Published by One of God’s incommunicable attributes is His omniscience, which is defined as: God is all-knowing (Latin “omnis” meaning “all” and “scientia” meaning “knowledge”).
Being infinite and eternal, so is His knowledge. This knowledge of God is not only all-comprehending, but it is intuitive and immutable. Although all things are ever present in His view, yet He sees them as successive in time. Everything–events, thoughts, feelings, and acts–stands open to his view. He is completely aware with each and every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in earth and in hell. Nothing escapes His notice, nothing can be hidden from Him, nothing is forgotten by Him. This infinite knowledge of God is not only clearly and constantly asserted in Scripture, but is also obviously included in the concept of an absolutely perfect being (See article “Is There a God? 1“). Such a being cannot be ignorant of anything; his knowledge can neither be increased nor diminished
Some scriptural basis for the doctrine of God’s omniscience, are as follows:
- “He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness.” (Daniel 2:22).
- “And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13)
- “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 139:2-4). The omniscience of God follows also from his omnipresence. As God fills heaven and earth, all things are transacted in His presence.
- “For I know the things that come into your mind” (Ezekiel 11:5). He knows our thoughts far better than they are known to ourselves.
Although God is unseen by us, we are not so to Him. We cannot conceal our sins from His omniscient eyes. The trees of the garden were not able to hide our first parents. No human witnessed Cain murder his brother, but His Maker did. David took much trouble to cover up his wickedness, but the all-seeing God sent one of His servants to say the verdict to him, “You are the man!” “Behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out” (2 Samuel 12:7, Numbers 32:23).
The wicked obviously would hate this particular divine perfection; they wish that there is no Witness and Judge of their evil deeds. “They do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before My face” (Hosea 7:2). But for believers, the truth of God’s omniscience is a reality filled with much consolation. In times of confusion we can take comfort that “He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).
The teaching is also an encouragement to prayer. There is no reason to fear that the prayers of the righteous will not be heard, or that their troubles and tears will elude the notice of God, since He is well aware of the thoughts and intents of the heart. A believer feels no threat that his petitions are in any way overlooked despite the multitude of supplicants who daily and hourly present their innumerable petitions, for the infinitemind of God is just as capable as paying the same attention to millions as if only a single person were seeking His attention. Even the inability to express into words the deepest yearnings of the soul will not imperil our prayers, for “before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24).
“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5). God does not only know every past event and everything presently taking place throughout the whole creation, He is also perfectly mindful with every event that will ever happen in the future. For if it is possible for an event to take place without His knowledge or permission, then He would at once cease to be supreme. His knowledge of the future is as complete as His knowledge of the past and the present, it is because the future wholly depends on Him for it is inseparably linked with His purpose. God has Himself designed whatever shall come to pass, and what He has designed mustbe accomplished. As His divine revelation affirms, “He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, “What have you done?”" (Daniel 4:35). And again, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). Likewise infinite are His wisdom and power, the accomplishment of all that He has planned and purposed is absolutely certain. There is no possibility of failure in the execution of His counsels for nothing concerning the future events is uncertain for “All His works are known to God from eternity” (Acts 15:18).
The perfect knowledge of God is demonstrated in every prophecy recorded in His Word. Contained in the Old Testament are numerous predictions regarding the history of Israel, which were fulfilled to their smallest detail many centuries after they were made. There are also many prophecies concerning the earthly life of Christ, that were also fulfilled perfectly. These prophecies could only have been given by One who knows “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10) and whose knowledge rests on the absolute certainty of the execution of everything foretold. Both the Old and New Testament have many more declarations which are yet future; and they all “must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44), because He who foretold them is the one who decreed and ordained them to be. God knew and foretold the crucifixion of His Son Jesus Christ many centuries before He became incarnate, for according to His divine plan, “He was a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20), hence we read of His being “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).
This omniscience of God is a doctrine often taken for granted in all acts of worship. We pray to a God who, we believe, knows our state and wants, who hears what we say, and who is able to meet all our necessities. And if God is not omniscient, how can he judge the world in righteousness?
How glorious and how highly exalted the Lord is above the wisest of the world! No one knows what a day may bring, but all our future is plain and clear to His omniscient gaze. Nothing we do, say, or even think, can escape the attention of Him to whom we must give account: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). A genuine understanding of God’s omniscience should fill the Christian with awe. The whole of my life laid bare to His view from the beginning. He foresaw my every fall, my every sin, my every backsliding; but nonetheless, has set His heart on me. Oh, how the realization of this should lead us to bow to Him in amazement and adoration!
