Amongst the many attributes of God, we find that He is omniscient. That fancy word is a combination of two Latin words, and means that he knows all. While even the idea of knowing everything is beyond our comprehension, God is much greater than we are. He has proven over and over again that what is impossible for us, may very well be possible for Him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” 1 – Isaiah 55:8-9
This verse alone, without even looking at the rest of the Bible, makes it clear that God thinks on a different plane than we do. This shouldn’t surprise us, considering that He is God; yet many people expect God to be like us, rather than understanding that we are made to be like Him. The difference, while it may seem small, is significant. As “copies” of God, we are not necessarily as great as He is; but if we see Him as a copy of who we are, then we make Him smaller and less capable than ourselves.
This is what happened in many pagan religions. They deified nature, giving various aspects of it god-like characteristics. The bodies of these made up deities often combined parts of humans and animals. While they might be all-powerful in their specific area; that was the limit of their power. Hence, the “sun god,” by whatever name, would have the ability to drive his or her chariot through the sky every day, giving us light; that was all they could do. Those who created the understanding of that god also put the limits on what it could do.
Another aspect of this is that those gods needed mankind and especially mankind’s worship, as much as mankind needed them. People would worship that sun god, so that it could continue to give them light. Without their worship, the sun god was not capable of surviving, let alone doing its job.
These concepts of gods have never really gone away, even with the understanding of a monotheistic God, who is the creator of the universe. We humans are always trying to put limits on God, so that we can understand Him and even control Him. Yet God is God and we are not. He has a right to control us, as our creator; but we don’t share that same right to control Him.
There are those who think they know everything, what we call “know-it-alls.” Some even think they know more than God does. But God has an answer for them as well, telling us in Proverbs: “If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure” (Proverbs 28:26 the Message Bible). Arguing with Him on this probably isn’t a good idea.
Unlike those people who think they know it all, God is the creator of the universe, as told in the first two chapters of the Bible. The ability to create our world and all that is in it would make Him considerably smarter than all of us put together. All it takes to see that is to look at the complexity of His creation. Science and engineering can’t even create a single feather, let alone something more complex, like an eye. As creator, it is clear that God knows everything about how He created the world, including a lot of details about those of us who inhabit it.
What Does God Know About You?
The Bible defines a number of different things that God knows about you and I. While this list might not be complete, it does give us an idea of how thorough His knowledge is about each of us. What’s truly amazing about it is the amount of detail that God knows about some parts of our lives; at times, more than we know ourselves. That alone proves that He is greater and smarter than we are.
He Knows Your Name
The first and most obvious thing that God knows about you is your name. There are several references in the Bible to God starting His first recorded conversations with people, by calling them out by name. When God made a covenant with Abraham, in Genesis, chapter 17, God starts out by changing Abram’s name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5). How could God have done that, had He not known Abram’s name?
This isn’t the only case by any means. Moses makes reference to God knowing his name in Exodus 33:12, clearly quoting something that God had said to him earlier. Similar events happened with a number of the prophets. We even find it happening in the New Testament, with Jesus calling out to Zacchaeus, who was up in a tree, so that he could see Jesus pass by. The very first word that Jesus said to Zaccheus, was calling him by name (Luke 19:5). Then, after his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus called the soon to be apostle, Paul, whose given name was Saul, by name, on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4).
While each of these people can be thought to be someone special, warranting God’s attention, God is no respecter of individual people. He might have called these people out for a particular purpose; but He did so because He knew them.
God Knows Your Beginning
One of the more beautiful things that we find that God knows about us is that He knew us before we were born. He revealed this to the prophet Jeremiah, telling him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). How many other people did God call to a specific task, before even creating them?
While there are biological processes in play, creating life, those cannot create the spirit, only the body. We can see that somehow, God is involved in the specific creation of each individual, even if we don’t fully understand the details of how He is. King David understood this, expressing it in Psalms.
For You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. – Psalms 139:13
He Knows Your Thoughts
Once again we see that King David had an understanding of God that surpasses our own, as he wrote, in the same psalm:
“You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, Oh Lord, you know it altogether.” – Psalm 139:2b-4
That can be a rather scary thought, when you think about it. God knows both the evil and good thoughts we all have, perhaps even as soon as we know them ourselves. The truly amazing part of it though, is that He loves us anyway.
He Knows Your Heart
God not only knows the thoughts that you and I have articulated in our minds, He knows the hidden things of our hearts, which we dare not put into words, even within the privacy of ourselves. He sees all the wickedness that is contained within us, allowing Him to know just how much help we truly need. God told Jeremiah that He searches the heart (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Personally, if I were God, I wouldn’t want to see what is hidden there. But God even has an answer for that:
For is our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. – 1 John 3:20
God is greater; He naturally rises above the things that are in our hearts. Therefore, He is able to see what is there as a sign of our need for a Savior, rather than just condemning us for it. This is one of the many ways that God shows us that He is greater than Satan. The devil condemns us for what is in our hearts, not even being sure what is there, while God looks past the evil contained therein, to see the child that He created and that child’s need for His grace and mercy.
He Knows Your Worries
If God knows our thoughts and our hearts, it only stands to reason that He would know our worries as well; you know, those things that bother us, which we can’t really stop thinking of, searching for an answer. But God Himself is the answer for all those worries and only wants us to “cast our cares and burdens on Him, for He shall sustain us” (Psalm 55:22 paraphrased).
Jesus understood our worries and taught us the need to avoid anxiety. In the same chapter of Matthew where He taught His disciples the prayer which we know as “The Lord’s Prayer,” He also talked about our anxiety and worry, gently telling us not to indulge those worries.
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? – Matthew 6:25
The rest of the chapter, on to verse 34, talks about this in more detail, as Jesus shows how God the Father is already taking care of our needs, just as He does for all His creation.
He Knows Your Weaknesses
One of the more comforting things to know is that God is aware of each and every one of your weaknesses. We don’t need to go to God and tell Him where we are struggling, He already knows. What He wants is for us to realize those weaknesses and go to Him seeking help to overcome them, for “where we are weak, there we are strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10b paraphrased) through Him that strengthens us.
God never expected us to be perfect. He expected us to go to Him in our imperfection and receive from Him. That’s essentially what He told the Apostle Paul, just before that verse. Paul quoted God as saying, “My grace is sufficient for your, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9b). God wasn’t talking about grace as some nebulous thing that we couldn’t grasp; but rather as the manifestation of His power within us, giving us strength where we are weak. Paul understood that and was willing to take pleasure in his own weakness, knowing that God’s grace would be enough for him to overcome.
He Knows Your Days
One of the biggest questions in life is just how long each of us is going to live. We don’t and can’t know the answer to this question (James 4:14); but God does. He has a plan for each and every one of our lives and is watching to see whether we follow that plan or conceive our own. His is always better, but that doesn’t stop a whole lot of people from deciding to follow a plan of their own creation.
He Even Knows How Many Hairs there are On Your Head
Should we have any doubt that God knows more than we do, He even knows just how many hairs each of us have on our heads. How does He know that? Because He has numbered them (Matthew 10:29-30). Jesus taught that God is so concerned about our lives, that He goes into such great detail in knowing us and what is happening with us.
God’s Knowledge Extends Beyond Us
God’s knowledge isn’t limited to just us. As the creator of the universe, He knows everything about everything He created. Nature depends on God knowing it and knowing how it operates. His loving hand participates in keeping things in balance in the world around us.
As creator, God has power over the mightiest forces of nature. He doesn’t always exercise that power or exercise it in the way that we would like Him to; but that doesn’t diminish His power at all. Jesus used that power when He walked here on earth, raising the dead, multiplying food and walking on water.
Now when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” – Matthew 14:26-27
One way to look at this incident is as a demonstration of God’s power. Another is to look at it as a demonstration of His understanding of the laws of physics. Had Jesus not understood anything about flow dynamics and states of matter, how would he have altered those principles, so that He could walk on water? Somehow, that knowledge has to come into play.
There is no place in the Bible, where God demonstrates how intimately He is connected with those laws and with nature in general, then in the book of Job. After Job’s friends debate him, trying to prove that what he was experiencing was nothing more than the just punishment for some sin, God speaks. In those chapters, God says things about Himself that aren’t mentioned anywhere else in scripture; showing both His knowledge of nature and His control over it. Let’s look at just a few of the verses contained within those chapters.
Or who shut the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; 9 When I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; 10 When I fixed my limit for it, and set bars and doors; 11 When I said, “This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!” – Job 38:8-11
Here we see God’s mastery over the seas, establishing order and limits for their travel. God knows what would happen without those limits, seeing them as a necessity. Had He not, the seas would be much more destructive. God has power over nature; but that power is rooted in knowledge. Having power over the oceans, without knowing how to use that power, would be a waste, accomplishing nothing.
Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place? – Job 38:12
This verse is especially interesting when we have an understanding of the ancient religions of the world. Most were pagan, which is defined as worshipping nature. Taking that a step further, most of those religions worshipped the sus as their primary deity; the most powerful and in some cases, the “father” of the other gods. Yet God Himself is saying that He is God over the sun.
In a way, this can be seen as a direct attack against those pagan religions. In this one sentence, God is placing Himself above all those false gods, by saying that He is the one who commands the sun. It can be seen as a practical application of God being “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).
God is the ultimate authority, a position appropriate for one who knows all. At the same time, if God didn’t know all, then He would be disqualified to be the ultimate authority. Like human authorities, a god who doesn’t know all is going to make mistakes. Perhaps that’s why the mythology of pagan religions is full of their gods making mistakes.
But perhaps the one passage in Job, in which God reveals the most about his wisdom and knowledge, is the very next passage in Job, chapter 38:
Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. – Job 38:16-18 (and following)
There is a distinct image of God walking the surface of the earth, as an explorer discovering its riches and beauty. How would He know to speak of those places, if He had not seen them for Himself? Perhaps His “walking with Adam in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8) was only part of His daily routine, as He walked throughout the earth.
It would make sense that God knows the earth, if we accept that He is in control of it. Many people understand that God created the world; but assume that once He did so, He left the earth on its own. Yet God speaks of Himself as working day-to-day, ensuring that everything works as it should.
Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail, 23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war. 24 By what way is light diffused, or the east wind scattered over the earth? – Job 38:22-24
Why would God say that He has snow and hail reserved in treasuries, against the day of battle and war, unless He sees a need for them? Those may not seem like weapons to us, but just ask anyone in Russia, knowledgeable about their history, how many times winter storms have won wars for them. It was “General Winter” who stopped the NAZI army in the winter of 1941 that stopped the NAZI army, within sight of the Kremlin.
There are many other things that God says about Himself in chapters 38 and 39 of Job. Each shows us some aspect of His knowledge; things that He challenges Job about, knowing that Job could not know the things that God Himself knew.
It is God’s intimate and thorough knowledge of this world, along with everything in it, which makes life possible. The intricacy of design that went into each and every thing we see around us, shows the work of a superior intellect. Something as common as an eye is beyond the efforts of our scientists. While they can create cameras and lenses which allow computers and robots to “see,” they cannot create an artificial eye to replace a human eye that is lost in an accident.
Some amazing work has been put into making such things as artificial hearts and a few other organs. Yet in most cases, the complexity built into our organs is not something that our knowledge and science can recreate. The machinery needed to replicate the workings of the kidneys is the size of a cabinet and requires the patient to be connected for about six hours, three times per week. Yet that merely keeps them alive, as it doesn’t maintain their body’s chemistry in balance, like kidneys will. Rather, the kidney dialysis machine reduces the level of minerals in the bloodstream to a low point, allowing the patient to survive a couple of days, with those mineral levels rising, until they are connected again.
God’s knowledge has allowed Him to create things we cannot duplicate, for all our knowledge and technology. Yet mankind keeps trying, hoping to reach that point someday. It is a worthy challenge, but we will never reach the level of what God Himself knows.