GOD IS ABLE. Able is an adjective describing that someone has the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority (to do something). Certainly, this is true of God.
The basic meaning “to be able” is biblically used primarily of people, particularly in a negative sense. We are not able in the areas of self-control, or the control of circumstances, or in the ability to overcome our sinfulness by ourselves. Just a quick look through Scripture, my ability contrasted with God’s ability makes me feel humble and very small. The power of God is described in many terms, the overall one being that nothing is impossible for Him.
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)
Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
I planned on listing some of the things that God is able to do but that list is too long. It’s easier to list what He cannot do, a very short list; it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). This means when He says He will do a thing; He will do it. He is able to keep His promises.
Daniel’s three friends knew it. When they were about to be thrown into a furnace, they said, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17–18)
Jeremiah and the psalmist knew God’s ability in creation and in sustaining the world by His voice alone:
It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 10:12)
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. (Psalm 29:1–4)
God is also able to give us what we need to live for Him:
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25–27)
And to preserve us even though we err and stumble and undergo great trials:
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment . . . . (2 Peter 2:4–10)
He is also able to do more than I can imagine . . .
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21)
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Some of God’s attributes are transferable because we are created in His image and when sin is dealt with, those attributes can shine, at least in a small way. However, His ability to do anything He pleases rightfully belongs to Him only. I am called to be like Jesus — who gave up His equality with God to become a servant. I am not called to be like God — that was the lie that led Adam and Eve into sin. Godliness is not about omnipotence. Instead, as I gaze at the remarkable ability of God to do all things, it produces worship — I am in awe of Him.
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