Smoodock's Blog

Some folks like to ‘play’ with words in order to create controversy. I’ve heard it asked: “Can God create a rock he couldn’t lift?” Such a thing is a misnomer, a misleading term. It would be quite impossible for God to contradict himself or stand in contradiction to his character. If nothing else were true about what the Bible teaches, it does teach that God is a God of order and law. For example, In the beginning… when God created the Heavens and the Earth, the Earth was in a state of chaos, and chapter one of Genesis is all about God bringing order out of that chaos.

Therefore, the question: can God create a rock he couldn’t lift makes no sense; it’s chaos, which is something that cannot stand before God. If God is represented as almighty, vis-à-vis there is nothing as powerful or more powerful than he is, then it is clear that being almighty does not mean he is able to create something more powerful than he is. It’s like asking him to create a square circle. The object is either square, having four equal sides with four 90-degree angles, or it is perfectly round, having no angles whatsoever. It can’t be both. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a square or a circle.

So, God is either almighty or he is not. Either he can lift, mold or destroy whatsoever he creates or he cannot. Therefore, if God is Almighty God, there is nothing impossible for him to do in the context of what he has created. So, if God is Almighty, can man do something too terrible for God to fix or deal with? It seems that this is behind the interpretation of Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:30-32…

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. For this reason, I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:30-32).

Think about what Jesus says here. Try to leave go of what you’ve been told about it and just read the words. Jesus begins by saying we are either with him or against him, and this statement is in response to what had come before. He had healed a man of his obsession that caused his blindness and his inability to speak. This is a good thing, yet some folks sought to undermine him, saying he healed him through the power of evil. Therefore, Jesus replied by telling those present to choose their sides, either gather with him, the Messiah, or be scattered abroad, which is what happened to unbelieving Jews in AD 70! Jesus is speaking of judgment—gather with him or be scattered abroad (Matthew 12:30).

Then he tells these same folks that, because judgment will come as a response for how they choose here at this time, whatever they say about him or whatever blasphemy they commit in the choice they make can and will be forgiven, if they repent, vis-à-vis they won’t be scattered if they repent. However, if they choose to say the power Jesus used for good is an evil power (cp. Isaiah 5:20-24), this blasphemy is against the Spirit of God, which empowered Jesus to do miracles, and such a thing will not be forgiven, vis-à-vis they will not have an opportunity to repent of it, because it is a sin that must be punished. However, does this mean the person is eternally damned? No! It means no such thing. Man has not created a sin that God cannot forgive. The point Jesus is making is that the perpetrator of this sin must be punished for what he has done, and he will not be given the opportunity to repent, if he commits this sin.

The fact is that David committed a sin like this, a sin that he couldn’t be simply forgiven, even though he repented. He had to be punished for what he did. He both knew he was doing wrong and he sought to hide his sin. He used the power the Lord had given him to slay a man, a good man, because David sought to save face and hide the fact he committed adultery with the man’s wife, while the man served David on the battlefield. When the prophet confronted David, he repented, but God didn’t simply forgive him, as he had done for prior sins. He told David that the sword would not depart from his house forever (2Samuel 12:9-10), because of what he had done to a man who served him. David was forgiven because he repented, but he had to be punished for what he did, so those who would come afterward would fear to do the same with the power God gave them. Similarly, those authorities who seek to hold sway over the people in their charge by saying the good the Lord does is evil, they will not be given the opportunity to repent before judgment arrives. They must be punished for their deed, and the Jewish authorities, together with those who chose them over Jesus, saw their nation destroyed in AD 70 and the remnant were scattered throughout the gentile kingdoms.