The omniscient one.
When we say God is omniscient, we mean that He knows all that there is to know. There is nothing that is outside the scope of His conception, understanding, or attention. God neither studies nor learns for one cannot increase a knowledge that is already insurmountable.
The term “omniscient” refers to someone or something that has complete knowledge or awareness of everything . In many religions, the concept of an omniscient being is central to their beliefs. For example, in Christianity, God is often described as omniscient, meaning that he knows everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen . However, whether or not an omniscient being exists is a matter of personal belief and cannot be proven or disproven by science or logic .
Omniscience is defined as “the state of having total knowledge, the quality of knowing everything.” For God to be sovereign over His creation of all things, whether visible or invisible, He has to be all-knowing. His omniscience is not restricted to any one person in the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all by nature omniscient.
God knows everything (1 John 3:20). He knows not only the minutest details of our lives but those of everything around us, for He mentions even knowing when a sparrow falls or when we lose a single hair (Matthew 10:29-30). Not only does God know everything that will occur until the end of history itself (Isaiah 46:9-10), but He also knows our very thoughts, even before we speak forth (Psalm 139:4). He knows our hearts from afar; He even saw us in the womb (Psalm 139:1-3, 15-16). Solomon expresses this truth perfectly when he says, “For you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind” (1 Kings 8:39).
Despite the condescension of the Son of God to empty Himself and make Himself nothing (Philippians 2:7), His omniscience is clearly seen in the New Testament writings. The first prayer of the apostles in Acts 1:24, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart,” implies Jesus’ omniscience, which is necessary if He is to be able to receive petitions and intercede at God’s right hand. On earth, Jesus’ omniscience is just as clear. In many Gospel accounts, He knew the thoughts of his audience (Matthew 9:4; 12:25; Mark 2:6-8; Luke 6:8). He knew about people’s lives before He had even met them. When He met the woman collecting water at the well at Sychar, He said to her, “The fact is you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband” (John 4:18). He also tells His disciples that their friend Lazarus was dead, although He was over 25 miles away from Lazarus’s home (John 11:11-15). He advised the disciples to go and make preparation for the Lord’s Supper, describing the person they were to meet and follow (Mark 14:13-15). Perhaps best of all, He knew Nathanael before ever meeting him, for He knew his heart (John 1:47-48).
Clearly, we observe Jesus’ omniscience on earth, but this is where the paradox begins as well. Jesus asks questions, which imply the absence of knowledge, although the Lord asks questions more for the benefit of His audience than for Himself. However, there is another facet regarding His omniscience that comes from the limitations of the human nature which He, as Son of God, assumed. We read that as a man He “grew in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52) and that He learned “obedience through suffering” (Hebrews 5:8). We also read that He did not know when the world would be brought to an end (Matthew 24:34-36). We, therefore, have to ask, why would the Son not know this, if He knew everything else? Rather than regarding this as just a human limitation, we should regard it as a controlled lack of knowledge. This was a self-willed act of humility in order to share fully in our nature (Philippians 2:6-11; Hebrews 2:17) and to be the Second Adam.
There is nothing too hard for an omniscient God, and it is on the basis of our faith in such a God that we can rest secure in Him, knowing that He promises never to fail us as long as we continue in Him. He has known us from eternity, even before creation. God knew you and me, where we would appear in the course of time, and whom we would interact with. He even foresaw our sin in all its ugliness and depravity, yet, in love, He set his seal upon us and drew us to that love in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3-6). We shall see Him face to face, but our knowledge of Him will never be complete. Our wonder, love and praise of Him shall go on for all millennia as we bask in the rays of His heavenly love, learning and appreciating more and more of our omniscient God.
God is omniscient—He knows everything. We also see in Scripture where God asks questions. In the Garden of Eden, God asks Adam where he is and what he had done (Genesis 3:9, 11). In heaven, He asks Satan where he has been (Job 1:7). In the wilderness, God asks Moses what he holds in his hand (Exodus 4:2). In the crowd on the way to Jarius’s house, Jesus asks who touched Him (Mark 5:30). Being omniscient, God already knew the answers to these questions. “He knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21). So why does He ask?
The questions God asks always serve a purpose. He does not ask to obtain information, since He already possesses all information; His questions serve a different purpose, and that purpose varies based on the context of the question and the needs of the one to whom the question is directed.
After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and hid themselves from God, God called out, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). Of course, God knew Adam’s physical location; that wasn’t the point of the question. The question was designed to draw Adam out of hiding. God could have approached His sinful creation in anger, with harsh words of condemnation and instant judgment, but He did not. Instead, God approached Adam with a question and so showed His grace, gentleness, and desire for reconciliation.
When teaching a young student basic arithmetic, a teacher might ask, “What is 2 + 2?” The teacher does not ask this because she doesn’t know the answer but because she wants to focus the student’s thinking on the problem at hand. When God asked Adam, “Where are you?” the question’s purpose was, in part, to focus Adam on the problem he and his wife were tangled in.
Other questions of God in Scripture may have other purposes. In Job 38 — 41, God questions Job relentlessly about everything from Job’s absence when the foundations of the earth were set (Job 38:4) to Job’s inability to fish for sea monsters (Job 41:1). Here, it’s obvious God is using questions as an instructional tool to emphasize His own power and sovereignty.
God’s repeated question to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4, 9) was designed to stir self-examination on Jonah’s part. God’s question to Elijah, “What are you doing here?” (1 Kings 19:9) pointed out how Elijah was straying from God’s purpose for him. God’s question in Isaiah’s presence, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8) had the effect of prompting the prophet to volunteer.
During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He often asked questions. A good teacher will use strategic questions to facilitate the learning process, and Jesus was the Master Teacher. Jesus at times asked questions in order to set up an opportunity for learning: “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27). Or to focus His hearers’ attention on something significant: “What is written in the Law? . . . How do you read it?” (Luke 10:26). Or to prompt introspection: “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). Or to prod deeper thinking: “What is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?” (Luke 20:17). Or to bring faith to light: “Who touched me?” (Luke 8:45). Or to set up a big revelation: “Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” (John 20:15).
God is a Father who uses language to teach within the context of relationship. He is a Teacher who uses questions to involve His students, force them to think, and point them to the truth. When He asks a question, it’s not because He doesn’t know the answer but because He wants us to know.
There are several arguments that have been proposed for the existence of God. Here are some of the most well-known ones:
The Cosmological Argument: This argument posits that everything in the universe has a cause, and that there must be a first cause that set everything else in motion. This first cause is often identified as God .
The Teleological Argument: This argument suggests that the complexity and order of the universe imply the existence of a designer. The universe appears to be fine-tuned to support life, and this fine-tuning is seen as evidence of a creator
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The Ontological Argument: This argument is based on the concept of God as a being that is perfect in every way. The argument suggests that if we can conceive of such a being, then it must exist, since existence is a necessary part of perfection .
The Moral Argument: This argument suggests that the existence of objective moral values and duties requires the existence of God. Without God, there would be no basis for morality, and moral values would be subjective and arbitrary
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It’s worth noting that these arguments have been debated for centuries, and there are many objections and counter-arguments to each one. Whether or not you find them convincing is ultimately a matter of personal belief .
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