Attributes of God: Omniscient and All-Knowing

God is both omnipotent and omniscient. This daily devotional looks at how power and wisdom must go hand in hand as characteristics of God.

Nuggets

God will never once say, “Ooo, baby. I did not see that coming.”
God’s wisdom is sufficient that it puts Him in control.
We cannot hide our thoughts from God.
We will have to accept we won’t understand everything about God and work to understand what He reveals.

To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.

Devotions in the Finding Our Center series

Disciples find much comfort in knowing that God is omniscient. When we realize that nothing can happen to us that God does not know about, we acknowledge His power.

Let's Put It into Context #1

Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.

Let's Put It into Context #2

We’ve looked at God being omniscient before. We said that omniscience means God is all-knowing.

Looking at different verses, we came up with these nuggets.

It didn’t just take God’s power to create the universe; it also took His understanding and wisdom.
God knows everything about us.
God has all this wisdom — and He shares it with us.

Let’s look at some other verses that show God’s omniscience.

To read a related devotion, click the button below.

Things Happen According to Plan

“Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will” (Isa. 46: 9-10 CSB)

God will never once say, “Ooo, baby. I did not see that coming.”

Burner stated that God always knew His purpose. He defined God’s purpose as this: “God’s foreknowledge of everything that is to come to pass, together with the operation of His influence upon that foreknowledge, in connection with those things.”

Resource

To me, that says God had, has, and will always have the knowledge, wisdom, and control of His creation because His plan was always in place. He knows from beginning to end. He understands all. His Will will be accomplished.

We’ve said before that God knew before the foundation of the world that man would disobey Him, and Jesus would be our Savior and Redeemer. God always knew the exact moment that Adam and Eve would commit the original sin. Why did it fulfill His purpose for mankind to sin?

Glossary

Burner said that God not only knew all along that mankind would sin, but He also knew the provision He would make. Therefore, it was not His purpose that we sin.

God allowed us to function as He created us — utilizing our free will. Free will is the ability within us to make decisions, which determine actions that produce character.

We’ve talked a couple of times about we are all made in God’s image. Children of God enjoy benefits that those who have not ABCDed do not.

Glossary

Burner wrote, “When God created man, He gave him powers and faculties which He intended to commit to his trust, and which He aid (sic) commit to his trust. He foresaw what use he would make of them, and how far he would abuse them; but He did not destroy them, in order that they might not be abused. There is an entire freedom in the operation of our faculties, so far as our own consciousness is concerned …”

Yes, God knew that mankind would abuse the powers and faculties He gave us — but He made us anyway.

Free will brings with it the responsibility for our choices. It isn’t God’s fault that we do or do not choose salvation. His purpose only comes into play for the reward or punishment of our choices.

Look at that last part of verse 10. “… my plan will take place, and I will do all my will” (Isa. 46: 9-10 CSB). God’s plan — His purposes — are in place, and they will take place.

Remember, we said God is unchangeable. God is not going to start us down the Sanctification Road, and suddenly take an off-ramp.

God Is Wise

“to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ — to him be the glory forever! Amen” (Rom. 16: 27 CSB)

God’s wisdom is sufficient that it puts Him in control.

God doesn’t have a mentor. He doesn’t need to run things by anyone before He makes a decision. He knows what He is going to do – even if it is foreign to everyone else — and He does it. He can solve any problem we get ourselves into.

Charnock contended that a component of wisdom is “acting for a right end.” To me, that is logical. If we are all-knowing — which God is — it is logical that the endgame is something positive.

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This pursuit of the endgame would take into consideration all circumstances leading up to completion.

Wisdom is part of God’s essence. God alone is wise as He does not have to acquire wisdom.

Charnock contended that God would not be perfect if He was not wise. The perfected state indicates the combination of the graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness.

God’s wisdom can be seen throughout creation. His governance of man and nature show His greatness.

Most importantly for us, we see God’s wisdom in His dealings with fallen mankind. He not only brings glory to Himself, but He also brings redemption and goodness to mankind.

God Knows Our Thoughts

“Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he told me, ‘You are to say, “This is what the Lord says: That is what you are thinking, house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your mind”’” (Ezek. 11: 5 CSB)

We cannot hide our thoughts from God.

In our recent Sunday morning Bible study devotions, we’ve discussed how Jesus could read the minds of the Pharisees and the crowd. He inherited that from His Father.

Glossary

Kent called this “the union of omniscience with sympathy.” Ooo, baby. Think of all the different aspects of sympathy.

Resource

God can give us

Consolation
Comfort
Support
Encouragement
Compassion
Concern
Kindness
Tenderness

God can give us what we need when we need it because He knows.

Let’s hook that with a passage in Hebrews. “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account” (Heb. 4: 12-113 CSB).

Even when we try to hide things in our hearts – we don’t speak of it, we don’t even acknowledge it – God knows.

No, he is not being a nosy God. He is being a loving, merciful Heavenly Father. He is most interested in how He can use our daily lives to sanctify us.

Glossary

We can’t keep things secret from God. Eventually He will judge those secrets. As He made the laws, He alone is able to judge us for our disobedience.

Benson wrote that no “… other has power to assemble the living and the dead; wisdom, to know all the individuals and their actions, words, thoughts, etc.; holiness to hate sin; justice to pass an equitable sentence.”

Resource

Spurgeon argued that God judges us every day. He defined judging as “… all that concerns the proceedings of trial and award.” The evidence he provides is the fact that our deeds are being recorded.

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Fun Fact

In order to judge, God has to know. As “the eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Prov. 15: 3 ESV), God knows what is happening.

We Are to Understand What He Reveals

“Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Rom. 11: 33-34 CSB)

We will have to accept we won’t understand everything about God and work to understand what He reveals.

Oh, I know. It is hard to understand God’s ways sometimes. We are flat out told that. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.’ This is the Lord’s declaration. ‘For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isa. 55: 8-9 CSB).

Lyth said that was okay. He wrote that God

Knows what He is doing
Doesn’t need any advice

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We don’t have to know.

But we think we do, don’t we? Isn’t that what the original sin was about? “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die’” (Gen. 2: 16-17 CSB).

That was Satan’s argument with Eve — you eat this fruit, and you will know as much as God. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3: 5 CSB).

Well, Satan was right that mankind then knew what good and evil were. Satan was wrong. We had already been like God. (No, we hadn’t been gods. We were His character then.)

Instead of trying to understand everything, we need to work to fully understand what God reveals to us. He does want to tell us about Himself.

Making the Connections

Burner made a wonderful statement that explains Matthew 7: 21. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter” (Mt. 7: 21 NLT).

Burner wrote, “Reject and neglect the ‘great salvation,’ and you cannot be saved: such is the announced purpose of God. Accept that salvation, and ‘he that believeth shall be saved’: such is also the announced purpose of God.”

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Don’t neglect our relationship with God.

James made an interesting statement. He wrote, “Note the sense in which the term ‘repentance’ is in Scripture applied to God. Divine repentance conveys no notion of regret or dissatisfaction with His past procedure, but it is expressive of God’s determination to act in a different manner than before towards those who by their change of conduct have rendered necessary a different mode of procedure in the just administration of God’s moral government.”

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It isn’t that God had to repent about anything. He is perfect — He knows no sin.

I can see that God has no regret. He is all-knowing, so He got it right the first time. Even when we mess up, God has it right because that is what we need in order to grow closer to Him.

I guess God does make a u-turn in His conduct toward us. When we are just made in His image, we have no access to Him. He does allow some of His blessing to fall on us then.

But when we ABCD, it is like the barn door is thrown open. God can lavish all sorts of love and blessings upon us.

How Do We Apply This?

We ABCD.

The ABCDs of Salvation

If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.

A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord

D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us

The Disciple’s Job Description

We seek God and are content with what He reveals to us. We accept that we don’t need to know everything.

Searching for and Seeking God

Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).

Father God. You are all-knowing. You know our deepest thoughts — and You love us anyway! Help us to turn to You. Amen.

What do you think?

Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.

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