Many people misunderstand the truth of God’s omnipotence — the fact that he has all power. So one might sincerely wonder why the cross of Jesus Christ was necessary. Why didn’t God just waive his omnipotent “wand” and make everything okay without his Son having to die?
The key is to remember that, while God has the power to do anything he wishes, what God wants to do is always in accord with the rest of his attributes and character. God is unchangeably God. He never ceases to be God. As God, he has several unalterable characteristics: while one of these is his omnipotence, other attributes include his justice and his righteousness. God is holy and so He can not countenance unholiness or injustice (1 John 1:5; James 1:17).
While God has the power to do anything he wishes, what God wants to do is always in accord with the rest of his attributes and character.
Therefore, in order to accept sinners into his presence, God had to first satisfy his own just and holy character. Contrary to a common myth about Christianity, Jesus Christ did not die to satisfy Satan, but to satisfy God. Only by the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God could this be accomplished. Any other sacrifice would have been inadequate.
While God is love and God has all power, he is also a consuming fire of holiness. He satisfied all these Divine attributes by giving his Son Jesus as a substitute for our sins. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).