# Where is it established that the Christian God is omnipotent and omniscient? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465 "2011-06-06T01:32:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/1 "2011-06-06T01:32:29Z")
First, full disclaimer: I am not a Christian. I am, however, starting to read the Bible. Can someone direct me to the passages in the Bible that state or indicate that God is omnipotent and omniscient? Or (please forgive me if this is out of my ignorance) if the current belief that God has those qualities does not come directly from the Bible, then can someone direct me to the where/when/who/how it was established that He does? Please note that this is GQ and I am _not_ looking to start a debate about _anything_ (God’s existence, any logical [in]consistencies, whether God could make a boulder so big he couldn’t move it, etc.) I"m just looking for the factual answer to where the idea that God is omnipotent and omniscient originates from. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/2 "2011-06-06T02:11:03Z")
Well, it’s pretty heavily implied by his all-powerness. Anyway, Isaiah 46:10 says: “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/3 "2011-06-06T02:24:27Z")
> [@](#): > > 1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. > > SOURCE: [\<\< Genesis 1 \>\> King James Version](http://kingjbible.com/genesis/1.htm) If you can do that you are omnipotent. Seems to me such a being would also have to be omniscient. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/4 "2011-06-06T03:03:27Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > 1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. > > > > SOURCE: \<\< Genesis 1 \>\> King James Version > > If you can do that you are omnipotent. What if it takes me six days to finish the whole project, at which point I then have to rest? Is that less powerful than someone who could hypothetically swing it in six hours, or six minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/5 "2011-06-06T03:10:41Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > If you can do that you are omnipotent. Not really. Bulding a single world is fairly impressive, but it is nowhere near omnipotent. And as **The Other Waldo Pepper** brings up there’s the timescale to consider; an omnipotent could have done everything instantly. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Seems to me such a being would also have to be omniscient. I don’t see why; nothing is mentioned about sensory abilities in that passage except that God can see. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/6 "2011-06-06T03:13:10Z")
What I was taught, in a history of religion class, was that it developed over time, mostly in the Roman Empire, but inspired by Greek philosophy. The Romans took up the Greek notions of “the infinite,” such as Zeno’s paradox, etc., and applied these ideas to the Jewish/Christian God. The Bible doesn’t actually declare God “omnipotent.” The early books, esecially, suggest that he is _not_ “omniscient.” He asks where Adam and Eve are, for instance. Modern conventional Christian theology explains that away, of course, but, at least according to my old teachers, Yahweh was not originally understood to be “cosmic” in power, merely “very powerful.” Trinopus ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/7 "2011-06-06T04:17:55Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Not really. Bulding a single world is fairly impressive, but it is nowhere near omnipotent. And as **The Other Waldo Pepper** brings up there’s the timescale to consider; an omnipotent could have done everything instantly. I think the timescales in the Bible can be read liberally when it comes to creation. What is a “day” before there is no Earth (or Universe)? Further, I think the scripture means God created the Universe and not just the Earth. FTR: I personally do not believe in Creation. Just arguing the Creation point as near as I understand it. > [@](#): > > I don’t see why; nothing is mentioned about sensory abilities in that passage except that God can see. Fair enough but God, by definition and per the Bible is Omniscient. Again, I am not saying the Bible is authoritative on this. Personally I do not think so but if you buy their line then God is omniscient. ([cite](http://www.parentcompany.com/awareness_of_god/aog12.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/8 "2011-06-06T04:46:47Z")
Perhaps God was establishing an important precedent for the “break time” that has become a staple of human employment? Also, I find the idea that God might have been a subcontractor for perhaps just our solar system and whatever could be seen from it with the naked eye quite interesting. I wasn’t raised to think of it that way, but it is possible. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/9 "2011-06-06T04:57:06Z")
There are a number of references in the Bible to the Almighty, which can be searched for. Wikipedia lists these references: Psalms 33:8-9: Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. Genesis 17:1: And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (The Hebrew word used here is “shadday” [13]) ## Jeremiah 32:27: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Those don’t seem to me to be claims of pure omnipotence, but opinions differ. For more discussion see Wikipedia: [Omnipotence - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence) I liked their reference to Thomas Aquinas: while “all confess that God is omnipotent…it seems difficult to explain in what God’s omnipotence precisely consists… Nothing which implies contradiction falls under the omnipotence of God.” Omnipotence implies omniscience, provided the Deity is sufficiently motivated. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/10 "2011-06-06T05:09:53Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > …Jeremiah 32:27: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? … Was God a _Jeopardy_ contestant? Are humans supposed to provide an answer to that question? ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/11 "2011-06-06T05:27:10Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Fair enough but God, by definition and per the Bible is Omniscient. > > Again, I am not saying the Bible is authoritative on this. Personally I do not think so but if you buy their line then God is omniscient. ([cite](http://www.parentcompany.com/awareness_of_god/aog12.htm)) But “by definition” isn’t what I was asking for (and neither was “If you can do that you are omnipotent”, which is a conclusion drawn _from_ the Bible, rather than a definitive statement _in_ the Bible). On the other hand, that page you cite has exactly what I was looking for; pretty definitive statements in the Bible, such as: [QUOTE=Psalm 147:4,5] He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: _his understanding is infinite_. [/QUOTE] Emphasis added. That’s an unmistakable statement of omniscience. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/12 "2011-06-06T05:51:15Z")
But it merely says his power is great. What does that say for omnipotence? “Great” is a superlative, but it is not equivalent to “complete” or “total”. So the bible is either downplaying his abilities at this point, or saying he isn’t omnipotent. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/13 "2011-06-06T08:07:45Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. > > That’s an unmistakable statement of omniscience. Well, it could be hyperbolic praise. Poets have license to exaggerate after all. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/14 "2011-06-06T09:05:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What if it takes me six days to finish the whole project, at which point I then have to rest? Is that less powerful than someone who could hypothetically swing it in six hours, or six minutes? “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” I’ve had that experience with workmen, too. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/15 "2011-06-06T09:20:10Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > [QUOTE=Psalm 147:4,5] > He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: _his understanding is infinite_. Emphasis added. That’s an unmistakable statement of omniscience. [/QUOTE] This might be a bit of a nitpick, given that this is a translation, but is it? Being able to understand everything is not the same as being able to know everything. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/16 "2011-06-06T11:22:31Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > This might be a bit of a nitpick, given that this is a translation, but is it? Being able to understand everything is not the same as being able to know everything. Right but being able to understand everything is also not the same as _having_ an understanding of everything and, this translation at least, seems to be implying the latter. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/17 "2011-06-06T12:55:33Z")
How about God said that “I Am that I Am”? Exodus 3:14 [I Am that I Am - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_that_I_Am) Maybe not omnipotent or omniscient, but that he transcends time. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/18 "2011-06-06T13:33:38Z")
Here is the best quote I could find: Revelation 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God **omnipotent** reigneth. Although I understand a literal translation from the Greek would be “almighty.” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/19 "2011-06-06T15:32:07Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Also, I find the idea that God might have been a subcontractor for perhaps just our solar system and whatever could be seen from it with the naked eye quite interesting. I wasn’t raised to think of it that way, but it is possible. I recall reading somewhere, a few years back, that there is a school of thought in Judaism that says that the God of the Bible is in fact a creation or [emanation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanation) of the “true God”, who is unknowable (or something like that). I presume this is not mainstream Judaism, but probably Kabbalism. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465/20 "2011-06-06T17:45:55Z")
Matthew 10: 29-31 (NKJV): _Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows._ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-it-established-that-the-christian-god-is-omnipotent-and-omniscient/584465.md?page=2)