In my previous blog on this subject, I mentioned that the answer that was given to me in prayer, was, “Yes, and He did. The rock is the Word of God.”
The Scriptures truly bear this out:
Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus describes His word as a rock that, if men will build their lives upon, what they build will endure whatever devastating storms may come. Jesus said, “… on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matt 16:18); which is commonly interpreted to mean that Jesus will build His Church upon that same word, or confession of faith, uttered by Peter – “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God.”
In fact Jesus himself is so closely related to the Word of God – this rock – He is Himself referred to as that “spiritual rock,” (1 Cor 10:4); the “foundation” of our faith (1 Cor 3:11); the cornerstone (Isa 28:16), and the Word of God (John 1:1; Rev 19:13).
That the Word of God is unmovable and eternal is shown by the following passages: The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever (Isa 40:8). Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words (said Jesus) will never pass away (Matt 24:35). The word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that was preached to you (1 Peter 1:25).
This is by no means an exhaustive list so if you have time to study it out I think that it will be a blessing to you.
So why would this be significant in view of the question, “Can God create a rock that He cannot move?”
First of all, I believe there is significance to the fact that God is unchanging and His word is unchanging. Whatever God says He fully stands behind in order to bring it to pass. If God is unchanging there are some things that He cannot do. For example: God cannot change, there is no shifting shadows from God changing (James 1:17); God cannot lie (Titus 1:2); in fact it is impossible for Him to lie (Heb 6:18); His promises are unchangeable.
The seeming contradiction to the nature of God is applied when one looks at the term “omnipotent.” When we say that God is omnipotent and that with God “all things are possible;” neither we nor the Bible implies that God can contradict Himself. The Bible teaches that God cannot deny (Gk.: arneomai) or contradict Himself (2 Tim 2:13). God does not create anything that is contradiction to His character (Rom 1:20). God can create what is eternal, (for example heaven, hell, angels, and humans) but all of these things reflect an aspect of God’s character or are made in His image.
When we are referring to God’s omnipotence we are saying that God is fully capable of doing what is faithful to His nature regardless of opposition. In other words, nothing can obstruct or prevent God from His fully being able to be Himself. What He has said He will do, He is fully able to bring it to pass (Isa 14:27, 46:11).
This is where those of the Reformed Theology persuasion make an error in regard to God’s “sovereign will.” They would say that God imputes faith to some and holds it back from others based upon “His sovereign will.” The phrase they use is "unconditional election;" as if to say that God’s sovereign will is an unknowable will that is somehow able to contradict His Word.
Yet the Bible says, He has made known the mystery of His will (Eph 1:9, 3:3-9; Rom 16:25-26; 1 Cor 2:10). God is holy. That means that it is impossible that God makes any judgment based upon an arbitrary reason. Unconditional election is false. The judgment of God is according to truth and will be righteousness (Rom 2:2, 5). In regard to imputation, the Bible never says that God imputes “faith.” The Bible says that what is imputed and what is the free gift – it is righteousness (Rom 4:11, 21-24, 5:17; James 2:23).
Because God is unchanging and always acts in accordance to ways that are holy, just, good, and loving, as the Bible states, does that mean that He is no longer sovereign and omnipotent? No, God is still the supreme power and presides over all external control.
Can God create a rock that even He cannot move? Most certainly! What this says about God is that He is faithful to His character, to His word, and cannot act outside the realm of either (just like those decrees made by kings in the Bible that cannot be reversed). God has absolutes. Therefore when God says, “I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame (Rom 9:33), He means it. How do you not stumble or fall? Rom 10:8-11 tells us that “the word of faith we are proclaiming (is): That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
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