I must admit I was a bit daunted by the prospect of writing about the word ‘Almighty.’ For some it is a real stumbling block: they hear that God cannot be Good ánd Almighty at the same time. For how can evil exist unless the Almighty allows it – in which case we cannot call him ‘good’? Or, if God does not want evil, should we not conclude that he does not have the power to do anything about it? But thinking it over, meditating and praying, searching and studying, proved to be as lovely as meditating on any other part of the Apostles’ Creed.

Almighty when all seems lost

It may come as a surprise, but a word like ‘Almighty’ (omnipotens in Latin and pantokrator in Greek) is not found in the Hebrew Bible. Early translators into Greek used it for the mysterious ‘El Shaddai,’ the name for God in the days of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Job. Nobody really knows what Shaddai means and we could fill another chapter meditating on the many interpretations it has inspired. Translators also use ‘Almighty Lord’ to translate the ‘Lord Sebaoth,’ which can also be translated as the ‘Lord of the (heavenly) hosts.’ In the New Testament, Paul uses once the expression ‘the Lord Almighty.’ Apart from that, the apostles did not usually think about God as the Almighty.

But then the years came when God seemed powerless. Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and its magnificent temple for the God of the Jews. There was no Messiah to redeem the Jews. It is estimated that a million people died and a million got displaced as refugees and slaves. On top of that, the Roman emperor required that Jews continued to pay the temple tax, but now for Jupiter’s temple in Rome. Non-Jews who worshipped the God of Israel (like followers of Jesus) were persecuted as atheists. If the God of Israel has any power, how could he have let this happen? If he has less power than the Roman Jupiter, why should you worship him?

A Jewish Christian exile on the isle of Patmos looks up to heaven. Perhaps he sees beyond the stars, or perhaps he pictures himself on the Milky Way, standing between the stars. He sees the hosts of angels that glorify God, the ‘elders’ who sing God’s praises, each one of them on his own throne. He writes about his visions with images once used by his great example: the prophet Ezekiel comforting the Jewish exiles in Babylonia. Ezekiel described four heavenly animals like the Babylonians would picture them as watchers on the walls of their palaces, or perhaps as constellations in the night sky. For the author of the Book of Revelation, they are not the stars that rule us, nor the protectors of oppressive empires. He sees them singing the praises of the ‘Lord God Almighty.’ It is a title that he will use nine times in total.

Over all the suffering on earth, the frustration and powerlessness, he sees a greater kingdom in heaven – a greater glory that dwarfs emperors and armies. It is a consolation for the oppressed to know that human power is limited in time and space: “You can destroy our temple on earth, but we know how small you really are.” Confessing God as the highest authority can help the humble maintain their dignity, - and the mighty to practice the humility that can keep them from falling into narcissism or despotism.

In the Gospel of John, composed in the same setting, Jesus says (16:31-33):

“Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”

A Father with whom everything is possible

When the Creed was formed, first as a symbol of identity in Rome, then as a way to instruct young or new followers of Jesus, ‘Almighty’ was attached to the word Father: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty.” You will not find the expression ‘Father Almighty’ anywhere in the Bible, but Paul makes a similar connection, when he paraphrases the promise of the ‘Lord Almighty’ to king David that he will provide for David’s young son and successor Salomon: “I will be a Father to him.” Not at the expense of his David, but as a heavenly blessing over and above his human fatherhood. This is the kind of ‘heavenly Father’ that Jesus referred to when he said (Luke 11:11-13):

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

God is not a human father or mother. He is not limited in love or patience. With him, there is unlimited potential (‘omnipotens’). Where we give limited gifts, God gives a gift that is not limited in time or space: he gives Holy Spirit. It is a gift that humans cannot receive on human terms, as in the story of the young rich man in Mark 10:17-27:

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.
“Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’ ”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him.

“One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Faith that changes our reality

Earlier, in Mark 9:14-29, a father came to Jesus with his lunatic and epileptic son. The boy fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus, who was quite emotional here, asked the boy’s father:

“How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Jesus needed faith to work with, even if it was just a little, for without it, Matthew says, he cannot heal. On his command, the unclean spirit went out of the boy as if it was his last breath. Many people said: “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him up. The story is full of references to Jesus’s own death and resurrection. That may explain why Jesus was so emotional: he really wanted the father to have faith in his son, to carry his son through the ordeals of this life and to allow holy spirit to heal him. For Jesus needed to trust that his heavenly father would remain faithful to him and carry him though his coming ordeal.

Trusting on God as the Father Almighty invites us to open our eyes to the Kingdom of the Heavens, an alternative reality in which God’s will is done. And with that vision, his will shall be done in our earthly life as well, for his creative, life-giving and healing power works through faith, hope and love. Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he taught his friends to pray these words:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.”