There are some things God cannot do

By William F. Holland Jr.

DD., C.ED.D.

When we think about God being The Almighty, we see Him as having infinite power and authority in heaven and earth, and this is certainly true. Remember the passage in Matthew 19:26 where Jesus is explaining to His disciples about how difficult it is for a wealthy person to enter into heaven, Christ is quoted, “But Jesus beheld them (He was saying listen carefully), and said to them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Who else in the universe can make a statement like this and back it up? To know God personally, we study and pray that we might understand more about who He is.

Since childhood, we’ve learned there is nothing He cannot do, as Jeremiah 32:7 reminds us, “Ah Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too difficult for Thee.” The greatest title and attribute that is reserved only for the God of the Bible is Omnipotent which means He has unlimited authority and control.

Along with being Omniscient (knowing everything), Omnipresent (being everywhere at once), and Omnibenevolent (perfect love and justice). It’s clear there is no one that can be compared to His supremacy the same as darkness can never overcome the light, but you may be surprised to know there are several things that God absolutely cannot do.

Let’s begin with the fact that God cannot lie. He is perfect truth and has never said anything that was not true. His word is His oath which means if He says something He promises He will make it happen one way or the other.  When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.”

And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise. Today, we embrace His promises and receive them by faith. To know that God never fails gives us hope and security beyond measure. “In hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” Titus 1:2.

Our next attribute is that God cannot change. He cannot contradict himself: His word and actions must align, meaning He cannot speak or act in ways that go against his own established principles. God is from the beginning and we cannot fathom what the Alpha and Omega means with our mortal minds, but in all that time He has remained “perfectly” the same.

He is eternal truth and a trillion years from now he will still represent what He has always declared. Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, I change not” which is very good news if you are His child. Heaven is forever and we certainly would not want Him to change His plans later down the road. This divine consistency is another characteristic which is unique to God alone.

There are actually several more things that we add to the list, such as; God cannot allow the lost into heaven. John 3:3 says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” We also realize that God will never break a promise, no one can stop His decisions, His truth can never pass away, His laws and commandments cannot be negotiated, and He cannot compromise with sin, and He cannot be tempted by evil. James 1:13 declares, “Let no person say when they are tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does He tempt anyone.”

God lives up to His standards and principles. He is the ultimate example of how we are also to walk in the integrity and essence of His wisdom. This is how abiding in His Spirit and being aware of His constant presence is the most important aspect of our relationship with Him.

We often hear comments about how no one is perfect and we all sin when discussing manifesting His nature and being holy as He is holy. Nonetheless, could these statements simply be defensive excuses for remaining the same and not giving more effort to be like Him? His perfection should inspire and increase our desire to demonstrate being a reflection of Jesus. The convicting truth is that we can be as determined to be filled with Him as we want to be.

Dr. Holland is an ordained minister, chaplain, and author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.