“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (Revelation 1:8 NKJV). There are several descriptive phrases used in the New Testament to describe the nature of God, but one that expresses the fullness of what it means to be deity is the term Almighty. It is used only of God in Scripture. The word is a compound term, which means all power, strength and dominion. Obviously, God is the only One Who can fit this description, as no earthly ruler or human authority can claim all power over everything and everyone.
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), the Hebrew term “Shaddai,” or “El Shaddai,” is translated by this same Greek term. It speaks not just of the promises God makes but of the power He has to fulfill those promises. It is used in Genesis 17:1 when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, as he would be the father of a multitude, beginning with Isaac the son of the promise. Only God could accomplish through Abraham and Sarah what He would bring about in their old age (Genesis 21:7).
The Greek term is used 10 times in the New Testament, 9 of which appear in Revelation. “…Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). It is not just descriptive of the power God possesses but of His eternal nature, His infinite knowledge of us as His creation and His unending purpose for our lives. When considering the nature of the gods humans have invented from their own imaginations, we need someone who is Almighty, not limited by the constraints of the flesh, lacking in wisdom and knowledge, limited in ability to help and direct the course of life, and subject to the whims of fleshly desires. How ironic it is that people reject the one true and living God Who is the Almighty for their own desires and limited vision of life, which will only disappoint. “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20).
We must humble ourselves before God, because He alone knows our lives and what is best for us. We must live in submission to His will for us, for it is in obedience to God He is able to work His purposes for our lives, which are not just for life today but for life eternal. Our vision of life is so limited due to the weaknesses of the flesh that we need the Almighty to direct our paths for our good, even when we don’t really know what is best for us.
We may think, “This is how I feel, this is what I want, this is the way I believe I should go,” but our assessments of life can be completely inaccurate. God directs us through His revealed will as to how we should order our lives, and He alone has the power to provide what is really needed in life. Submission to the Almighty is not a matter of being put down or vilified, as people tend to think today. It is acknowledging God as Sovereign, who alone knows what is best for us and is willing to offer us His best. It is finding how we were made to live, not apart from God, but for Him and in Him. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
God is the Almighty. His authority over us is exercised in His love, seen in the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. He created us, sustains us, redeems us and saves us. Who knows better what we need and how we should live than our Lord? May we find the way that truly honors God and offers us the best by allowing God to be the Almighty in our lives – His beloved children.
