Big Words for God

Jeremiah 23:24, Malachi 3:6

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The church has sometimes use some pretty big words to describe what God is like. We say that God is omniscient, that God is omnipotent, that God is omnipresent. What are those words mean?

Well, we talk about God as being omniscient. That means that he is all knowing. And it’s interesting when we think about those omni words that each and every one of them we can say there’s an aspect of them that is scary, but also an aspect of them that is comforting. It’s scary to know that God is all knowing because that means he knows our thoughts, even our deepest, darkest secrets that we have never shared with anybody else. He knows them. He knows what we are thinking. He knows our sinful thoughts. He knows our selfish thoughts, knows our embarrassing thoughts.

But it’s also comforting knowing that God knows everything because he also knows our thoughts. He knows what we’re going through, even when we have never expressed it to anyone else. That God knows everything we’re going through. And God is there to also help.

We talk about God as being omnipotent. That means that he is all powerful. And many times in scripture he is called Almighty, right? Again, this too is scary, but also comforting and scary knowing that God could squash us at any moment, right, because of our sins and what we have done, but is also comforting knowing that there is nothing greater than God. That God can protect us from every evil force that threatens us and threatens our life.

We think about that final word that God is omnipresent, that means that he’s everywhere, present. We think about a passage from Scripture from Jeremiah 23, verse 24, where God asked this rhetorical question,

Do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jeremiah 23:24)

And of course, the answer is yes, you do, God. He fills heaven and earth. He’s everywhere at all times. It’s scary because God can see every terrible thing that we do. But it’s also comforting to know that there is nowhere where God is not. And so when we’re so worried and scared about those that might threaten us, God is there too to comfort us and to help.

Then another thing that we learn about God that is also scaring and comforting is this truth that we hear of in Malachi chapter three, verse six. As God says this, he says,

Certainly I, the Lord, do not change. (Malachi 3:6)

We would say God is unchanging. That’s scary in this way to know that God’s word and his law and his morality doesn’t change. You know, we think about the world in which we live today, 21st century, right? And many people would maybe say, well, we understand why God had all these rules about sexuality and encouraging people not to be promiscuous or encouraging them away from homosexuality and calling those things sin because he didn’t want unwanted pregnancy. He wanted to spare people from STDs and things like that. But we’re beyond all of that. We’ve had many medical advances. We don’t have to worry about those things. So morality can change, right?

That’s not what God says. God says he doesn’t change. Neither does his moral standard. That’s scary to think about our world as it’s changed all what is right and what is wrong. But God says what I say in my word is true. And so it condemns us, especially as we think about our own sins. That truth that God is unchanging is also very comforting for us when we know this, that God’s promises then also cannot change. It’s comforting to know that God can’t all of a sudden one day and say, Well, you’ve been too sinful. So all that stuff that I said about forgiving your sins through Jesus, well, yeah, that’s not going to work anymore. I’ve decided I’m taking all of that back. No, he can’t do that, right? God has to follow through with what he said in his word, He cannot change his promises. They remain unchanged for us, no matter how sinful we’ve been, no matter what we’ve done. What a blessing to know God’s word, God’s unchanging word that assures us that the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Yes, there are some big words that describe what God is like. And a number of those things that we describe concerning God are both scary and comforting. Yes, it is amazing that God is Almighty all powerful everywhere present, but may especially be a comfort to us that God is unchanging concerning His promises, especially his promise of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.