5 Reasons to Rejoice That Our God Is Omniscient

Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

Psalm 33:13-15 “The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.”

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 understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all.”

Because God knows all things, we can rest in the security of His mercy and grace, fully assured that He accepted us with “full disclosure.” He knows everything we’ve ever done. He knows what we’re doing right now, and what we will do in the future.

We do not enter into a contract with God, with stipulations for rescinding the contract if He discovers some undisclosed fault or defect in us. No, God enters into a covenant relationship with us, and has truly, completely forgiven us of all our sins, past, present and future. He knows all, and Christ’s blood covers all. When God accepts us, it is with a “No Return” policy!

In Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer writes “To us who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us in the gospel, how unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely. No talebearer can inform on us, no enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us.”

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Matthew 6:25-32 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

Because God is omniscient, He has perfect knowledge of what we need for any given day. In our culture, a lot of time and money is spent to on making sure our needs are taken care of, and rightfully so. God expects us to work hard and use the abilities and opportunities He provides as good stewards of His blessings. Yet, no matter how well we might prepare, we are not able to see the future.

Because God has perfect knowledge of what tomorrow will bring, He is able to provide for us today. He knows exactly what we need, both in the realm of physical things like food, shelter, and clothing, but also in the realm of our spiritual, emotional, and mental needs as well. A committed believer can stand in the assurance that today’s needs will be met by an omniscient provider.

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Matthew 10:29-30 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Psalm 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

Acts 3:18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”

How well would you sleep if you were not assured that tomorrow is safe in God’s hands? The omniscience of God allows us to lay our heads down on our pillows at night and rest in the fact that nothing can happen that He is not fully cognizant of before it comes to pass. We can trust that He holds the future. There are no surprises, and nothing the enemy can throw at us “flies under the radar” of God’s all-knowing awareness.

Our days are ordained; we can trust that God will keep us alive until He is ready for us to go home. We are not afraid to die, so we can live freely and confidently, knowing that our lives are in His hands.

God’s omniscience also means that every prophecy and promise made in the word of God will come true. Because God knows the future, He can predict it with perfect accuracy, for in His mind, history and future are no different from one another. Humans can look back at history; we can anticipate the future based on past experience, but we can never know for certain how one event will affect a future event.

God’s understanding, however, is unlimited. To look back or look forward is irrelevant. His omniscient mind contains knowledge of all things at all times.

In The Attributes of God, A.W. Pink explains it this way:

“God not only knows whatsoever has happened in the past in every part of His vast domains, and He is not only thoroughly acquainted with everything that is now transpiring throughout the entire universe, but He is also perfectly cognizant of every event, from the least to the greatest, that ever will happen in the ages to come. God’s knowledge of the future is as complete as is His knowledge of the past and the present, and that, because the future depends entirely upon Himself. Were it in anywise possible for something to occur apart from either the direct agency or permission of God, then that something would be independent of Him, and He would at once cease to be Supreme.”

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Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”

1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”

Job 34:21-22 “For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all His steps. There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”

One of the hardest things for our minds to comprehend is what seems to be God’s lack of justice for those who do unspeakable things to the innocent. We see instances of child abuse, sex trafficking or a murderer who appears to have gotten away with it. The omniscience of God assures us that justice will prevail in the end.

God not only knows what a man does, He knows what he thinks in his heart and mind. God’s omniscience means that we are held accountable for our actions, our motives, and our attitudes. No one gets away with anything. One day, God will open up the books and reveal the thoughts and intents and actions of every person who has assumed He didn’t see 

We can rest in God’s omniscience, knowing that justice will be meted out by the only Righteous Judge who sees all and knows all.

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Psalm 147:5 “Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.”

Isaiah 40:13-14 “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding?”

Romans 11:33-34 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?”

The omniscience of God is a deep and abiding well of knowledge. In fact, it is so deep that we will never know the extent or depth of it. In our human frailty, there are many questions that are unanswered.

There are mysteries about God and concepts in Scripture that appear to be contradictory. And we all have experienced answers to prayer that challenged our understanding of His nature. A child dies when we know God could heal. A teenager is killed by a drunk driver. A marriage falls apart despite our earnest prayers and obedience in seeking healing and restoration. 

God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are often beyond our comprehension (Isaiah 55:9). Trusting in His omniscience assures us that while we may never understand some things in this life, we can trust that He knows what He’s doing, and His perfect purposes will be for our good and His glory. We can plant our feet firmly on the rock of His omniscience, and drink deeply from the well of assurance in an all-knowing God.

Sources

Tozer, A.W. Knowledge of the Holy, Harper Collins, p. 57

Pink, A.W. The Attributes of God, Baker Book House, p. 19

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