Impossible
Biblical Meaning and Usage
The English word "impossible" translates several Greek terms in the New Testament, primarily adunateō (meaning "to be powerless" or "impotent") and adunatos ("powerless"). These terms appear in contexts that contrast human limitation with divine capability. For instance, Jesus states that with faith, nothing will be "impossible" (Matthew 17:20), directly linking human possibility to the quality of one's trust in God. Another term, anendektos ("not to be received"), appears in Luke 17:1, referring to the inevitability of temptations.
The Impossible for Humanity
Scripture frequently presents scenarios that are impossible from a purely human perspective. Jesus tells His disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus responds, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27). This establishes a clear boundary: salvation itself is a human impossibility, achievable only through divine intervention. The author of Hebrews further states that without faith it is "impossible" to please God (Hebrews 11:6), placing faith as the non-negotiable conduit for a right relationship with the Divine.
The Impossible for God
The Bible also defines things that are impossible for God, not due to weakness, but because they contradict His perfect, unchanging nature. The most explicit statement is in Hebrews 6:18, which says it is "impossible for God to lie." This impossibility is a strength, not a limitation, guaranteeing the certainty of His promises. Similarly, God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone (James 1:13). These "impossibilities" define God's holy and faithful character, providing a secure foundation for trust. The angel Gabriel's declaration to Mary, "For no word from God will ever fail" (Luke 1:37, NIV), underscores that God's promises are in the category of the certain, not the impossible.
The Role of Faith in the Impossible
Faith is presented as the key that unlocks human engagement with God's limitless power. Jesus directly connects the disciples' inability to drive out a demon to their "little faith" (Matthew 17:20). He teaches that if one has faith as small as a mustard seed, they can command a mountain to move, and "nothing will be impossible for you." This does not suggest faith is a magical force for personal whims, but rather the means by which a believer aligns with God's will and power. The "impossible" things faith achieves are those within God's purposes.
Theological Boundaries and Promise
The biblical theme of the impossible creates important theological boundaries. It protects against a view of God as a cosmic genie obligated to fulfill every human demand. Instead, it presents a God whose power is infinite but exercised in harmony with His righteous and loving character. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the supreme example of God doing the humanly impossible, defeating death and offering eternal life (1 Corinthians 15). This central event validates all other divine promises, assuring believers that what God has pledged, He will accomplish, despite any apparent impossibility.
Biblical Context
The concept appears across both Old and New Testaments, though the specific terminology is concentrated in the Gospels and Hebrews. Key narratives include Jesus's teachings on salvation and faith (Matthew 17:20, 19:26), the Annunciation (Luke 1:37), and theological expositions on God's nature and promises (Hebrews 6:18, 11:6). It plays a rhetorical role, shocking listeners (like the disciples) into recognizing their dependence on God and the extraordinary nature of divine intervention in salvation and daily life.
Theological Significance
This theme is central to understanding grace, faith, and God's nature. It establishes that salvation is entirely God's work (Ephesians 2:8-9), removing human boasting. It defines God's power as infinite yet exercised within the consistent bounds of His truthfulness and holiness. It also defines genuine faith not as a positive mental attitude, but as trust in a God for whom the truly miraculous—according to His will—is always possible. This protects against both despair (thinking a situation is hopeless) and presumption (expecting God to act against His character).
Historical Background
The Greek philosophical world grappled with concepts of possibility and impossibility, often in relation to the nature of the gods. Some philosophical schools, like the Stoics, believed in a fate-bound universe where some things were simply impossible. The New Testament's assertion that "nothing is impossible with God" would have been a striking counter-cultural claim, affirming the God of Israel as uniquely omnipotent. The metaphor of a camel passing through a needle's eye (Matthew 19:24) uses an extreme, proverbial image common in Jewish teaching to denote something utterly unachievable by ordinary means.