“I don’t know. Google it.”
A phrase so common today was completely foreign one hundred years ago – or frankly even fifty years ago. What it encapsulates is the human experience of growing in knowledge. To be human is to learn and grow.
God is very different in this way.
God does not learn because He already knows all things. As Jen Wilkin writes in her book None Like Him, He knows all things because He is the origin of all things (109). In other words, God is omniscient. Omniscience is the “state of having total knowledge, the quality of knowing everything.” God’s omniscience is a deeper aspect of His sovereignty which I discussed in my May article. However, highlighting His omniscience helps us see deeper into His character.
God Knows Everything
Like I said, omniscience and sovereignty go hand-in-hand. For God to be sovereign, He must be all-knowing. How do we know God is all-knowing?
For starters, 1 John 3:20 straight up says God knows everything. But we see the same concept in other verses. God’s understanding or knowledge is beyond measure (Psalm 147:5), He sees every detail of life in the universe (Hebrews 4:12-13), He knows the things not yet done (Isaiah 46:9-10). In fact, we see very frequently that His knowledge is so much that He knows the details of the future (1 Samuel 10:2, 1 Kings 13:1-4, Acts 2:23). His eyes are everywhere (Proverbs 15:3). He even knows our thoughts (Psalm 139:4, 1 Kings 8:39).
“But wait!” a Bible scholar might cry. “What about Jesus? It says He grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52) and He Himself said He didn’t know when the end would come (Matthew 24:36).”
Good point.
And what makes it even more confusing is that Jesus really did have supernatural knowledge. In several places throughout the Gospels Jesus displays that He knows the thoughts (or hearts) of His audience (Matthew 9:4, 12:25; Mark 2:6-8; Luke 6:8). In John 4, with the woman at the well, Jesus knows intimate details about her life. And then in Acts 1:24, it is stated that Jesus knows the hearts of all – that’s pretty close to omniscience to me. What many scholars seem to conclude is that this is the continuation of the concept we see in Philippians 2, Jesus humbled Himself with a controlled lack of knowledge. He chose to take on human form and humbled Himself to certain human limitations. So is Jesus omniscient? Yes, He is because He is also God, but while on earth He chose to humble Himself and not “grasp” this aspect of Godhood fully (Philippians 2:6-7).
Because God knows everything, He cannot be fooled, bargained with, or outsmarted. He knows everything. We cannot offer Him new insight and He cannot be surprised. He can also not forget. This can bring comfort knowing that His plans truly are best because He has all the facts. He is literally the smartest in the room. Yet, this is not the only way we can find comfort in His omniscience.
God Knows Everyone (Even You!)
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether
(Psalm 139:1-4)
There are no secrets in your life. You are totally and completely known. That thing you’ve never told anyone? That thought you swore would never leave your mind?
God sees. God knows.
This can seem scary. And it would be if God were different. But a relationship with God is unlike any other relationship.
He sees the darkest depths of our hearts (Hebrews 4:13, Psalm 33:13-15) which is what makes it so powerful that He loves us fully (Jeremiah 31:3). We don’t have to worry about God finding something out about us and not wanting us. He already knows! And He already wants you (Romans 8:38-39).
Not only do we never have to fear God’s rejection of our true selves, we also have One who knows us better than we know ourselves. I’m sure we’ve all had moments where we are simply confused by our feelings and our thoughts. Humans are incredibly complex and multilayered, making it difficult for us to truly know ourselves (Psalm 19:12). But with God, we have One to go to for help in knowing who we are. And we see in the Bible that because of God’s omniscience, He even knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8, Philippians 4:19). He takes care of us long before our asking.
Because God knows all the answers – He has complete knowledge and wisdom – AND He loves us deeply, we can trust Him with our future. He knows us better than we know ourselves, so His plans are the best plans for us (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11). We can trust that every promise of His is true because He already knows our future (Psalm 139:16).
Omniscience is a big theology word, but it’s something worth pondering on. God’s omniscience brings comfort in that He truly loves every part of us, He can help us know ourselves, and He can be trusted with our future.
We might not have all the answers, but our Best Friend does.
Resources
- “Fully Known and Truly Loved” by John Piper
- “What Does It Mean That God is Omniscient?” by GotQuestions
- None Like Him by Jen Wilkin
- “The Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence of God” by John M. Frame
Overwhelmed 