GOD IS OMNIPRESENT, OMNISCIENT, AND OMNIPOTENT

GOD IS OMNIPRESENT, OMNISCIENT, AND OMNIPOTENT

 

In presenting the various attributes that constitute the greatness of God, most theologians feel that SELF-EXISTENCE, ETERNITY, and UNCHANGEABLENESS are fundamental and foundational to the absolute being of God, and they are therefore incommunicable. From this point they move to another series of three attributes of greatness known as OMNIPRESENCE, OMNISCIENCE, and OMNIPOTENCE. These are regarded as relative and communicable: relative in that they are measured by creation and communicable in that they are transmitted to creation.

These three attributes of greatness bear a special relation to creation and are, therefore, in some limited sense communicable. They are related to creation in the sense that omnipresence means that God is everywhere present in His creation at the same time; He is omniscient in the sense that He is fully cognizant of every part of His creation at every moment; and He is omnipotent in the sense that His power is continuously operative in every part of His creation.

These characteristics of God bear a vital relationship to each other. Of the three, omnipresence is fundamental in that it means the presence of the whole essence of God in every part of creation at every moment. Along with the presence of the essence of God there must also be the effects of the essence. This means that there must also be simultaneous with the presence the exercise of the attribute of omniscience. God is not only present in His creation, but He also knows every­thing about His creation. Moreover, along with the omnipresence and omniscience of God in relation to the entire creation, God is also omnipotent in that His power is continuously operative in every part.

The Psalmist was moved to join all three of these in one statement as setting forth the greatness of God. "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite" (Psa. 147:5). These three will now be briefly set forth in the order in which most theologians treat them: omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.