Some believers assume that God can do anything and everything, without limitation, since Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing will be impossible,” and Jesus said in Mark 10:27, “for with God all things are possible.” However, we must understand and interpret those statements in context rather than generalize them, because God’s power and ability, though limitless, are still governed by His divine nature. In other words, God cannot do anything and everything possible if it violates His holiness, purity, and righteousness.
A few examples of things God cannot do because they would defy His divine nature are as follows:
God cannot cease to exist. God is an eternal being with no beginning or end. Therefore, it is impossible for God to stop existing. Additionally, God’s existence is required for everything else to exist, and without Him, nothing would exist. He also holds everything in existence together. Psalm 90:2 proclaims, “Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Acts 17:24-25 says, “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
God cannotcreate a God. The Bible declares that only one God exists, and He is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting. Consequently, it is impossible for God to create a God because any new creation would have an origination date. Deuteronomy 4:35 says, “To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.” Isaiah 37:20 states, “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.” Deuteronomy 32:39 says, “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”
God cannotlie or deceive. Dishonesty and deception are sinful. Therefore, since God is holy, He cannot lie or deceive anyone because it would violate His perfect, holy, and sinless nature. Numbers 29:13 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie.” Leviticus 11:45 states, “For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “‘but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
God cannot entice others to sin. God is righteous, which means He is absolutely perfect in every way. As such, He cannot be provoked, persuaded, bribed, swayed by, or presented with anything that would ever evoke a yearning within Himself to do wrong, including enticing others to sin. James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” Psalm 5:4 states, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You.” Job 34:12 says, “Surely, God will not act wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.”
God cannot increase His knowledge. God is omniscient, which means He knows everything that can be known, from eternity past to eternity future. Therefore, God cannot learn anything new, nor does anything take Him by surprise. Romans 11:33-36 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.” Hebrews 4:13 states, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
There are many other things God cannot do, like deny Himself, break His promises, change, contradict Himself, let unbelievers into Heaven, or condemn born-again believers to Hell. These facts do not discount or diminish His abilities or power but emphasize His deity and demonstrate His holiness.
I hope this information helps you understand God’s divine character and respond to those who try to use His “limitations” to disprove His deity, power, and ability.
