Claim. SMM teaches that God’s omnipotence and omniscience operate exclusively within the principles He has established — God is “the first to follow, absolutely, the laws He has established,” and even He cannot break them and act arbitrarily.
Elaboration. The claim is a direct rebuke of voluntarist theology: “Today’s Christian ministers may think that the all-knowing and all-powerful God can do things arbitrarily any time with the power of creation. But that is far from the truth. All existing things in heaven and earth operate by laws and principles. Even God cannot break them and act on His own” (5.1.-gods-omniscience-and-omnipotence-are-based-on-principles, 166-99, 1987.5.30).
What grounds the constraint? Two things: (a) the laws are God’s own — the dignity of God is His self-obedience to them, “in keeping with heavenly principles” (ibid, 162-184, 1987.4.12); (b) love is one such principle, and the chief one — see csg-even-god-is-absolutely-obedient-to-love. The position connects to Divine Principle’s account of human responsibility: God cannot override human free will because doing so would violate the law of creation He authored.
Implications include theodicy (God could not unilaterally prevent the Fall) and ecclesiology (the providence advances by lawful conditions, not divine fiat).
See also. csg-even-god-is-absolutely-obedient-to-love
Referenced by. csg-god-bound-by-own-law, csg-god-could-not-function-as-god, csg-satan-accusation-rights-basis