way to say that God is always in action; He "never rests," we'd say in human style. God is called "the first motor," to let us understand that every movement, all the energy and all life that is in creation proceed from God; everything that moves, that grows, that changes, receives its movement and activity from God, which is action by essence. He is called pure Act, which means only action, being.
God, the conservator of the universe. Another way God has revealed Himself is as conservator of the universe; God not only created everything but conserves their existence. If God wouldn't give existence to creatures in every instant, they would return to nothingness, because no creature has in itself the reason for its own existence, but they receive it from God. He gives to all life, breath, and all things, Paul says (Acts 17:25).
God does not annihilate His creation. God does not annihilate neither destroy anything He has created, but transforms it; from the beginning of creation there is a constant evolution in the universe, and God is author and dynamo of that evolution. There is no energy that is not coming from God. God is the source of all the energy of the whole universe, and for some He is Himself the Energy.
Go to the Steps directory.
All creatures are in God. From what was said in the previous Step (30) can be inferred that human beings, as well as all the rest of the creatures, are always in God, as surrounded by and submerged in God. By degree or strength, willingly or not, everything is in contact with God; to say this in a better way, it is impossible not to be in God, because He is always there. Paul said that admirably: He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27, 28). What happens is that many times we are not aware of His presence.
Everything said about God is analogical. It is not possible to talk about God in proper terms; words can not express what God is; everything which is said about God is analogical, that is, is in resemblance of man. That is the way God speaks in the Scriptures, because this is the only way that we can talk about God: comparing Him with human beings.
God is "in heavens." The Scripture talks about heavens as the dwelling of God, and addresses God as dwelling in the heavens. When the Scripture says that God is in heaven (as in "Our Father," Matthew 6:9), it is saying that God is also outside this creation. God is not limited by space, but exists beyond space, in heavens. But "heavens" are not a physical space, beyond or outside of the physical space, but simply the dwelling of God. Where God is there the heavens are.
Doxology at the end of the "Our Father." The doxology at the end of the "Our Father" of Matthew, (which is not in the Latin translation, Vulgata, and other translations of the Roman Catholic Church), contains important teachings about the subject we are addressing now. Matthew says: For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:13). This doxology could have been inteserted after Matthew wrote his gospel, and reflects what Christians believed about the presence and action of God in their lives, in the world and in the universe.
"Father, Yours is the kingdom." The word kingdom here is the world or the whole created universe. When it says: Yours is the kingdom, it means to say: Father, everything is yours. God is Owner and Lord of the universe; the whole creation is His domain, His kingdom. And it is possible to come down to particular things, —individual, personal or familiar,— and say: "Father, this is Yours, this is Yours, this is Yours..." Everything is part of the kingdom of God and belongs to God. We are not owners of anything; everything that we call ours is God's.
"Father, Yours is the power." If God is owner of everything, as we just said, then He has dominion over the whole creation. What we call "presence of God" is not just presence but "power in action;" and this power is infinite, unlimited, so that nothing escapes the absolute power of God. God can do everything that can be done, that is, everything that is not contradictory. God can not make, for instance, a square circle, because it can't be done.
Up to where the power of God reaches. Nothing escapes the power of God. We can say: God has the power to..., and forthwith put there all the verbs that we want, because the power of God has no limitations. God has the power to give and conserve existence, life, health, movement; God has power in all fields: material and spiritual, temporal and eternal. The power of God extends itself to all spheres of cosmos and of human life: moral, emotional, intellectual, etc. God has the power, first of all, to save, and then to protect, help, sustain, heal, relieve, console, encourage and... It would be impossible to enumerate everything that the power of God can do.
God's Providence. Jesus spoke about the power and care God has for believers; this care of God is called providence of God. Let us remember al least some of Jesus' sayings: Do not worry about life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on... your Father knows that you need these things (Luke 12:22, 30; Matthew 6:26-34). Instead of taking these words literally, let us understand their message: God cares about His own.
Paul taught about the care of God. The solicitude or providence of God for believers is a frequent subject in Paul's writings; for instance, he says in Romans: And you know that all things work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28). We should meditate on these words and have faith in them, because they mean a lot: everything works well for the believer. Paul was convinced that the power of God in favor of the believers went beyond everything they could think or desire; he clearly states: To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works on us, to Him be glory (Ephesians 3:20, 21).
"Father, Yours is the glory." The doxology concludes, saying: For Yours is the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:13). What is the glory of God? It could be distinguished between what is called the intrinsic glory of God, which is the glory by which God glorifies Himself with infinite glory; and what is called the extrinsic glory of God, which is the glory God receives from creation.
Creation glorifies God. The material world glorifies God by the obedience and submission to all the natural laws. Intelligent beings, who have knowledge and will, as do angels and men, glorify God by the rational and voluntary submission to the will of Creator. Paul referred to the submission of all creatures to God, on the final step of the glorification of God, when he said: When all thing are subject to Him (1 Corinthians 15:28). The final aim of the glorification of God is the submission of all power to Him, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power... that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:24, 28).
Go to the Steps directory.