The Attributes of God: What Omnipotence Does Not Mean

Almighty is the biblical word, and it means nothing impinges on God and nothing limits him. Job asks whether you can find out the limit of the Almighty. Jeremiah puts it as a rhetorical question from God: I am the LORD, the God of all flesh - is anything too hard for me? The expected answer is no.
But the doctrine needs some care, because it is not accurate to say God can do absolutely anything. Scripture itself lists things he cannot do. God cannot lie. God cannot be tempted by evil. God cannot sin or be unfaithful to his own promises. God cannot cease to exist. God cannot forget.
So the more accurate statement is this: omnipotence means God can do anything consistent with his own moral nature and orderly character. God can do whatever he wishes, and he will not wish to act in a way contrary to who he is.
That also disposes of the old puzzles - can God make a square circle, or a rock too heavy for him to lift? No. Not because his power runs out, but because those are absurdities, and God is a God of order, not absurdity. An inability to be incoherent is not a weakness.
Scripture links:
- Jeremiah 32:27 - "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?"
- Titus 1:2 - God, who never lies.
- James 1:13 - God cannot be tempted with evil.
The things he cannot do are all things it would be beneath him to do.