“With God all things are possible.” However, God's character and attributes as well as how He designed everything sets boundaries which are logical and moral necessities.
- God Cannot Sin or Be Evil:
- James 1:13 – “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”
- 1 John 1:5 – “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
- Why: Holiness excludes sin—lying, murder, envy, etc. God’s moral perfection makes evil acts impossible, not because He lacks ability, but because they contradict His essence.
- God Cannot Lie:
- Numbers 23:19 – “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
- Titus 1:2 – “In the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised.”
- Hebrews 6:18 – “It is impossible for God to lie, so that we… have strong encouragement.”
- Why: Truthfulness is intrinsic. Lying would violate His immutable, honest nature—He’d cease to be the God Scripture describes.
- God Cannot Change His Nature:
- Malachi 3:6 – “I the Lord do not change.”
- Why: Immutability means God can’t become unholy, unjust, or less powerful. Change implies imperfection or inconsistency, which His eternal nature rejects.
- God Cannot Deny Himself:
- 2 Timothy 2:13 – “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
- Why: Self-consistency is core. Denying His own character (e.g., breaking a promise) would unravel His identity as the unchanging, faithful God.
- God Cannot Be Unjust:
- Romans 3:26 – “He did it to demonstrate his righteousness… so as to be just and the one who justifies.”
- Why: Justice defines Him. Punishing the innocent without cause or sparing the guilty without atonement (e.g., Christ’s sacrifice) would contradict His righteous standard.
- God Cannot Cease to Exist:
- Psalm 90:2 – “From everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
- Why: Omnipresence and eternity mean God’s existence is self-sustaining. “Not existing” isn’t a limit—it’s incoherent with His eternal attribute.
- God Cannot Do Logical Contradictions:
- No direct verse, but implied by orderliness (e.g., 1 Corinthians 14:33 – “God is not a God of disorder”).
- Example: Can God make a square circle or a rock too heavy to lift? These aren’t “things” but paradoxes—nonsense within a rational creation He designed. Omnipotence doesn’t extend to the illogical, as it’s not a real constraint but a definitional issue.
- God Cannot Deny Freewill:
- 1 Timothy 2:3-4 – “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”
- Matthew 7:14 – "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
- Even though it is God's will for all people to be saved, He cannot override anyone else's will.