The Omniscience of God

When I was a kid, my parents purchased a set of World Book Encyclopedias from a door to door salesman so that I would have that particular advantage in my educational pursuits. I suspect that same set of encyclopedias is somewhere in my parents attic today. On more than one occasion they have offered those books to me for my kids use, but we have this little thing at home called internet access.

I was amazed to learn the there are presently over 25,000,000,000 web pages in existence. Everyday an additional 250,000 new web pages are being uploaded. I recently read that information is doubling every two years!

Much of this information is available at our fingertips, yet is nothing compared to God’s knowledge of all things. Omniscience is the teaching that God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple (simultaneous) and eternal (infinite) act.

In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer writes, “God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and every spirit, all being and every being, all creation and every creature, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all emotions, all desires, every uttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and earth. God knows every motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell.”

Tozer continues, “Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows nothing better than any other thing. He knows all things equally well. He never discovers anything. He is never surprised or amazed. He never wonders about anything nor does he seek information or ask questions for the sake of information. God possesses complete knowledge and has no need to learn. God has never learned and cannot learn. With God there is never any mix up or confusion. Nothing ever turns out differently than God expected. God knows everything. “

God knows everything material and immaterial, visible and invisible. His knowledge is not limited or restricted to time. He sees the past, present, and the future simultaneously.

God knows all things, including all things about you and me (Psalm 139:1-6). He knows how we are designed (Psalm 103:14; Psalm 139:13-14). He knows your secrets, your sins, and your scars. God knows everything you are facing in this present moment. He knows what you’re going through. He sees your pain, your suffering, your feelings, and your needs. God also sees the good stuff that is there, including every right decision and every appropriate choice. God knows your future. He sees your potential and your possibility.

We matter to God! Who else could love us perfectly and completely in spite of ourselves? Who better to guide us?