Rethinking the Almighty God

Discovering my union-life with Christ changed virtually everything I knew about God, in fact, all my concepts of faith took on a new meaning after this discovery. God lives in me; I am in Him and we are not separate but one. This realisation revealed the reality that God brought us when he revealed himself through Christ as Emmanuel.

With this realisation, God was no longer distant and church moved on from being a place I visit to who I am. Fellowship for me is no longer an activity but a nature I possess. Prayer is no longer a thing I do, but a constantly flowing stream of conscious conversations with my Father. Worship is no longer a song I sing, but the disposition of my heart.

So recently, along the lines of this reality, I started rethinking about the designation: Almighty God, but this time through the lens of union life. Growing up, I often struggled with the fact that the Almighty God who determined every course of human history controlled the events of the universe and allowed unbearable evil and suffering in the world. From wars to natural disasters, I couldn’t reconcile why a God of love would take pleasure in our pain.

But let’s revisit this concept of the Almighty God. Apparently, the term “Almighty God” cannot be found in the original texts but came about by translation from the word “El Shaddai,” which means “The All-Sufficient One.” It was Aristotle who described God as the unmoved mover. His description of God as “Almighty” was more of unilateral power; one who is capable of affecting all things but remains unaffected by things. The One who determines the course of human existence and every event in time and beyond.

On the surface, this looks accurate but there is an underlining, inherent flaw in this view of God. This description of God being Almighty is mostly rooted in separation. In making Him look all-powerful and the cause of all things, we claim complete exemption and take no credit for the turn of events in our lives. As accurate as this may sound, are we completely removed from contribution to world events? If you think about it, it doesn’t add up. We know that we can choose; we can make choices and every choice we make has consequences, every action and inaction matters. So if freewill accords us the ability to make choices, why would the Almighty God give us the power to choose against Him and then punish us choosing against Him?

Perhaps, it was more from Aristotle and not from the original texts that the predominate idea of the Christian view of God as Almighty filtered into translation. Maybe God is not the one who wants to impose a narrative or a specific boxed design upon your existence. Rather He’s the one who makes meaning possible, who invites us to co-author a story and a reality that has never been told before.

Quite alright, God is “Almighty” but what if God’s mighty power is not the unilateral type but more of a relational power?

Let me explain. God is love and love is a relational power in which both parties involved affect and open themselves up to be affected. Love transforms us but has no desire to control and manipulate or overpower us — God transforms us but has no desire to control and manipulate or overpower us.

We see this in the life of Christ. In Christ, a different picture of power is revealed. God’s power is demonstrated with His identification and suffering with us. His power is revealed in His becoming human to relate with us, tempted in every way like we are.

In relational power, our existence is not imposed on us but it’s something we have an active and creative role in fulfilling. In relational power, He is not removed from but one with us. In relational power, reality is not something we discover is written for us but something that we are invited to participate in and co-create. In relational power, we share in all that he is: his beauty, his abundance, his life and his essence.

Relational power is shared power and what we refer to as process theology. We are not pawns on a chessboard; we are participators in the continuous creation of the universe. In process theology, the power is not a controlling force, God does not manipulate and orchestrate all the events and then force people to conform to His will. I would like you to embrace your likeness with the Trinity. Stop diluting yourself by reducing your role to one of a spectator rather than a participant. His relational power is manifested in the freedom that he gives all of creation to choose which possibility to realise and actualise. God is not responsible for all that happens, He doesn’t just make things happen, he makes happenings possible even through us.

God is almighty in you.

He is almighty with you.

He is almighty through you.

He is almighty as you.

He is not almighty away from you, He is almighty in partnership — in union — with you.

He is not almighty in otherness, but in likeness.

Discover His powers within you.

And live full co-authoring history with Him.

Written by Ferdy Adimefe

Ferdy Adimefe is a serial entrepreneur passionate about culture and creative industrialization. He curates expressions centred on faith, innovation and technology. He is a Father, Husband, Author and conference speaker; He is also a Pastor at The Tribe Lagos.