Attributes of God God Knows! (Omniscience) I. Introduction A. Many years ago, a little boy named Johnny Sylvester was kicked in the head by a horse and doctors were fearful that he might not make it. Johnny told his father, “Gee, Pops, I wish I could see Babe Ruth hit a homer before I die.” A telegram was sent off to the New York Yankees in St. Louis, where they were playing the Cardinals in the 1926 World Series. A few days later, Johnny received autographed balls from both the Yankees and the Cardinals, including one Babe Ruth had inscribed, “I’ll hit a home run for you in Wednesday’s game.” B. Instead of hitting one homer, he hit 3! The doctors called the effect on the boy’s condition a miracle. Some months later, during spring training, an uncle of the boy approached Ruth and thanked him profusely. Babe Ruth smiled and said, “You’re very welcome.” After the uncle left, the Babe turned to the reporters who were standing around and asked, “Who in the blankety-blank is Johnny Sylvester?” So much for a feel-good movie ending! C. Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t forget who we are? By the way, Johnny Sylvester lived to the ripe old age of 74! II. God Knows! - Psalm 139:1-6 A. Definition of Omniscience. 1. Last week we learned about God’s omnipresence He is everywhere present at the same time. This morning, we’re focusing on God’s omniscience, that is He is all-knowing. 2. There are few doctrines so clearly taught in Scripture as this. Let’s consider a few verses: a) 1 Samuel 2:3: “…the Lord is a God who knows…” 1 John 3:20: “God…knows everything.” Psalm 147:5: “Great is our Lord…His understanding has no limit.” Proverbs 15:3: “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” In classical theology the doctrine of God’s omniscience means that God knows all things, past, present and future, real and potential, and He knows them all at the same time. b) He not only knows what was, and what is, He also knows what will be. Plus, God knows everything that could be but is not. 1) His knowledge is absolute, full, complete, & free & perfect. He doesn’t know any one thing better (or worse), but all things equally well. 2) God never discovers anything, is never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything, nor does He seek information or ask questions. He doesn’t need Wikipedia. He already knows how everything fits together. B. God Knows Us Completely - vv 1-6 1. First truth from Psalm 139: God knows us completely. No one knows us more thoroughly than the God who created the universe & everything in it. a) “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain.” 1) This says, “God, you know it all!” Most believers know about this attribute of God & yet many choose to operate on two very different levels. (a) We understand intellectually God knows everything about us, but on a day-to-day level we live as if we can keep secrets from Him. (b) We can’t! Maybe we do this because we’re afraid if God knew everything about us, He’d judge and then reject us. (c) Truth: it’s very, very hard for us to think God can know the truth about us and still accept us as one of His spiritual children. b) Psalm 139:1 states that God knows us because He searches us: “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.” 1) The Hebrew word means, “to examine carefully or explore” and even can apply to a burglar searching for valuable possessions. 2) The word carries with it the idea of digging or scouring. David is saying through the power of the HS God knows him completely because He has scoured and ransacked every detail of his life. c) Let’s take a closer look at vv 2-5 and ask, “What does God know about us?” 1) He knows what we do - v 2a. “You know when I sit and when I rise…” (a) The opposites (sitting & rising) = our actions throughout the day. God knows when we hit the la-z boy & when we get for another snack. (b) Proverbs 5:21 supports this truth: “For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths.” 2) He knows what we think - v 2b. “…You perceive my thoughts from afar.” (a) It’s amazing and difficult to comprehend, but God knows what we think even before we think it! Guys, you may remember when you were dating or early in your marriage she always wanted to know what you were thinking, because she was not omniscient. (b) Truth: God knows without asking everything you’re thinking and He still loves you. Jeremiah 17:10 helps us understand the depth of God’s knowledge: “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind…” 3) He knows where we go - v.3. “You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” (a) A pastor shared this story. “Growing up, my bedroom was in the basement with a little window opening to the outside. I soon figured out I could sneak out the window at night and do whatever I wanted because know no one could see me. I used this escape hatch on many occasions and was never caught. 25 years later I confessed this to my parents and found out that they already knew all about it!” (b) The word for “discern” in v. 3 means to “sift or winnow as grain.” i) God knows where we go, because He can see everything, and can discern everything. ii) He sifts through our lives, not with evil intent, but understanding what is really going on inside us. iii) He comprehends the good and bad things we do from the time we get out of bed in the morning to when we fall into bed at night. He sees it all, and when we think we are escaping we discover He is always with us no matter where we go. 4) He knows what we say - v. 4. “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” (a) God not only hears everything that we say, He knows what we’re going to say, before we can even form the words in our mouth. (b) Its’ been said our thoughts are like words to God - He hears and understands them as if we are shouting them from a rooftop. 5) He knows what we need - v 5. “You hem me in, behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.” (a) David is here using some imagery from war. He knew all about strategic battle plans, ambushes and how to surround a city. David felt trapped by God’s knowledge of his every thought, word, and deed. He knew that God surrounded him. He cannot turn back and try to escape because God is behind him. He cannot run forward because God is in front of him and His hand keeps David from harm. (b) We do this with young children or grandchildren, putting our hand on their head or shoulder so they don’t run into the fireplace. (c) God does that for us as well His pervasive presence and His complete knowledge of us serve as protective forces in our lives. d) He knows us, and yet… “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (v 6). 1) As David considers that God knows him completely, he is stunned. He can’t even begin to understand, much less describe, the depth of God’s personal knowledge of his every action, his every thought, his every word, and his every need. 2) “Wonderful” is placed at the beginning in the original for emphasis. It could read like this: “Wonderful is God’s knowledge. It’s too lofty for me to even understand or imagine!” (a) So, when we try to understand God’s omniscient knowledge, we might - like David - get overwhelmed. But wonder and worship are always the proper responses to the glorious attributes of God. Amazement should lead to awe, which should draw us to adoration. (b) Paul responded like this in Rom. 11:33-36: “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To Him be the glory forever!” C. What difference does God’s omniscience make to Christian travelers? (remember the difference between this & tourists) It’s a matter of comfort… 1. …in our assurance in God. a) We may wonder if we are true believers, if there is saving faith in our hearts. We might feel icy cold to God, just “going through the motions.” Praise God that while we might wonder and doubt, God knows exactly what’s going through your mind. b) So you say to God, “Lord you know all things. You know whether I trust in you. Give me assurance of the truth of my salvation.” 2. …in our prayers to God. a) Today there might be 100 million Christians praying and you just one among that multitude, and you feel you are the youngest, newest, or the most ignorant Christian in the world, so you might ask, “How will God ever hear my prayers among millions of others?” b) The answer = God is omniscient. There’s absolutely zero possibility of your prayer being overlooked in the millions of other prayers being sent to the throne of heaven. The number does not jeopardize our requests. There’s no sigh He is too busy or doesn’t hear. c) Every imperfect, confused prayer is accepted & answered as it comes to God via our mediator Jesus Christ and is made clear by His HS - “… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans” - Rom. 8:26. 3. … in our growing amazement of God. a) What a small God so many have in the professing church. He’s so predictable He becomes unsurprising. He’s a bit of a bore to many! b) Sadly, He isn’t the God who conquered the grave or who is going to be our Judge or who knows everything about us. 1) God gives those who really know Him the shivers. Isaiah saw him and he cried, “Woe is me. I am undone!” John saw him and he fell at his feet as if all strength had been drained from him. Does He ever cause you to to tremble? 2) He should because He knows us far better than we know ourselves. He has seen us acting as badly as we could but in Christ He loves us still. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good” - Prov. 15:3. 4. …in our growing sense of responsibility to God. a) I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase in some movie or read in some book that “with great power comes great responsibility.” 1) Never has it been more true regarding God’s omniscience! 2) “Great is our God and of great power; his understanding is infinite” (Ps. 147:5) doesn’t mean He is the cause of everything. (a) For example, I know many things, but that knowledge doesn’t cause things to happen. I may know a drunk will go into a bar and get a drink, but my knowledge of that fact doesn’t make it happen. (b) God knew Joseph’s brothers would sell him into slavery, meaning it for evil; His omniscience didn’t take away their freedom of choice. He permitted them to do what they did, bearing the full responsibility for their choice & the consequences, even though God knew.… III. Conclusions A. There are two things to avoid here in relation to our view of God’s omniscience. One is fatalism: Que sera, sera (whatever will be will be). The other is atheism; there’s no God in control of our lives or creation. B. Because He knows us completely, thinks of us constantly, and searches us conclusively, we shouldn’t feel spied on; we should feel watched over. Having placed our confidence in Christ, no skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet to expose our past or no character flaw can come to light that would make God turn away from us. He already knows everything about us and still loves us! God knows!