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'Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."'
There are many quotes of this kind in the Bible- but how do we know the above (and others like it) aren't just hyperbole and descriptive? He might mean a 'great many' things. How do these quotes justify a belief that god truly can do anything He wishes? Or does a belief in this version of God arise from elsewhere?
Answers will of necessity be in regard to the Translation quoted.
From the King James translation; There are several Scriptures which tell us that God is Omnipotent, Not the least of which is creation itself.
Then the first time God brought rain upon the Earth He caused a flood which Killed all life except Those animals he saved and those eight people aboard the Ark.
Beyond that we see God parting the red sea, for Israel, and drowning Pharaoh's Army in it.
God stopped the Rain for three years, at the behest of Elijah.
He also caused wood soaked with massive amounts of water to burn when he sent fire from Heaven.
He took Elijah to Heaven in a whirlwind as Elisha watched.
He caused Elisha's mule to talk.
He caused the sun to retreat 10 hours.
And that is a few of the passages covered in only in the Old Testament.
So let's look at Jesus in the New Testament.
Matthew 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
Jesus not only claimed to have the power of God but he also demonstrated it, in that passage.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
In the above passage Jesus is telling us His power is given to him by the Father.
Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Here Jesus is telling us that one day we will see him sitting next to the Father who is Power.
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Here we find the Angel Gabriel telling Mary that It is God's power that will cause her to become pregnant yet remain a virgin.
I could go on citing Scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments attesting to God's omnipotence, but either you believe that the Bible is true or you do not, but in answer as to whether there is Biblical backup for God's omnipotence the answer is a resounding yes!
God revealed Himself as the Almighty God (Genesis 17:1, Exodus 6:3).
God Himself says that He can do anything He wishes (e.g. Isaiah 46:10). Also consider, e.g. Job 42:2, Psalm 135:6, Jeremiah 32:17, Daniel 4:35, Mark 14:36, Ephesus 1:11.
It is true that the Bible uses figures of speech, including hyperbole, but I believe there is no need to try to understand a passage in a figurative way, unless the passage does not make any sense literally.
Is there a biblical basis for God's omnipotence or have we mistaken 'symbolism'?
The only limitation the Bible gives for God is an inability to lie.
Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
We have an example of God being able to raise up and get rid of nations.
Numbers 14:11-12 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
God of course created our world.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
God removed all people from the earth except eight.
Genesis 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
God can give peace or evil (calamity).
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
God has power over the stars.
Job 38:31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
God controls the weather.
Mark 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Is there a biblical basis for God's omnipotence or have we mistaken 'symbolism'?
I see no consistent basis in the Bible for God's omnipotence, but some evidence to the contrary. On that basis, I say we have mistaken 'symbolism'.
The first creation story, Genesis 1:1-2:4a, widely attributed to the Priestly Source does attribute omnipotence to El Shaddai (God Almighty) and God simply speaks things into existence. This is biblical evidence of omnipotence, but this is not a motif we see consistently throughout the Bible.
Looking at the often-overlooked creation story in Genesis 2:4b-25, we find that God does not create living things out of nothing. In Genesis 2:7: "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground ...", then in Genesis 2:19: " And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam..." Finally, in verse 22, God made Eve out of a rib taken from Adam: "And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." God was supremely powerful in that he could create life, but nevertheless aware that there were limits to his power, because he had to fashion living things out of existing matter. There is no suggestion in this creation story (widely attributed to the Yahwist) that God created the world.
The contrast between the apparent omnipotence of God in the first and his apparent lack of omnipotence in the second, along with other differences in the two accounts, suggests that these should not be read literally but symbolically.
Even the Flood story is at least suggestive of limits to God's powers. An omnipotent God could have destroyed the unrighteous humans without risking damage to the environment, but the God of Genesis had to bring down rain to achieve the destruction he intended.
In Isaiah 46:10, God says he will do everything he wishes, but this is not a biblical claim to omnipotence, only that what God wishes to do he can achieve. Mark 10:27 (Matthew 19:26, Luke 18:27) does say, "... for with God all things are possible," but this is in the context of salvation, not of performing feats of great power.
