What God Cannot Do

Can God create a rock so big that He cannot move it? Today, R.C. Sproul explains what it means for God to be omnipotent—and what it doesn’t mean.

In every seminary class I ever had, I had the students who came up with the tired conundrum, “Professor, do you believe that God is omnipotent?” Yes. “That God can do all things?” Yes. “Nothing is impossible for God?” Yes. “Well, can God build a rock so big that He can’t move it?” Oh, if I say yes, He can build a rock so big that He can’t move it, then there’s something that’s not possible for Him to do, and He’s not really omnipotent. And if I say no, He can’t build a rock so big that He can’t move it, then again, I’m skewered on the horns of this dilemma. And I’m left with saying that God is not omnipotent, that there are certain things that He can’t do.

Well, there is a right answer to that question, and it’s very simple. Can God build a rock so big that He can’t move it? Of course not. Why not? Because He’s omnipotent. Why not? Because nothing is impossible with God. And to be omnipotent does not mean that God can do anything. God can’t die, God can’t lie, God can’t be God and not be God at the same time and in the same relationship. He can’t stop being God. And as long as He’s God, whatever He makes, whatever He creates, He controls.