217 What Can God Not Do? Pt.1

If God is omnipotent then he cannot be good because evil exists. If God is good then he cannot be omnipotent because evil exists. There is a solution at the end of the presentation. We will discuss 9 things that God cannot do in this episode and the in part two the things God has already done and the things He can do.

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SHOW NOTES

Is God’s love Paradoxical?

The Paradox of God’s Love

Because God is omnipotent this means he can do anything and everything.

Because God is other-centered, self-sacrificing love (1 John 4:8) there are some things he

cannot or does not do.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT Love/God is patient and kind. Love/God is not jealous or

boastful or proud 5 or rude. God does not demand his own way. God is not irritable,

and he keeps no record of being wronged. 6 God does not rejoice about injustice

but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love/God never gives up, never loses

faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Thus we have a contradiction, an oxymoron, a riddle, a paradox that we need to be

aware of. The Greek paradox about God was as follows. If God is omnipotent then he

cannot be good because evil exists. If God is good then he cannot be omnipotent because evil exists. There is a solution at the end of this presentation.

WHAT GOD CANNOT DO

1. God cannot Lie

Titus 1:2 NIV a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God,

who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time

2. God cannot think, feel or do evil

Habakkuk 1:13 NIV Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate

wrong.

Psalm 92:15 NIV proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no

wickedness in him.”

John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that

they may have life, and have it to the full.

1 John 1:5 NIV This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God

is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

3. God cannot tempt anyone

James 1:13 NIV When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God

cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

4. God cannot be tempted

James 1:13 NIV When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God

cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

5. God cannot stop loving

1 John 4:8 NIV Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

6. God cannot die

1 Timothy 6:16 NIV who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,

whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

7. God cannot always prevent evil

Luke 10:18 ‘He Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”’

This means that in a perfect environment with a perfect Creator, evil arose. It was never

God’s will for it to exist.

8. God cannot escape our suVering.

Isaiah 63:9 NIV In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his

presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up

and carried them all the days of old.

Isaiah 53:5 NIV But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our

iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds

we are healed.

Matthew 25:46 NLT And he Jesus will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused

to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.

9. God cannot abandon us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not

panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will

neither fail you nor abandon you.”

There are 94 verses in the Bible which refer to this promise. This means if there is

abandonment, it is us who have left God.

Romans 8:34-35 NLT Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for

us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right

hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does itmean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or

hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

Hosea 11:8 NIV How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? . .

. My heart is changed within me: all my compassion is aroused.

10. God Cannot save everyone.

It is God’s will to save everyone 1 Timothy 2:4, 1 Peter 3:9, Matthew 25:41

Matthew 23:37 NIV O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone

those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen

gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Revelation 6:15-17 and 20:7-15 NIV Tell of many who refuse to be saved.

11. God cannot control your will

Luke 7:30 NIV But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose /will

for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

WHAT GOD HAS DONE

1. God has saved your soul

John 3:16-17 NIV For God so loved the world . . .

For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world but . . .

Romans 5:18 CJB In other words, just as it was through one oeence that all people

came under condemnation, so also it is through one righteous act that all people

come to be considered righteous.

2. God has forgiven all Sin

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NLT Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or

proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it (love or God)

keeps no record of being wronged.

Colossians 2:13-14 NLT You were dead because of your sins and because your

sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he

forgave all our sins.

14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it

away by nailing it to the cross.Hebrews 8:12 NLT And I will forgive their wickedness,

and I will never again remember their sins.”

Hebrews 10:17-18 NLT Then he says, “I will never again remember

their sins and lawless deeds.”

18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to oeer any more sacrifices.

3. God knows your name and has written it in his Book of Life

Phillipians 4:3 NLT And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for

they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with

Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of

Life.

Revelation 3:5 NLT All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase

their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his

angels that they are mine.

Revelation 13:8 NLT And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the

beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that

belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.

4. God has prepared an eternity of deepest intimacy with himself for you

John 14:1-3 NLT Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in

me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so,

would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?[b] 3 When everything

is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

5. God has adopted you into the intimate family of God NLT

Romans 8:14-17 NLT

Galatians 4:4-7 NLT But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a

woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to

the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his

children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out,

“Abba, Father.”[c] 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you

are his child, God has made you his heir.

6. God regards you as precious

Isaiah 43:1-4 NLT But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters,

I will be with you. When you go through rivers of dieiculty, you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;

the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia[a] and Seba in your place.

4 Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.

Matthew 10:31 NLT So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole

flock of sparrows.

1 Peter 2:9 NLT But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal

priests,[a] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others

the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

SS 4:7 NLT You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.

7. God sings over you in delight

Zephaniah 3:17 NLT For the Lord your God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Jeremiah 31:3 NLT Long ago the Lord said to Israel:

“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.

With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are

plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

8. God has made it easy for you to be saved or healed.

Matthew 11:28-30 NLT Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and

carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach

you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your

souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

9. God made you to love you and serve you

John 13:4-29 NLT Foot washing

Matthew 4:23-25 NLT Healings and exorcisms

John 13:34-35 NLT So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.

Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will

prove to the world that you are my disciples.

WHAT GOD CAN DO

1. God can give you a new heart

Hebrews 10:16-18 NLT “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that

day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their

minds. ”

17 Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”

18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to oeer any more sacrifices.

2. God will resurrect you from death

John 6:39-40, 42, 52 This is the will of God . . . that I should raise them up at the last

day.

John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life.

Solving the Greek paradox. The Greeks never could solve the problem of walking half the

distance towards the edge of a clie. Their conclusion was that the walker would never fall

over the edge. They were wrong in their logic and this prevented them from discovering

Calculus. They were also wrong about God’s omnipotence and God’s goodness. The

solution lies in the love of God. Because God is love it means he cannot manipulate people to get his own way. This is why it was possible for evil to appear and why it exists at present.

Evil will eventually be exhausted by the goodness of God. The Cross demonstrated that

God is totally others-centered and self-sacrificing. This knowledge of his love will

eventually win the day for God. It is the greatest influence in the universe. It will win the

hearts of all at the end. Some will rejoice in God and some will prefer to die than to

embrace God.

Ezekiel 33:10-12 NLT “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are

saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we

survive?’ 11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death

of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live.Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? (Cp.

Revelation 6:15-17)

The sadness of God on the last day is faintly mirrored by Jesus weeping over Jerusalem

(Matthew 23:37-38) and weeping over the hard hearts present at Lazarus’ tomb (John

11:35).

The Cross is a dull revelation of the pain that sin, from its very inception, has brought

to the heart of God.

Ian Hartley, September 2025