The Omniscience of God

Illustration: Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to try to solve a problem? Look at all these people trying to figure out what to do? How are we going to pull this off.

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God has never been like this.

When we say “Omniscience” we are talking about the reality that God knows everything. He is the original and, one and only, Mr. Know-it-all.

The word Omniscience comes from the latin term “scientia” which means “knowledge” and the the prefix, “omni” meaning, “all.” God’s knowledge is unlimited and completely comprehensive and perfect in “every way.” He knows all things actual and all things that are possible.

Today I want to focus more on The Godhead as a whole and then at the end of the message we will zoom in on just the second person of the Trinity. And it will become clear why we attack it this way hopefully by the end of the message.

God knows the present.

Psalm 33:13–15 ESV

13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.

God knows that past.

Just a word of warning here, God is a little sarcastic with Job.

Job 38:4–5 ESV

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

God knows that which is to come.

Psalm 139:4 ESV

4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

We looked that this stunning reality last week when we look at this passage. The reason He knows that which is to come is because He has declared things not yet to be. This was done after He recieved Divine Consultation from Himself. That consultation identified a deep pleasure in God and then He started running the universe in a way that was in alignment within His purposes and pleasures.

This is knowledge that is too wonderful for us. Speaking of wonderful, He even knows your future failings and sins! How is that wonderful? Well it is wonderful because the atonement that Jesus credited to our account by His sacrifice covers all of our past, present and future sins! Jesus didn’t just rightfully predict that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. He knew that Peter would do so and He was loved Peter enough to graciously warn Him. Then even after the warning, Peter abandoned his Master. Jesus was then crucified and buried, but then after the resurrection Jesus recommissioned him and said… “Feed my sheep.” All of that to say, God knows even our future sins and has already wonderfully provided atonement for even those. This is Amazing Love…how can it be?

So, as much as you want to, there is no hiding from God, because not only is He everywhere like Pastor Danny preached a few weeks ago, but He also knows everything. His knowledge is not extensive it is exhaustive! Hide and seek when the seeker knows all the hiding spots is a little lackluster. (Texas)

When you start to deep dive into this stuff it will blow your mind. It makes me think that I have the best calling in the world. I am like a deep sea diver discovering secret caverns in the deepest recess of the sea all week long and then I try to show up in this pulpit week in and week out and try to describe what is honestly indescribable. For some things it is appropriate to say, “You just had to be there.”

So here I am.I am here today and the message might seem like it is a little sloppy and all over the place because I am not sure exactly sure how to describe what I have seen this last week. How we we talk about God’s omniscience? Where do I take off and where do I land and at what altitude should be our cruising altitude?

Illustration: Bo Knows Everything - Commercial

So what angle should I take? Baseball player, football player (shoe wearer)? Well today we are going to try and mention a little bit of everything that paraded across my mind as I was swimming in the depths this past week.

God knows everything. We can be very scary…but I hope is very comforting to you.

A few weeks ago we talked about how God is not dependent on anything, but that everything is dependent upon Him. Think carefully about this for a moment. If you are “dependent” that means that there is some sort of deficiency in yourself. There is an incompleteness about you. You are contingent upon something outside of yourself to “satisfy” that which you don’t have.”

Every living thing is dependent upon God to satisfy that which they don’t have in and of themselves and then the Psalmist agrees with this assessment when he writes...

Psalm 145:16 ESV

16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Every living thing has desires, and every living thing can find those desires satisfied at the open hand of God. And why this is so spectacularly amazing is because that means God knows exactly what everything needs in order for them to experience satisfaction. Every desire, of every living thing in creation has the ability to receive from the open hand of God, the satisfaction that it is craving. This should cause us to stagger back when we consider this.

He KNOWS how to satisfy the desires of every living thing, because He designed everything. If we see intelligence in the design, then that assumes an intelligent designer. Not only that but He is the one who is essential in sustaining everything that is operational in the world. Everything!

Colossians 1:17 ESV

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

From every microscopic tiny objects, to every Super Giant star in every far distant galaxy. From the highest mountain peak on earth, to the deepest abyss, you will find His fingerprints everywhere.

He satisfies the intricate cravings inside every living cell that desire to group together and reproduce through nucleus forming tissues. His achievement are varied and very notable.

When you look at the heavens and consider His handiwork, you should be lead to worship. When you realize that He organizes ever atom that has ever existed in the universe. (WOW). Nothing is up to random chance…and that means everything is significant. So let’s talk a little bit about everything today!

The first three things we talk about today stem from observing the fact that God created the universe. What we will see is that only a brilliant mind could design this place. He is unsurpassed in His innovation. The last thing we look at is an observation from the life of Jesus.

The bottom line is that,

God knows how to satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The ability to “satisfy the desires” of “every living thing.” Is beyond our ability to comprehend. We can’t even satisfy ourselves. We get so messed up chasing after things that overpromise and then underdeliver. Sometimes we don’t even know what we want, but God does. I love the passage of Scripture that Jesus encourages HIs followers with when He is teaching them to pray.

Matthew 6:8 ESV

8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

If He knows what we need before we pray, then why pray? Well maybe God needs to show you what you really need when you finally turn your attention to Him!

But anyway, let’s look at a sampling of what God “knows” how to do. Let’s observe some desires that are evident in His creation, that He alone, in His vast knowledge, is able to satisfy.

God knows how to give plants water.

Hebrews 6:7 (ESV)

7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.

I told you with would be a random collection of info!

Job 5:8–10 (ESV)

8 “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, 9 who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: 10 he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields;

Some of you might have heard this before, but if not…be ready to be amazed. John Piper makes some observations about this reality when he says...

In Job’s mind rain really is one of the great, unsearchable wonders that God does.

Is rain a great and unsearchable wonder wrought by God? Picture yourself as a farmer in the Near East, far from any lake or stream. A few wells keep the family and animals supplied with water. But if the crops are to grow and the family is to be fed from month to month, water has to come from another source on the fields. From where?

Well, the sky. The sky? Water will come out of the clear blue sky? Well, not exactly. Water will have to be carried in the sky from the Mediterranean Sea over several hundred miles, and then be poured out on the fields from the sky.

Carried? How much does it weigh? Well, if one inch of rain falls on one square mile of farmland during the night, that would be 2,323,200 cubic feet of water, which is 17,377,536 gallons, which is 144,735,360 pounds of water.

That’s heavy. So how does it get up in the sky and stay up there if it’s so heavy? Well, it gets up there by evaporation. Really? That’s a nice word. What’s it mean? It means that the water stops being water for a while so it can go up and not down. I see. Then how does it get down? Well, condensation happens. What’s that? The water starts becoming water again by gathering around little dust particles between .00001 and .0001 centimeters wide. That’s small.

What about the salt? Salt? Yes, the Mediterranean Sea is saltwater. That would kill the crops. What about the salt? Well, the salt has to be taken out. Oh. So the sky picks up millions of pounds of water from the sea, takes out the salt, carries the water (or whatever it is, when it is not water) for three hundred miles, and then dumps it (now turned into water again) on the farm?

Well, it doesn’t dump it. If it dumped millions of pounds of water on the farm, the wheat would be crushed. So the sky dribbles the millions of pounds of water down in little drops. And they have to be big enough to fall for one mile or so without evaporating, and small enough to keep from crushing the wheat stalks.

How do all these microscopic specks of water that weigh millions of pounds get heavy enough to fall (if that’s the way to ask the question)? Well, it’s called coalescence. What’s that? It means the specks of water start bumping into each other and join up and get bigger, and when they are big enough, they fall.

Just like that? Well, not exactly, because they would just bounce off each other instead of joining up if there were no electric field present. What? Never mind. Take my word for it. I think, instead, I will just take Job’s word for it.”

My point in sharing this is singular…if everything living thing has a desire and God is able to fulfill that desire, that assumes that He knows the desire of every living thing like plants and trees and vegetation. This is astounding to consider.

There’s a reason the trees of the field clap there hands. There is a reason the flowers of the field are beaming out their beauty, it is because they have satisfied desires. Desires that have been satisfied by open hand of the all-knowing God.

Trees clapping produces a sound. And flowers beaming their beauty can be seen because of the gift of sight. So let’s consider those two amazing realities for a moment.

God knows how to get sound into your ear.

So we are now moving in the direction of things that are “more important” to us. Who cares if trees and flowers have their desires fulfilled. What about me? Well God has you in mind as well.

Consider this passage of Scripture.

Psalm 94:8–9 ESV

8 Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? 9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?

So let’s think about sound and ears for a moment and when we do we will see evidence of God’s brilliance. Only a brilliant mind could design with this type of skill. Now what might really surprise you is that I learned most of what I am about to share with you by listening to rap music! There is a recording artist named Hazakim, who has a brilliant album entitled “Origin’s.” He talks about the ear in this way...

Illustration: Diagram of ear

The outer ear is a spiral shape that acts as a passageway The lobes are twisted and folded for capturing passing waves Impressively arranged, sitting next to our brains Then comes the eardrum, the tympanic membrane One inch in length of a pencil’s eraser Sensitive reaction to sound like a cymbal’s vibration, thin as a paper Behind it, intricate ligament known as a bony chain Next to Eustachian tube, where all infection is drained Little place that ventilates the middle space of the ear The inner gate, clearing space, this way we’re able to hear The inner ear’s been engineered with the special receptors That measures the pressure, equilibrium, keeps it together It’s a coiled canal, about the size of a snail The microphone that’s inside That kind of looks like a shell Circular canals, amplifying the sound Air to liquid, hairs are triggered where it carries the sound Electrical chemicals sent in Decibel range All serving a purpose, yeah it’s simple and plain Mystery, intricacies working through us Realize our ears are a blessing from Yeshua

God designed this function!

God knows how to make your eyes see.

Psalm 94:9 ESV

9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?

Illustration: Diagram of an Eye

Many take it for granted, yet something to behold How we take in the planet, the window to the soul The colored part of the eye, that’s what the iris is The pupil dilates depending how much light there is Complex and intricate, its design is so baffling Even Darwin admitted the human eye is no accident Binocular vision that moves together in unison Automatic focus without the use of a zooming lens Pushing out nutrients where the aqueous humor is Dispersing a fluid that acts as natural lubricant The optic nerve looks like a gigantic vein Of fibers it’s made, this connects the eye to your brain The retina is designed like a ring, able to shine what we’ve seen Upside down while projecting light to a screen Outside the eye a design that’s exquisite, that’s comprised of two tendons Move your head from side to side, it stabilizes the image Coincides with your vision as your eyes adjust and turn The cornea was built to shield your eyes from dust and germs Lacrimal gland disposes overflowing tears that go Within your nose or past your eyelids, and now with this I close We are fashioned with purpose, there's a Master that’s working And like you cut your cornea, I ain't even scratched the surface

Oxford University professor of mathematics Dr. John Lennox has said, “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator... gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”

Application: Donald in Mathmagics Land

So those are some amazing things that God knows…but still what if I don’t care about trees and flowers? What if I am blind or deaf? What is that to me? I don’t care if He knows how to satisfy those desires because I can’t have those desire satisfied. Well guess what…He knows you have those thoughts as well. He actually knows you better than you know you…and not just the trivial things like the number of hairs on your head.

Is there anything applicable to me?

The fact that God is omniscient means that He knows everything. He know all of your actions and He also knows all the intentions of your heart. If you have a heart like mine, you might feel a sense of uneasiness welling up within you right now. That is be scary. So often we think the wrong things or want the wrong things and you know that and so does God. If the thoughts and intentions of my heart are exposed too a holy and jealous God, then I better brace myself of impact…here comes the lighting bolt.

But, if you know Christ, you can brace yourself for all eternity, but the lightning bolt won’t come, because it already came when Jesus was struck for you because He learned obedience through that which He suffered.

Wait a minute, I thought you said God knows all things potential and actual…past, present and future. What gives? To answer that question let me sing something into your ears...

“He knows our need, to our weakness, no stranger,” - Name that tune???

God knows what we need.

Well how does He know our need? How does He know what I am going through? We wasn’t a stranger to our weakness. He became weak to identify with us in our weakness.

Hebrews 2:10 ESV

10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Hebrews 2:17–18 ESV

17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

So, He became poor so that He might identify with us in our poverty, so that we might become rich through Him. He was not a stranger to our weakness. We should fall on our knees and lowly bend.

How can Almighty God, identify with me in my weakened, frail state? Well, in order to do that, the Omniscient God had to learn something and that is what Jesus came to do.

We know that Jesus, in His humanity had to learn things as a human. How to walk, how to talk, how to relate with others, how to preach and teach, how to commune with His earthly father as he learned the woodworking trade and how to commune with His heavenly Father for guidance as he sought His Father before choosing his disciples, for when to move onto the next town, for a whole bunch of ministry decisions…that is why you see Him going off to pray so often. He was seeking to learn/ or / understand His Father’s will.

John 5:19 (ESV)

19 “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

He had to observe and learn from His Father. This is a preferred method of learning and the Father was good at teaching…but sometime the Father had some hard assignments for His Son. In fact He had a teachers aide that would sometimes teach a lesson or two, but always under the watchful eye of the School Master.

Hebrews 5:7–9 (ESV)

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

This is amazing. This is amazing. I wrote this line twice so we wouldn’t miss it. He learned obedience through that which He suffered. That tells me there are some things that can only be learned when an instructor called “Mr. or Mrs. Suffering” enters into the classrooms of our lives. You will learn lessons from them that you can’t learn from anyone else. And the times of instruction will be very, very hard, but remember this, “hard does not equal bad.” Hard just simply equals hard because God has demonstrated time and time again in His teachers file that He can bring really, really good things from really, really hard things. The reason we call the Gospel, “Good News” is because Jesus learned the very hard lesson of how to die on a cross for other people.

Hard does not mean bad and there are things that Jesus had to learn that were really hard, but they weren’t bad, in fact they were necessary for Him to “learn obedience.”

And then He took what He had “learned” and now has the ability to turn His gaze towards us when we are in the throws of suffering and say, “I am not unable to sympathize with you in that weakness. I already learned that lesson when I suffered in the same way. So…why don’t you come to me with that. It is obvious you are struggling. Why don’t you let me lead you even through the valley of the shadow of death. Take my yoke upon your tired shoulders and find rest for your soul.”

If Jesus “learned obedience” through that which He suffered, and the end goal of our following Jesus is to be conformed to His image, then that tells me, there is a really good chance that we will go through times of suffering as well. It would serve us very well in the long run if we learn how to obey in those hard times so that maybe, and just maybe, God will see that we have learned to not rely on ourselves for self-preservation, but on God who can preserve us even if the suffer we go through puts us in a grave.

2 Corinthians 1:9 ESV

9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Here is the deal. God knows every tear you’ve cried, every sleepless night you’ve had, every hair on your head, every time you have compared yourself to someone else and have determined that you fall short. He knows your deepest darkest secrets, they are visible to Him. He knows when you sit and when you rise. He knows your secret thoughts. He is too wonderful to you, but He has made Himself available to you when you don’t know which way to go…He knows that too and you know what He will do if you turn to Him and listen

Isaiah 30:21 (ESV)

21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”

So full circle…He can open up His hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing and what every living thing desires most is HIM.

Psalm 73:25 ESV

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

You could search for all eternity long and find there is NONE like Him.

Song: He Knows My Name

Benediction:

Hebrews 4:13 ESV

13 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.

So what will you have to say for yourself when that day comes? Let me suggest an appropriate course of action:

The disciples rightly said to Jesus in John 16:30 “we know that you know all things.” That is a good way to start. Follow that up with what Paul said in Romans 7 “I know that in me dwells no good thing.” After all, honesty is always the best policy.

If you are asked by anyone the haunting question, “Why should I let you in?”

Say, I know what Jonah knew.

What’s that?

Jonah 4:2 (ESV)

…he knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

That’s why he didn’t want to go to Nineveh, because He knew that God might extend forgiveness to people who were dirty, rotten, scoundrels. And He did!

God: That’s right I did, didn’t I.

Then say…thanks for doing that for me…because I am with Him and then point at Jesus.

God’s Omniscients means He knows everything…but let me highlight one thing He might not know.

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

How is your March Madness bracket doing?

Is God’s omnisciences scary or comforting to you? In what ways and why?

In the Pacific Northwest it rains quite a bit. We take it for granted and sometimes we despise it, but the ability to make rain is quite an innovative accomplishment that displays God’s brilliant mind. What other aspects of God’s creation amaze you?

God made the ear to hear and the eye to see. Which would you want to give up least and why?

How could Jesus “learn things” and yet be “omniscient?” The early church fathers struggled to understand this teachings as do many of us…myself included! The Chalcedonian Definition, was the early churches solution to this apparent dilemma. It spoke of two distinct natures in Christ that retain their own properties yet remain together in one person. Jesus was fully God and fully man. This is a mystery that we can’t fully understand. Can you give evidence of the humanity of Jesus? The deity of Jesus?

How is it a comfort to you that Jesus “knows our need” and that he is not a “stranger to our weakness?”

What desires do you have that the open hand of God can satisfy? Psalm 145:16 - You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Just watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BqnN72OlqA