The greatness of God is a vast topic to talk about. The Apostle John in his Gospel even said that if he was to write and compile all the works that Jesus did while He was still on earth, the world would not have enough room for it (John 21:25). The whole Bible is brimming with the greatness of God as seen in accounts and stories and expressed in poems and letters. A person can live for hundreds of years and still not fully comprehend and experience the greatness of God. An author can spend his whole life examining and writing about the great character of God and still not be able to exhaust all the beautiful truths found in His Word. But despite the vastness and loftiness of this topic, it will surely benefit every believer’s heart and soul.
The Preeminence of God
It is possible to get lost while writing about the greatness of God simply because there is a lot to talk about. In order to properly frame this, we must subscribe to a more specific definition and synonym of the word “great” or “greatness”. In this way, we would be able to clearly enumerate the reasons why God is so great.
The word “greatness” means “having the qualities of being great and distinct” and it is synonymous with the word “preeminent”. Any person who starts talking about His greatness, could not help but refer to His preeminence or His superiority above everyone and everything. God’s preeminence means that He is first above all and lies at the center of everything. He is not just the Sun in the solar system, He is the creator of everything in the solar system. He is not just on top of the list of our priorities but also at the center of every item on our list of priorities.
His preeminence means that everything about Him is at the perfect level. His love is perfect. His ways are perfect. His plans are perfect. Everything about Him is perfect. His morality is perfect. He does not and will never commit a mistake or sin. His preeminence sets Him apart from all of creation, a good starting point to ponder about his greatness.
The Omniscient God
The word “omniscience” means “All-Knowing”. King Solomon understood that God knows everything that is why he wrote in Proverbs 21:30:
No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.
This truth has been debated even among Christians. A number of well-meaning Christians believe that God cannot know everything because He cannot know what a person decides to do before he actually does it. This group of Christians believe that God has perfect knowledge over everyone and everything but not over anything that is still about to happen. A verse in Acts gives a very clear explanation of this truth:
Acts 2:23
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
The Apostle Peter said that the death of Christ is “According to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God”. This means that nothing happens by accident or random chance and nothing is hidden from God. God knows everything about us and this is what makes Him truly great.
The Omnipresence
The word “omnipresent” means “present in all places at all times”. This means that God not only knows everything but also sees everything because no one can hide or run away from Him. Even though not everyone may experience God’s presence in the same way or at the same time, it is always present in all of creation. King David understood the implications of God being present everywhere at all times. He said in Psalm 139:7-8
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
King David knew that He can neither hide or run away from God. He knew that God is everywhere and is the inescapable divine being that is always watching. According to the Bible, God can be both present to a person and ever-present in every circumstance throughout all of creation. God is not locally constrained to any time or space, despite being present in all of time and space. God is present today and everywhere.
The Omnipotence
Being omnipotent or all-powerful means that God is able to carry out any task as long as it is consistent with His holy nature. This means that He is unable to act in a manner inconsistent with His holy nature. Given that lying goes against His moral perfection, God is unable to tell lies. Similarly, despite being all-powerful and despising evil, He permits evil to occur for a good reason. When the greatest evil of all—the murder of the ideal, holy, innocent Lamb of God for the redemption of mankind—took place, He used that event to further His purposes.
This truth, when fully embraced, can produce so much comfort and peace in a believer’s life because the object of the faith of Christian is not a powerless baby but an all-powerful divine being of Jesus Christ.
The Sovereign God
His sovereignity means that He is in control over everything and anything not just in the world but in the known and unknown universe. As RC Sproul puts it: “There is no maverick molecule in the universe”. God holds everything in His hands and orchestrates every detail of our lives. This is also one of the greatest mysteries of God because though He controls everything and is more powerful than any human will, He does not override anyone’s will to the point of not being aware of the decisions that he or she makes. Interestingly, God will not be tamed but is gentle and patient towards us. While it is true that someday He will judge everyone in the world, He rules it with patience and grace.
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