Omniscience of God

Omniscience of God – God Knows All Things
The omniscience of God is the principle that God is all-knowing; that He encompasses all knowledge of the universe past, present, and future. In the beginning, God created the world and everything in it, including knowledge.

At first look, the idea of the omniscience of God may seem to be a simple concept—God knows everything. But the more we study the Bible, the more we come to understand what an incredible truth it is. Psalm 147:4-5 tells us, “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” Imagine. God not only knows how many stars are in the universe, but knows each of them by name. An Australian study a few years ago put the number of stars we can see at 70,000 million million million, or the number 70 followed by 22 zeroes. That means there are more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand on all the beaches and deserts of the world! What an incredible picture of the omniscience of God.

In the book of Genesis we read the story of Joseph, the favored son of Jacob. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him and devised a scheme to get rid of him. They considered killing him, but ended up selling him as a slave to foreigners. God knew this was going to happen, and already had a plan in place. Through a series of events, Joseph went from slave to prisoner to Egyptian ruler. Years later he was able to use his authority and position to provide for his family during a famine in their homeland. How do you think Joseph felt when he and his brothers were reunited? Do you think he wanted revenge? No, he didn’t. He told them: “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you (Genesis 45:5).” Joseph understood the omniscience of God; that the events in Joseph’s life had worked together for his family’s own good.

Omniscience of God – God Knows All About Us
God knew us and had a plan for our lives before we were born. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Matthew 10:30 tells us that even the hairs on our head are numbered. No matter how carefully we keep secrets from others, we have no secrets from God.

In Psalm 139:1-4 David wrote, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.” And Proverbs 15:3 tells us: “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” He sees our actions every minute of the day, and even though He knows everything about us—both good and bad—He still loves us. God understands how we feel when we are going through hard times because He knows our thoughts and feelings. What a comfort it is to realize God who knows every star by name knows each of us personally and loves us no matter what. “For the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Omniscience of God – God Knows All About Our Future
The omniscience of God is complete. God does not continually learn, but knows everything at once. He knew millions of years before He created the world He would send His Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins: “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:20). God revealed His plan to Old Testament prophets, such as Isaiah, who spoke God’s word to the people: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus were not by happenstance. They were the result of a divine plan God set in place an eternity ago to provide us a way to have a personal relationship with Him. We can enter into that relationship by praying to God, confessing our sins and asking Him to come into our lives. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

As believers our future is secure. Not because we know what lies ahead, but because God knows.

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