Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Our topic is an eyebrow-raising one because we know that nothing is impossible for God; He can do whatever He wants as long as it pleases Him (Psa. 115:3), yet we still affirm, as far as the Scriptures show, that there are certain things God will not and cannot do despite being the Supreme Being over all creation. To move further, what are these things that are impossible for God to do? Let us find out here.

I. Let Us Establish That God Is God and Nothing Is Impossible for Him.

A. God is omnipotent — Almighty God – Gen. 17:1; Matt. 19:26; Isa. 45:18; Rev. 19:6

B. God is omnipresent — He is present everywhere – Psa. 139:7–10; Jer. 23:23–24

C. God is omniscient – Acts 15:18; Heb. 4:13; Psa. 139:1–6; Matt. 10:29–30; Prov. 15:3

D. God is Sovereign — He has set all things in order according to the counsel of His own will. Psa. 115:3; Isa. 44:6–7; 46:9–10; Eph. 1:11
God’s sovereignty extends to:

1. Governing the nations – Judges 8:22–23; Psa. 22:28; 47:2; Dan. 4:17, 32–35; Rom. 13:1
2. Turning the hearts of men in order to fulfill His eternal purpose – Prov. 21:1; Rev. 17:17
3. Bringing sickness and healing in all manner of sickness – Deut. 28:61; 29:22; cf. Deut. 7:15; Matt. 4:23; 10:11
4. Bringing calamities, like what happened to Egypt in the days of Moses – Isa. 47:7; Jonah 1:4
5. Bringing death and giving life – Deut. 32:39–40; 1 Sam. 2:6; Psa. 102:19–20; 104:29
6. Making poor and making rich – 1 Sam. 2:7
   

II. Though Nothing Is Impossible for God, He Is God and Is Not Like Man.

A. He Cannot Lie – Num. 23:19; Rom. 3:4; Tit. 1:2; Heb. 6:17–18

* The arch-enemy of God, who is Satan, is the father of lies (John 8:44) — the total opposite of Christ, who is the Truth (John 14:6), the God of truth (Isa. 65:16; Deut. 32:4), and whose truth endures forever (Psa. 117:2).).

B. That He will change – Mal. 3:6; Psa. 89:34; James 1:17

Arthur Pink gave his profound understanding of the immutability of God. He said:
“God is immutable in His essence. His nature and being are infinite, and so subject to no mutations. There never was a time when He was not; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that He is today, He has ever been, and ever will be. ‘I am the Lord, I change not’ (Mal. 3:6) is His own unqualified affirmation. He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, ‘I am that I am’ (Ex. 3:14). He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. Therefore His power can never diminish nor His glory ever fade.”
(The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink, p. 22)

The immutability of God is also a comfort to those who obtained salvation through Christ alone. Why? Because God cannot change His affection toward those who are the objects of His mercy and love (Rom. 8:31–39; 9:18, 23; Psa. 103:17). The solid foundation of our assurance of salvation is the immutability of God (Heb. 6:17–19). Salvation given by God is not something He gives and then takes back — that would mock God’s immutability. We have received our full salvation from God, which cannot be taken back by Him, because His mercies endure forever (Psa. 118:1; Phil. 1:6). Christ said, “I should lose nothing” (John 6:37–39).
All of God’s creatures are mutable and capable of change; God alone is immutable. Lucifer, the perfect being in beauty and wisdom, has changed into Satan. Adam, the perfect human who was created directly by God, has changed from being holy and communing with God to being separate from God, falling into sin, from holiness into corruption. The whole creation that God made, of which He said all things are indeed good, has now become ruined and changed because of sin, is subject to restoration, and shall be gathered together in the fullness of time in Christ (Eph. 1:10).

C. That He can tempt anyone to sin –

Apostle James stated:

James 1:13-16
[13]Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
[14]But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
[15]Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
[16]Do not err, my beloved brethren.

It is Satan who has been the tempter from the beginning (Gen. 3:1–5; Matt. 4:1). Those who misrepresent Calvinism, and the Doctrines of Grace allege that God is the author of sin. No! No one teaches that, not even Calvin himself. God is not the author of sin.

The existence of sin is part of God’s eternal purpose; however, that cannot point to God as the author of sin. Yes, it is God’s predetermined purpose — He who works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11) — He ordained to allow/permit the existence of sin in order for the Covenant of Redemption to come to its full completion. Christ said, “It is finished.”
Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world to die on the cross for the redemption of God’s people (1 Pet. 1:18–20). We understand that this foreordaining purpose of God was determined from eternity past, before all things were created, before angels were created, since God alone existed in the beginning and all created beings came into existence after His act of creation.

Now, the fall of Satan was included in that eternal purpose of redemption. God knew the heart of Satan; He knew that the sin of pride was growing within him. God never created sin; however, sin was found and first came into existence in the perfect created being who was Hellel/Lucifer. He willfully and freely chose to rebel against God as his pride grew. “Sin was found in thee” (Ezek. 28:14–17; Isa. 14:12–14). If the existence of sin were not part of God’s eternal purpose of redemption, then by His omniscience God would have restrained Satan, by His omnipresence He would have rebuked Satan, and by His omnipotence He would have stopped and changed Satan. To deny that God determined to permit the very existence of sin, I tell you, would violate the very essential attributes of God — His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.

Nevertheless, God ordained that sin should come to pass so that His holiness might be manifested. God’s laws are the manifestation of His holiness and perfection, and by the violation of His laws His holiness shines all the brighter. God knew that Satan had entered His beautiful Garden of Eden; God omnisciently knew and omnipresently perceived that Satan was tempting Eve. So why did He not stop Satan’s wickedness? As I provided the answer above, Christ was foreordained to suffer and die before the creation of all things. The Apostle Paul stated:

Ephesians 3:11-According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Ephesians 1:9-11
[9]Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
[10]That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:[11]In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Objection:

Someone had told me that believing the Sovereignty of God that is intricately and meticulously working all things would be a clear implications that God is the author of all sinfulness and wickedness since the beginning of time and in all the history.

Answer:

It is undeniably true that God is working all things after the counsel of His own will however freewill advocates could glimpse the surface of God’s working merely on positive events they have negated sins as part of God’s eternal purposed.

Alright, let us elaborate this in a brief manner to convey to our readers mind that God whose in charge in the human history could not be the author of sin neither in any instances since the beginning of time.

The truth is that every individual after the fall of Adam into sin human being never lose its will, however it is not in the same concept of libertarians that could be extended beyond the fallen sinful condition of man, biblically speaking the will of a sinful being is enslave of sin (John 8:34), free to fulfill the sinful desires but incapable of any holiness acceptable by God not unless by Divine regeneration. Ephesians 2:1-5 clearly stated:

1 • And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins;
2 • Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: [noticed that man who is being dead in sins is walking in sinfulness and in accordance to satan’s will]
3 • Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. [ the desire of a man who is dead in sins is only to fulfill the desire of sinful flesh being as children of wrath]
4 • But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 • Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [it is only by Divine subjective Love some sinners are regenerated from deadness of sin that they may live together with Christ and be in Heaven] 6 • And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: [ Emphasis mine: JJM]

Now my point is that when man commits sin, God never give impulse, commands, tempts, nor authored the intention, desire, or enactment of sin. God is simply letting man to fulfill his own sinful will and lusts.

Psalms 81:12
So I GAVE THEM UP unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

Romans 1:26
For this cause God GAVE THEM UP unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
[10]And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because THEY RECEIVED NOT the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
[11]And FOR THIS CAUSE God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
[12]That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

When God determined to Permit man’s own sinful lust that is, on the other hand, the exact fulfillment of His eternal purpose.

We may cite as an example the predetermined suffering and death of Christ. God did determine that the worst sin, the worst crime ever committed by man  even the killing of His only begotten Son would come to pass. It cannot be denied that this predetermined purpose was not accidental; it was an apparent and deliberate purpose of God beforehand that Christ should be killed by the hands of wicked men. However, God the Father never tempted those wicked men into killing His only begotten Son — otherwise, those crucifiers would not be accountable for their sins, and God would be the one ultimately accountable for this death. God forbid such thinking! God permitted the evil intentions of those men to come to pass, which was in accordance with His determined purpose and foreknowledge.

Acts 2:23
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

Acts 4:27-28
[27]For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
[28]For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Prior to the time of His death, Christ said, “My time has not yet come” (John 7:8). Many men intended to kill Christ, but no one touched Him to harm Him because it was not yet the appointed time (John 7:30; 8:20). He even knew when His time was drawing near (Matthew 26:18; John 17:1).

Here we see that God’s working is not like a string attached to everything, or like a remote control forcing every action — as the false accusations and misrepresentations promoted by libertarian free will advocates against Calvinistic thinking on God’s sovereignty would suggest. Rather, it is the times and seasons in which every purpose takes place, as God revealed to King Solomon:

Ecclesiastes 3:1,11,14
[1]To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
[11]He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
[14]I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

In the Calvinistic understanding of the will of a man fallen into sin, the will has never been destroyed or extinguished, but it is influenced by its enslavement to sin. Even though the will is under sin, it is not capable of surpassing God’s eternal purpose or taking God by surprise – as if God would say, “That was not included in My plan.” The Scriptures reveal that man has many plans, but God’s eternal plan shall always come to pass:

Psalms 33:10-11
[10]The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
[11]The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Proverbs 19:21
[21]There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Proverbs 16:9,33
[9]A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
[33]The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

James 4:13-15
[13]Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
[14]Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
[15]For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Creatures will cannot be equal to or above to the Almighty and Sovereign will of God, because if it were, man would be equally or more sovereign than God, and man would thwart and change the purpose of God written in the scriptures. The fact is that God can use man’s evil intentions and desires to turn their wicked hearts to bring God’s predetermined plan into existence.

Genesis 50:20
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Psalms 105:25
He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

If you have questions you can freely ask and we’ll try to answer that as far as scriptures reveal. God bless.