The fact that God is omniscient means that He possesses all knowledge. God’s knowledge and wisdom are unfathomable and without limit. As the Bible tells us, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5). There are several key things the Bible reveals about God’s omniscience:
God’s Knowledge is Complete
God’s knowledge encompasses everything that can be known. As 1 John 3:20 states, “God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.” Nothing escapes God’s perception or understanding. David declared in Psalm 139:1-4: “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.” God’s knowledge extends even to the minutest details and most hidden things.
God Knows Our Innermost Thoughts and Motives
Not only is God aware of everything we do, He also understands perfectly why we do it. David proclaimed in Psalm 44:20-21: “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.” Jesus also demonstrated profound insight into people’s thoughts and motivations, such as knowing the Samaritan woman at the well had five former husbands (John 4:15-19), and discerning the greedy intentions behind the giving of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22). As Hebrews 4:12-13 explains, God’s word “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
God’s Knowledge was Complete from Eternity
Not only does God fully comprehend everything about the present and future, He has also always possessed perfect knowledge of all things past. Isaiah 46:9-10 affirms, “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.” God never learns or discovers anything. There has never been a time when He did not know everything. His understanding is eternal. As Psalm 147:5 declares, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”
God’s Knowledge is Multidimensional
God knows everything not only as facts and information, but also experiences reality in all its fullness. For example, Scripture tells us that God knows grief and sorrow (Genesis 6:6), joy and gladness (Zephaniah 3:17), and peace and comfort (Isaiah 66:13). He does not just analyze emotions from a distance, but feels them intimately. Additionally, God remembers the past and anticipates the future as though both were in the present. For God, all of time is now. This is why He can declare prophetically that events are going to happen far into the future, because He already sees them occurring.
God Knows the Free Will Choices We Have Yet to Make
A question that often arises with respect to God’s omniscience is how He can know future free will decisions before we even make them. Scripture indicates that even though we make choices freely, God still knows in advance exactly what we will decide. For example, Jesus told Peter he would deny knowing Him three times before the rooster crowed (Matthew 26:34). Some have speculated God simply perceives all possible outcomes, but does not have foreknowledge of which one will occur. However, verses like Isaiah 46:10 clearly indicate God does possess exhaustive foreknowledge of exactly what will happen.
God’s Knowledge is Without Error or Limitation
The knowledge of human beings is imperfect and limited. But God’s knowledge is infinite and infallible. As the prophet Isaiah declared in Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The psalmist also proclaimed in Psalm 147:5: “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” God is never wrong and His comprehension is never incomplete.
Practical Implications of God’s Omniscience
The fact that God possesses perfect knowledge of all things has many important practical implications for the lives of believers:
- We can have confidence that God’s plans and purposes will prevail, in spite of our limited understanding (Isaiah 55:8-9).
- We should reverence God, knowing everything we do is open before Him (Hebrews 4:13).
- We ought to obey God’s commandments, realizing He knows the harmful consequences of disobedience, even when we do not (Deuteronomy 29:29).
- We can take encouragement that God knows our needs before we even ask (Matthew 6:8).
- We should avoid hypocrisy and pretense, knowing God sees our true motives (Matthew 6:1-6).
- We can bring our struggles and questions to God, knowing He understands perfectly what we are going through (Isaiah 40:28).
God’s Omniscience and Human Freedom
A philosophical issue that arises with respect to God’s omniscience is whether it eliminates human free will. If God knows everything we will do even before we exist, do we truly have freedom of choice? Numerous explanations have been proposed to reconcile divine foreknowledge and human volition. Here are a few perspectives:
- Free will is only truly free if it is self-caused rather than predetermined. However, for many philosophers this type of absolute freedom is logically incoherent. Our choices are shaped and influenced by many factors, which does not negate their moral significance.
- God’s knowledge of future events does not force them or make them necessary. They arise from the meaningful interaction of genuine causes, motives, and wills.
- God is timeless and so His knowledge does not precede events from a temporal perspective. He simply perceives the totality of spacetime reality.
- God’s knowledge of what we will do arises because He knows the perfectly free choices we would make in any set of circumstances. His knowledge reflects rather than determines our decisions.
The interconnection between God’s infinite understanding and human volition remains complex. But Scripture indicates we are morally responsible for our choices, even though God knows what they will be. From our limited human viewpoint, it is impossible to fully comprehend the balance between God’s sovereign omniscience and our creaturely freedom. But we can be assured that God’s purposes and plan perfectly allow for meaningful decisions by His moral creatures.
How Should We Respond to God’s Omniscience?
Since God is omniscient, knowing the past, present and future completely, how should we respond to this profound truth? Here are some ways Scripture indicates we should respond to God’s infinite knowledge:
- Reverence and awe at the unfathomable depth of God’s understanding (Psalm 139:6; Romans 11:33-34).
- Honesty before God, knowing we cannot hide anything from Him (Hebrews 4:13).
- Trust in God’s perfect plans and sovereign control over history (Isaiah 46:10; Romans 8:28).
- Patience that God’s timing and purposes are better than our limited perspective (Isaiah 55:8-9).
- Hope that God knows our struggles and will strengthen and uplift us (Matthew 6:8; Psalm 56:8).
- Prayer for God’s guidance to align our thoughts with His truth (Psalm 139:23-24).
God’s infinite understanding is greater than we can ever fully comprehend. But we can stand in awe of His omniscience, trusting that the God who knows all things perfectly is worthy of our worship and surrender. God’s knowledge inspires reverence and reliance. He knows us completely and His purposes for our lives are good.
