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We live in an age where everything seems measurable, controllable, and explainable. However, when we step into the realm of God, we encounter a reality that surpasses every human framework. And one of the deepest—and most misunderstood—questions is this: what does it really mean that God is omnipotent?
Here we encounter a key concept of classical theology, rigorously developed by Santo Tomás de Aquino: potential omnipotence.
Get ready, because this is not an abstract topic without consequences. Understanding it can transform the way you trust, the way you pray… and the way you live.
1. The Misplaced Question: “Can God Do Anything?”
You have probably heard questions like:
- “Can God create a stone so heavy that He cannot lift it?”
- “Can God lie?”
- “Can God cease to exist?”
These questions seem profound… but they actually hide a fundamental mistake.
Catholic theology, especially in the line of Santo Tomás de Aquino, responds clearly:
God can do everything… but everything that is possible.
And here is the key: not everything that can be said in words is truly “possible.”
2. What Is Potential Omnipotence?
“Potential omnipotence” refers to this:
God has power over everything that is truly possible, that is, everything that does not involve contradiction.
This means that God cannot “do”:
- Make a square circle
- Create something that both is and is not at the same time
- Cease to be God
Not because He lacks power… but because these things are not realities—they are absurdities.
As Santo Tomás de Aquino explains in the Summa Theologica:
“Whatever implies contradiction does not fall under divine omnipotence.”
In other words:
👉 God is not limited…
👉 rather, nothingness itself cannot be created—not even by God.
3. Biblical Foundation: An All-Powerful… and Coherent God
Sacred Scripture strongly affirms God’s omnipotence:
“For God all things are possible” (cf. Gospel of Matthew 19:26)
But it also reveals something essential:
“He cannot deny Himself” (cf. Second Letter to Timothy 2:13)
This is not a limitation. It is a profound revelation:
👉 God cannot cease to be God
👉 He cannot act against His own nature, which is truth, goodness, and absolute being
4. The Genius of Aquinas: Potency and Act
To understand this better, we need to briefly enter a key distinction of Thomistic metaphysics:
- Potency: what can come to be
- Act: what already is
God, according to Santo Tomás de Aquino, is:
Pure Act (Actus Purus)
This means:
- He has no unrealized potential
- He does not change
- He does not “become” something different
So… how do we understand His omnipotence?
👉 Not as a capacity to change or evolve
👉 But as the absolute source of everything that can exist
5. Why Does This Matter Today?
This may seem like a philosophical discussion… but it has very concrete implications in your daily life.
a) It Frees You from a Childish Faith
Many lose faith because they believe in a mistaken idea of God:
- A capricious “magician”
- An arbitrary being
- Someone who could do any absurdity
But the real God is:
👉 Perfectly rational
👉 Perfectly coherent
👉 Perfectly faithful
This strengthens faith. It does not weaken it.
b) It Teaches You to Trust Better
If God could contradict Himself, lie, or act arbitrarily…
👉 how could you trust Him?
But since He cannot:
👉 His fidelity is absolute
👉 His promises are secure
That is why Scripture insists:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (cf. Gospel of Matthew 24:35)
c) It Gives Meaning to Suffering
Here we enter a delicate question:
👉 If God is omnipotent, why does He allow evil?
Potential omnipotence gives us a clue:
- God can do everything that is possible
- But He cannot make evil into good without destroying reality itself
However, He can do something greater:
👉 Bring good out of evil
The supreme example is the Cross.
6. The Cross: Where Omnipotence Appears as Weakness
In Jesucristo we see something astonishing:
- God suffers
- God dies
- God appears powerless
But there a deeper truth is revealed:
👉 God’s omnipotence is not that of domination… but of love
As San Pablo will say:
“The weakness of God is stronger than men” (cf. First Letter to the Corinthians 1:25)
7. Practical Applications: Living from This Truth
How can you apply this to your life?
1. Stop asking for absurd things
Not everything you desire is truly good or possible.
Learn to pray in truth.
2. Trust in God’s coherence
God will not betray you.
He will never act against the good.
3. Accept that not everything depends on miracles
God can work miracles…
but He usually acts through reality.
4. Embrace mystery without falling into chaos
Faith is not irrational.
It is supra-rational.
5. Discover true omnipotence
It is not found in destruction…
👉 It is found in loving to the very end
8. A Very Current Pastoral Warning
Today many dangerous ideas are spreading:
- “God can will anything whatsoever”
- “Everything is God’s will without distinction”
- “Truth changes”
This is false.
Divine omnipotence is not arbitrariness.
It is perfection.
And that implies something demanding:
👉 God does not adapt to error… He calls us to the truth
9. Conclusion: A God Who Can Do Everything… Except Stop Loving You
Potential omnipotence does not diminish God.
On the contrary:
👉 It purifies Him from our human projections
👉 It reveals Him as absolutely perfect
God can do everything that is real.
And the most real thing of all… is love.
So the real question is not:
❌ “Can God do anything?”
But:
✅ Am I willing to trust a God who never contradicts Himself… and who always acts for the good?
For Today’s Meditation
“I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”
(cf. Book of Jeremiah 32:27)
The answer is clear:
👉 Nothing is impossible for God…
👉 except ceasing to be who He is: Infinite Love.
