Is Jesus Christ Omnipotent – Does He Have All Power?

Let’s be honest for a second. Is Jesus Christ Omnipotent?

I mean, really. You read the stories, right?

Walking on water. Calming a hurricane with just a word. Healing a guy who’d been blind his whole life. That’s not normal. That’s… well, that’s power.

But then you keep reading. You see him collapse from exhaustion in the back of a boat. You read about him being so hungry he’s just done. And then, on the cross, you hear him cry out in genuine agony.

That doesn’t sound like an all-powerful God. It sounds like a man at his absolute limit.

So which is it?

Is he God with all the power, or is he a man who suffered? Or somehow… both?

If you’ve ever felt that mental tug-of-war, you’re in the right place. This isn’t just some abstract idea for a seminary class. Trust me, the answer to this question changes how you see your own life, your own suffering, and your own hope. Let’s dig in and find an honest, biblical answer.

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Key Takeaways

Before we jump in, here are the essential points we’ll be covering:

• He is Omnipotent as God, period. The Bible’s clear: as the divine Son, he shares all of God the Father’s power. He’s not a ‘junior’ God; he is the Creator.
• He chose to limit his power on earth. This is the part that blows our minds. To be truly human, he “emptied himself” (Philippians 2:7), living in total reliance on the Father.
• His miracles were about authority, not just spectacle. Every healing, every storm calmed, was a specific message: He had authority over nature, sickness, the spiritual world, sin, and even death itself.
• His weakness makes his power personal. Because he got tired, felt pain, and faced temptation, his omnipotence isn’t some distant force. He’s an all-powerful High Priest who gets us (Hebrews 4:15).
• The Resurrection was his ultimate power-move. His final proof of omnipotence wasn’t dodging the cross. It was beating death by walking out of the tomb, validating his claim to “all authority” (Matthew 28:18).

What Does “Omnipotent” Even Mean, Biblically?

We use that word “omnipotent” pretty casually. “Omnipotent.” All-powerful.

But what are we actually saying? When we say “all-powerful,” what does that even mean? Is it that old high-school riddle, “Can God make a rock so big he can’t lift it?”

That’s a fun brain-teaser, but it totally misses the biblical point.

The Bible’s idea of omnipotence isn’t about doing things that are just… weird or illogical. In fact, Hebrews 6:18 says flat-out “it is impossible for God to lie.” Why? Because his power isn’t separate from his character. He can’t do anything “un-God-like.”

So, here’s a much better, more grown-up definition: God has all the power to do anything that is consistent with his holy nature and his perfect will.

That’s a big deal. It means he has total authority. Total sovereignty. And the juice to make anything he plans, happen. Nothing and no one can stop his ultimate plan. When we ask, “Is Jesus omnipotent?” this is the kind of power we’re talking about.

It’s not magic. It’s ultimate, purposeful, total authority.

Is Jesus’s Power the Same as God the Father’s?

This is where things get deep, right into the core of Christian belief.

The classic teaching is the Trinity. One God, three persons: Father, Son (that’s Jesus), and Holy Spirit.

No, not three gods. One God.

What this means for Jesus is huge. He’s not a “demigod” like Hercules. He’s not a “lesser” god or God’s powerful little helper. He is God, the Son. And because he is God, he has the same divine nature as the Father. That includes omnipotence.

The apostle John wanted to make this crystal-clear right from the start of his Gospel. No messing around. He just drops this:

“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3)

Let that sink in. If he made everything, he has power over everything. It’s that simple. The artist is always greater than the painting.

Where Does the Bible Say Jesus Has All Power?

The Bible doesn’t just hint at this. It makes some absolutely staggering, front-page-headline claims about Jesus’s power. These aren’t subtle hints; they are direct statements of his supreme authority.

The author of Hebrews, for example, says Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,” and then adds that he is “sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3).

Did you catch that?

Not just “he made all things.” He is sustaining all things. Right now. As you read this. The universe isn’t just wound up and left to spin; the Bible’s claim is that Jesus is actively holding it all together. That’s omnipotence.

Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, takes it even further. He says this about Jesus:

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

This is a cosmic-level claim.

But the mic-drop moment? It comes from Jesus himself. After he came back from the dead, he gathered his shell-shocked disciples and said one of the most all-encompassing sentences ever spoken:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)

“All authority.” Not some. Not just the “religious” parts. All. Of. It.

Case closed, right? He’s omnipotent. Article over.

…Not quite. Because this is where the real mystery begins.

If Jesus Is All-Powerful, Why Did He Seem Limited on Earth?

This is the part that makes sense to us, the part we can all relate to. Because we’ve all been there.

If he’s got all the power, why did he pass out in a boat during a storm (Mark 4:38)? I’ve been tired, but not “sleep-through-a-deadly-storm” tired.

If he’s all-knowing (which is part of being all-powerful), how could he honestly say he didn’t know the day or hour of his own return (Mark 13:32)?

If he holds the universe together, why was he starving in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2)?

And… this is the big one… why in the Garden of Gethsemane, was he so terrified that he sweat blood and begged, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matthew 26:39)?

That doesn’t sound like the all-powerful creator of the universe. That sounds like a man at his absolute breaking point.

And that’s exactly the point. He was.

What’s This “Kenosis” I Keep Hearing About?

To get our heads around this, we have to look at this one incredible passage. It’s in Philippians, chapter 2. Paul is trying to get a local church to stop bickering and be humble, and he points to Jesus as the ultimate, mind-blowing example:

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing [or emptied himself] by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)

That line, “he made himself nothing,” is just one Greek word: kenosis. It means “to empty.”

This is the key.

He didn’t stop being God. He didn’t give up his omnipotence. But he did voluntarily set aside the independent use of all his divine superpowers. He put a veil over his own glory. He chose to live a 100% genuine human life, with all the aches, pains, limits, and frustrations that we all feel.

He lived his life, not by pulling the “God card” every time he was in a jam, but in total, moment-by-moment dependence on his Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why he was always praying. That’s why he studied the scriptures. He was living the perfect, dependent human life we were all supposed to live.

So, He Really Did Get Tired and Hungry?

Oh yeah. 100%. He wasn’t faking it.

I’ll never forget my first week of college. I moved about 800 miles from home, didn’t know a soul. I’m sitting in this tiny, cinder-block dorm room, boxes everywhere, and this wave of just… “smallness”… washes over me. I was a total nobody. No power, no friends, no influence. I was just this kid, completely overwhelmed and feeling pretty darn helpless.

You’ve felt that, right? That feeling of being small, weak, and totally vulnerable?

Jesus chose that.

Think about that. The God who spun the Andromeda galaxy into existence… chose to feel a hunger pang. The one whose voice is supposed to be like a roaring ocean… chose to get a dry, scratchy throat and humbly ask a Samaritan woman for a drink (John 4:7).

This whole “emptying” thing wasn’t a costume. It wasn’t a magic trick. It was real. He was fully God and, at the exact same time, fully human. He didn’t just look like a man. He was one.

And that decision, to me, might be the most powerful act of all. The omnipotent God choosing limitation, all for love.

But Why Did He Cry Out ‘My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?’

This, for me, is the hardest one. On the cross, right before he died, Jesus cries out the first line of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Wait… what?

How can an all-powerful God be forsaken by… God? This sounds like the ultimate contradiction.

For centuries, thinkers and theologians have wrestled with this. Here’s what I’ve come to understand. This wasn’t a moment where Jesus stopped being God. It was the one, awful, terrifying moment where the Son, who had known nothing but perfect, unbroken fellowship with the Father, felt the full weight of our sin.

In that instant, he was experiencing the separation from God that our sin deserves. He was taking our hell, so we wouldn’t have to.

It was a cry of genuine, human agony and, at the same time, the cry of the divine Son taking on the ultimate judgment. He was quoting a Psalm, a Psalm that actually starts in despair but ends in total victory and trust. He was, even in his darkest moment, still pointing to the plan. This wasn’t a failure of his power; it was the purpose of his power. To bear this, so we wouldn’t have to.

So, What Kind of “Power” Did Jesus Actually Use?

Okay, so if he “emptied” himself, what’s with all the miracles? Was he “cheating” on his whole “being human” thing when he calmed that storm or healed the leper?

Great question.

The way the Bible tells it, the answer is no. His miracles weren’t him just pulling his “God card” to make his life easier. (Notice he didn’t turn those stones into bread when he was starving in the wilderness).

Instead, his miracles were specific, targeted signs. They were public demonstrations, all done in perfect sync with the Father’s will and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

They weren’t just random acts of kindness. Each one was a specific message, a little preview, a flashing neon sign that said, “The Kingdom of God is here. And I’m the King.”

His power wasn’t just raw; it was purposeful.

What Was He Proving With All These Miracles?

Let’s actually break it down. His power wasn’t a one-trick-pony. It was comprehensive.

• He Showed Power Over Nature: Remember that storm? Jesus is asleep in the boat, 100% human-exhausted. Then his friends, who are professional fishermen, are screaming that they’re all going to die. He gets up, looks at the hurricane, and just says, “Quiet! Be still!” (Mark 4:39). And it… does. The wind and waves just stop. The disciples’ reaction wasn’t, “Phew, glad he did that.” It was pure terror. They said, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” They got the message. This was the guy who wrote the laws of physics.
• He Showed Power Over Sickness and Disease: He didn’t just heal a few sniffles. He reversed leprosy (Mark 1:40-42). He gave sight to a man born blind (John 9:1-7). He made a paralyzed man pick up his mat and walk (Luke 5:17-26). This was a direct fulfillment of old prophecies, like from Isaiah, that God’s chosen one would come to “bind up the brokenhearted” and restore what was broken. He was showing he had power over the physical brokenness of our world.
• He Showed Power Over the Demonic Realm: This one’s creepy, but it’s crucial. His run-ins with demons are intense. And the demons always knew exactly who he was. They’d scream things like, “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24). They were absolutely terrified of him. His ability to just tell them to leave—and they had to—showed he had complete authority over all spiritual powers of darkness.

This wasn’t just power for people; it was power over everything that hurts and oppresses people.

What About His Power Over Sin?

But all of that? It was just the warm-up act for his most shocking claim.

This one got him into real trouble.

In Mark, chapter 2, there’s this incredible scene. Jesus is teaching in a packed house. A group of guys have a paralyzed friend, and they’re so desperate to get him to Jesus, they dig a hole in the roof and lower him down. Amazing.

Jesus sees this wild faith, looks at the paralyzed man, and says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

The whole room went silent. The religious leaders, the scholars… they were scandalized. You could hear them thinking, “What? He’s blaspheming! Only God can forgive sins!” (Mark 2:7).

And here’s the kicker: they were 100% right. Only God can forgive sins.

Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking. So he set the trap. “Hey, guys… what’s easier? To say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?”

Think about it. Anyone can say “your sins are forgiven.” It’s invisible. You can’t prove it.

So Jesus did the one they could see. He looked at the man. “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

And the guy did. He just… got up and left. The crowd was floored.

Jesus’s point was impossible to miss: “…so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” (Mark 2:10). The physical healing was the proof of the invisible, spiritual authority. This power—to wipe the slate clean between a person and God—that’s not a power any prophet ever claimed. That’s the power of God himself.

Isn’t the Resurrection the Ultimate Power Move?

Absolutely. This is the ballgame.

If “omnipotence” means “all-powerful,” it has to include power over the one thing that defeats every other human: death. The Bible calls death “the last enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26).

And Jesus’s enemies thought they had won.

They had mocked him, tortured him, and nailed him to a cross. He was dead. Certified. He was sealed in a tomb with a giant rock in front of it, guarded by Roman soldiers.

It was done. Finished.

But on the third day, the real power showed up.

And I’m not talking about resuscitation. When Jesus raised his friend Lazarus, that was a resuscitation. Lazarus was brought back to his old life, and he would one day die again.

What happened to Jesus was a resurrection. He came back with a new, glorified, eternal body. He didn’t just escape death. He defeated it. He broke its power. He walked out of that tomb, and in doing so, he proved he was exactly who he said he was.

This is why the apostle Paul could write with such explosive confidence that Jesus “was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). The resurrection was the Father’s cosmic “YES!” to every claim Jesus ever made.

It is the final, non-negotiable, undeniable proof of his omnipotence.

Does Jesus’s Omnipotence Actually Matter for My Life?

Okay, fine. So he’s all-powerful. This is the big “so what?” right?

This is the question that matters.

It’s great to have all this theology straight, but what does it mean for me on a Tuesday, when I’m staring at a stack of bills, or I just got a scary call from the doctor, or my family is falling apart?

If he’s so powerful, why doesn’t he just fix it? Why do I still hurt?

This brings us right back to that beautiful, painful paradox. The all-powerful God we’re talking about is the same God who chose weakness. He chose to be hungry and tired and to… suffer.

And that fact changes everything about how we connect with him.

How Can an All-Powerful God Understand My Weakness?

This is the whole point of that kenosis, that “emptying” we talked about. Because he lived a real, human life, he gets it. He’s not staring down at us from some golden cloud, clueless about what it feels like to be us.

The book of Hebrews just nails this:

“For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

“Unable to empathize.” I love that. His power doesn’t make him distant. His humanity makes him near.

I learned this in a way I’ll never forget. Years ago, my wife had a sudden, serious health scare. We ended up in the hospital for days. I remember sitting in one of those awful, plastic visitor chairs at 3 AM, listening to the beep of the heart monitor, and just… I’d never felt so useless in my entire life.

I’m a fixer. I like to solve problems. And I could not do a single thing.

I couldn’t fix her. I couldn’t make the test results come faster. I had no power.

All I could do was sit there. And pray.

And the “power” I felt in that room… it wasn’t a magic wand. It wasn’t a booming voice from heaven. It was this deep, quiet, unmistakable presence. It was the profound sense that we weren’t alone. It was the power of the God who had also sat in a dark place, who knew what suffering was, and who was right there, sitting in that plastic chair with me.

That’s the power Hebrews is talking about. It’s omnipotence that shows up not as brute force, but as understanding, “me-too” grace.

What Does “All Authority” (Matthew 28:18) Mean for Us Now?

There’s one more piece. When Jesus stood on that mountain, resurrected and glowing with power, he said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18).

But he didn’t stop there.

He immediately turned that authority into a mission. He said, “Therefore… go.” Go and make disciples. Go and baptize. Go and teach.

His power wasn’t a trophy for him to put on a shelf. It was the fuel he was giving to his followers. It’s the power behind the mission. It’s the assurance that when we try to do his work—when we share his story, when we love the person in front of us, when we work for justice and mercy—we are not doing it on our own.

We are operating under the full authority of the King of the cosmos.

And he finished that command with the ultimate promise: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

His omnipotence isn’t just a fact about him. It’s a promise to us. He’s not just all-powerful up there. He’s all-powerful with us, right here.

So, What’s the Final Verdict on Jesus’s Power?

So, let’s land the plane. Back to that first question: Is Jesus Christ Omnipotent?

The answer from the Bible is the most profound, paradoxical “Yes” you’ll ever hear.

Yes, in his very nature, as God the Son, he is, was, and always will be fully omnipotent. He is the creator. He holds the universe together. He shares every bit of the Father’s power. He is not a junior partner; he is God.

And yet…

He is the all-powerful God who, out of a love so deep it’s staggering, chose to set that power aside. He “emptied himself” and became one of us. He lived a perfectly dependent, Spirit-led life, getting tired, feeling pain, and facing real temptation.

He did this for one reason: so he could not only die for us, but so he could truly understand us.

His greatest power move wasn’t calling down ten thousand angels to save him from the cross. His greatest power was shown in his endurance… in his shocking forgiveness (“Father, forgive them…”)… and in his big, final, world-changing, death-shattering resurrection.

Today, he’s back on the throne, with all that authority restored. But he’s not a distant tyrant. He’s our King, yes, but he’s also our sympathetic high priest who knows what it’s like. He’s the one with “all authority” who we can actually trust.

That is the power of Jesus Christ. And it’s a power that’s not just to be admired, but to be received. For more on the complex philosophical and theological definitions of this attribute, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s entry on Omnipotence offers a deep, academic perspective on the concept itself.

FAQ – Is Jesus Christ Omnipotent