Omnificence

I'm sitting here trying here trying to figure out what to say about God's omnificence. I don't want to say the wrong thing. Even the right thing said in the wrong manner may inadvertently distort the truth of this marvelous trait. How can the full impact of this divine attribute be conveyed with mere language? Can our finite minds truly begin to fathom the depths of God's creative power? The stars are limited in brilliance; even the sun. Grains of sand are numerically limited. Our understanding is limited. But God's creativity is not. Webster says that omnificent means to be "unlimited in creative power". Often times, official sounding explanations of various words found in sources such as Webster's Dictionary, the Encyclopedia Britannica, or (especially) Wikipedia fall short of a full expression. I'm wrestling with words and ideas. I'm struggling with how to creatively fill the void between Webster and reality. God wouldn't struggle. He wouldn't wrestle with words and ideas like I do. He wouldn't need to.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

The best way I know how to describe God's unlimited creativity is by contrasting His creativity with our own limited creativity. He is able to create ex nihilo which means "out of nothing". We require external resources for our creations to come into existence. We can only manipulate and transform preexisting materials. He is not bound by this limitation. Similar to God, we can make things that do not exist although we are required to use raw materials. For God, raw materials are optional. We can't speak or will our ideas into being as God does. If I want to bake a cake I need flour, sugar, and heat. Singing is similar to how God speaks things into being however unlike God we require relatively crude vocal cords and sound waves. We probably can't even have creative thoughts without our brains. God created everything that exists from nothingness. He didn't even require time.

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. Colossians 1:16

Not only is time not necessary for God to create, it is almost unfathomable for us to consider that God actually created time itself. Time, the human soul and mind, and gravity are all examples of things that exist yet do not have physical existence. God is not limited to physical creations. Just because I can't see something doesn't mean it is not there. I'm absolutely certain that when the psalmist wrote, "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10) he didn't mean, "make me a heart that is not part esophagus". The psalmist was clearly referring to something other than the lump of cardiac muscle tissue residing in his chest cavity; something invisible perhaps?


“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.” Revelation 4:11