Philosophical Reflections With

Matthew M. Umukoro

mattmukoro@gmail.com  (08034052655)

 

 

The word ‘omni’ is a Latin prefix which means ‘all’; thus the three words above imply that God is all-present, all-powerful, and all-knowing. We are talking of the Creator who was never created, who knows the end from the beginning; the one who exists out of time, with no past, no present, and no future; the one for whom a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8).

We are talking of the one who defies all scientific theories of Creation, but who created the World by means of the Word, and put a self-regenerative structure in place which continues to replicate itself for all eternity. The sun rises and falls daily; the moon and the stars grace the evening sky; the rain falls in due season; the snow announces the arrival of winter in places so endowed; the earth quakes with devastating impact in designated places to remind powerless mortality of the awesomeness of God. He is the All-seeing but invisible One, whose works are visible everywhere such that none can deny His existence; the one to whom all creatures on land, in the oceans, and in the sky owe their existence; the supreme artist, scientist, and technologist all rolled into one, we bow and tremble! Heaven, Hell, the Earth, and the entire planetary system are absolutely under His command, and the Devil has no power over His Creation. In Christian theology, He is conceived as Three Persons in One God - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - thus functioning as the Holy Trinity. All glory and honour to the Almighty God, for ever and ever.

The Penny Catechism asks “Where is God?” and goes ahead to provide the answer: “God is everywhere.” It is fruitless attempting to locate the precise place where God can be found. God can be found within the individual conscience, and so He knows what you think and what you feel every second. God can never be deceived; He is aware of your intentions, even before you form them or translate them into action.

Early space scientists, when the planetary system was still shrouded in mystery, were lucky not to have speculated that God was in the moon. Otherwise, Neil Armstrong and his co-explorers would have proclaimed that they did not find God in the moon when they landed there in 1969. There is also the theory that God could be seated somewhere behind the extremely hot and stationary sun, around which the other planets rotate, but God cannot be confined to one specific place; He is everywhere and nowhere in particular; His exact location transcends human understanding. 

God is omnipotent; He is all-powerful. There is nothing impossible for God who has the capacity to accomplish all things. He parted the Red Sea and gave the fleeing Israelites free passage, but drowned the entire fleet of chasing Egyptians. He fed the Israelites with manna and quails from heaven, water from rock, during their long, tortuous journey in the Wilderness. 

During his earthly ministry, Jesus Christ performed innumerable miracles, including raising the dead, healing the sick, forgiving sins, and turning water into wine.  Hence, as pointed out in Isaiah 40:29, the Lord is he “who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing.” All must acknowledge the enormous power of God.

The third attribute of God is His Omniscience; his capacity to see all things, and hear all things said or unsaid.  [Note that ‘omniscience’ is not pronounced ‘omnisaiens’ but ‘omnisiens’]. God sees all, not only what has happened, or what is happening, but even what will happen in the immediate and remote future. Jesus knew ahead that Judas would betray him and that Peter would deny him three times before cockcrow, so he was not surprised when these happened. God knows our needs and our wants, even before we ask for them and supplies them at His own time, and in His own way.

However, God also expects us to seek, ask, and knock, through prayers, to confirm what He already knows, and grant them in accordance with His divine will. Each time we pray, we must always remember to anchor our wishes on His will, as Jesus taught us. His will is supreme. 

Despite his enormous powers, God is also all-merciful and all-generous. He makes the rain to fall on both the good and the bad without discrimination.  As William Shakespeare says in Measure for Measure (Act II sc.ii), “O, it is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.” God is omnipotent, but He does not use His awesome powers against us; ever so patient with us in our sinfulness, and gives us ample opportunities to repent and live. So, the all-present, all-powerful, and all-seeing is not all-punishing, after all. He deals with us as a benevolent Father does to helpless, but rebellious children.