Omni: All of God's Attributes
- James Collazo
- Sep 29, 2020
- 12 min read
Updated: 4m
Introduction
Understanding God's attributes teaches us to revere him rightly and stand in awe of his majesty. Sadly, many church leaders neglect to teach their congregations who God truly is. This neglect leads people into the error of anthropomorphism—from the Greek nouns anthrōpos ("human," G444) and morphē ("shape," G3444)—which means giving human traits to what is not human. The term also applies to the mascots of sports teams, military units, and universities. However, God is neither a mascot nor an idol. The prophet Isaiah warns us against such thinking:
The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. . . . They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand (Isa. 44:13, 18).
Nevertheless, theologians identify five primary attributes of God, each marked by the Latin prefix omni–, meaning "all": omnibenevolence, omnificence, omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. These qualities reveal that God is perfectly good, infinitely creative, all-powerful, ever-present, and all-knowing.
Omnibenevolence: All-Good Attribute of God
The word omnibenevolence means "wishing good to all." To call God "all-good" means he always acts for the good of his creation. One clear example of God's divine goodness is his steadfast love (Greek: agapē, G26), which reveals his perfect and constant compassion for every living thing. The apostle John writes, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:8).
In contrast, pagans believed their gods were emotional and unpredictable, even omnimalevolent—wishing harm to all. The Ephesians, for example, worshiped the Greek fertility idol Artemis, hoping to prevent famine and drought (cf. Acts 19:27). King David describes the true God differently: "The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does" (Ps. 145:17). Because God keeps his promises (John 3:16–18; Rom. 10:9), believers can trust his gift of salvation. If he were inconsistent, he would not be God. As Isaiah said, "Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand" (Isa. 64:8).
God has complete freedom, yet he limits it out of love for us. He showed this love most clearly by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins (Phil. 2:5–11). God speaks plainly about what he expects from us and keeps his promises when we obey (Heb. 5:8–9, 11:6).
The philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) taught about an "unmoved mover," a being that causes motion without being moved itself: "While an eternal unmoved mover moves some things and is therefore always in motion, other things are moved by a mover that is in motion and changing so that they too must change" (Physics 8.6). For Aristotle, this was not a personal being but a natural force, like gravity.
In contrast, James of Jerusalem described God as the actual unmoved mover with personal and moral character: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). Calling God the unmoved mover means he is dependable and unchanging. He upholds both the physical laws of the universe and the moral laws that guide human life. The writer of Hebrews says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8). This shows that God is both simple—not divided within himself—and immutable, meaning he cannot change.
God's holiness and righteousness also come from his omnibenevolence. He is holy, set apart from the world he created, and righteous, completely pure and free from evil. "Holy" is the only word that Scripture repeats three times to describe God:
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory (Isa. 6:3).
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come (Rev. 4:8).
The apostle Paul urges us to follow God's moral example:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Phil. 4:8).
When we focus on these things, we reflect the goodness of the one true God—faithful, unchanging, and full of steadfast love for his creation.
Omnificence: All-Creating Attribute of God
To define God as omnificent means using both cataphatic and apophatic methods—saying what God is and what God is not. The word omnificent means "all-creating" and describes God's power to create without limits.
In Genesis, God created the universe out of nothing (Latin: ex nihilo), showing his unlimited creative power. Everything he made was "very good," proving his goodness and love (Gen. 1–2). Yet there are things God cannot do, and that truth reveals his holiness. God did not create evil, nor can he sin; he is impeccable, which means he is entirely pure. He cannot act against his nature or go beyond himself.
Some people ask if God can make a rock so heavy that even he cannot lift it. The answer is no—not because he lacks power, but because he cannot and will not stop being God (Mal. 3:6). He does not tempt anyone to sin, and he cannot lie (Num. 23:19; James 1:13; Titus 1:2).
God shows his omnificence by creating everything in harmony with his nature and goodness. King David writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Ps. 19:1). Everything in creation points to the wisdom and power of the Creator.
Omnipotence: All-Powerful Attribute of God
The Latin word omnipotentia means "all power." God is almighty and acts according to his divine nature (Ps. 115:3; Isa. 55:11). Nothing is too hard for him (Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:17). He depends on nothing and exists entirely on his own, a state called aseity (derived from Latin a se, "from oneself").
When Paul testified before the Areopagus in Athens, he described God's aseity:
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:24–25).
God is both transcendent, ruling above creation, and immanent, present within it (Acts 17:26–31). Although he calls all people to repent (Acts 17:30), his power allows him to use even human evil to fulfill his purposes (Gen. 45:5–8; Exod. 4:21; Rom 9:17–18; Acts 2:23). He is eternal and unchanging, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13).
God builds nations, sets their leaders and borders (Isa. 44:28; Acts 17:26), and directs both history and personal lives. He forms every person in the womb (Ps. 139:13–16) and uses his power only for good, giving faith and eternal life (Eph. 2:8–10; Acts 13:48). Jewish prayers begin, "Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe," confessing his rule over all (Lam. 3:37–38; Rom. 8:28, 11:33–36; Eph. 1:1).
One of God's most familiar titles is El Shaddai (H410, H7706), meaning "God Almighty." When Jacob blessed Joseph, he said, "Because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb" (Gen. 49:25).
In the New Testament, Paul used the Greek term Pantokratōr (G3841)—the equivalent of El Shaddai—when quoting Samuel (2 Cor. 6:18; cf. 2 Sam. 7:8, 14). The word joins pan ("all," G3956) and krateō ("to rule" or "to prevail," G2902), meaning "ruler over all." Because Jesus is one with the Father and the Spirit (John 10:30; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 8:6), he bears this title nine times in Revelation, including, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8). The King James Version translates Pantokratōr once as "omnipotent" (Rev. 19:6 KJV).
Omnipresence: All-Present Attribute of God
In Latin, omnipraesentis means "to be in all places." The psalmist asks:
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast (Ps. 139:7–10).
No one can escape God's presence. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). The Spirit of God fills all creation and is present everywhere at all times. God lives within time and space, yet never allows them to limit him.
Throughout Scripture, God revealed his presence in visible ways: in the burning bush, in pillars of cloud and fire, and in the Shekinah glory (Hebrew: shākan, H7931) that filled the Holy of Holies (Exod. 3:1–3, 13:21; Ezek. 9:3). The incarnation also revealed his omnipresence. Isaiah called the Messiah by the name Immanuel (H6005), "God with us" (Isa. 7:14). John writes, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling [Greek: eskēnōsen, G4637, 'tabernacled'] among us" (John 1:14).
Jesus confirmed this when he said, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matt. 18:20). His words echoed the Jewish saying, "If two sit together and there are words of Torah between them, the Shekinah abides among them" (Pirkei Avot 3:3). By this, Jesus claimed to be the visible presence of God among his people.
God's omnipresence does not mean he is part of the physical world. He is not contained in nature or mixed with it. Pantheism and panentheism wrongly suggest that creation shares God's essence. The Spirit of God sustains all things but is distinct from them. Paul writes, "Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made" (Rom. 1:20).
Peter taught that believers share in God's nature through his promises: "Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4). The Greek Orthodox call this process theōsis (from the Greek noun Theos, "God," G2316), meaning to become like God by renewing the image of God (Latin: imago Dei) within us—an image that remains yet bears the marks of sin—not by becoming gods ourselves (Gen. 3:5).
We can sense God's presence in prayer and worship, but his full omnipresence remains beyond our understanding. In Revelation, John writes, "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple . . . for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp" (Rev. 21:22–23). In the New Jerusalem, the Shekinah glory will fill everything, and we will behold God's presence forever.
Omniscience: All-Knowing Attribute of God
The Latin word omniscientia means "all knowledge." Scientia is the etymological root of the word "science." God considers all matters necessary, from an animal's welfare to the number of hairs on our heads (Matt 6:26–30, 10:29–30). Psalm 139 is a go-to Bible passage for learning about God's omniscience, highlighting his intimate knowledge of us wherever we go. The psalmist declares, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain" (Ps. 139:6). God knows us anywhere and everywhere: to the heavens and outer space, in the grave and the ocean depths, in the world's furthest reaches, and even in the darkest of places (Ps. 139:7–12). He foreknew us before birth and foreknows our lifespans (Ps. 139:13–16).
King Solomon writes, "The LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Prov. 2:6), an ability that most of us find unsettling. Even in our theological debates about predestination and free will, we often attempt to resolve this dilemma by limiting God's knowledge, particularly his foreknowledge. He foreknew the crucifixion of Jesus (Acts 2:23). Likewise, Paul says, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters" (Rom. 8:29). In the same letter, Paul writes, "God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew" (Rom. 11:2). Why does God's omniscience bother us more than his other attributes? Because it means our free will is not as consequential as it seems. We stand naked before God like Adam and Eve, who ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17, 3:7–11). His omniscience is our greatest fear, both primeval and contemporary.
God's perfect knowledge should put our minds at ease. He orders our lives so that our choices are real and free, yet each one still works within his plan. Nothing surprises him, because he already knows every possible choice and every result. His awareness of all things shows the endless depth of his wisdom and understanding.
Conclusion
The word theology means "the study of God," from the Greek nouns Theos ("God," G2316) and logos ("word" or "reason," G3056). While theology covers all topics related to God, the study of God the Father is called paterology, which closely relates to christology (the study of Christ) and pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit).
A key debate in paterology centers on impassibility, the doctrine that God cannot suffer or feel pain. This belief is one reason many rabbinical Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. To them, a suffering deity seems pagan and illogical—too human. Christians, however, worship Jesus as both God and man, who chose to suffer for humanity's redemption. God's impassibility applies only when he does not choose to limit it.
Even the apostles struggled with this idea. When Jesus predicted his suffering, Peter protested, "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!" (Matt. 16:22). Yet Jesus' passion revealed the mystery of the hypostatic union—divine and human natures united in one person. The Father and the Son share one divine essence (Latin: communicatio idiomatum, "sharing of properties") but not the same physical experiences. The Father is spirit, while the Son took on flesh. Thus, when Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34), he spoke from his human suffering, not divine separation.
The prophet Isaiah foresaw this in his vision of the "suffering servant." Rabbinical interpreters claim Isaiah 53 refers to Israel. However, the text describes someone righteous and sinless—qualities that belong to God alone: "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death . . . though he had done no violence" (Isa. 53:9). Jesus alone fulfilled this prophecy: "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).
God is simple in essence—pure Spirit without parts or change—perfect in being and purpose. All his qualities work together in complete harmony, showing us the fullness of who he is. His nature never shifts or divides, remaining constant through all time and creation, uniting power, wisdom, and love in perfect balance.
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of heaven and earth. You are good in all your ways, mighty in your works, present everywhere, and perfect in knowledge and truth. Make us steadfast in goodness and mindful of your presence. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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