This is the road I must travel, so travel it I will.”
–Chris Bennett (Road to the Breaking)
“Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
“Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
–Psalm 37:5 (NKJV)
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“God! God! God! Best defined when undefined; a Fire that may not be touched;
a Life too great for shape of image; a Love for which there is no equal name. Who
is He? God! What is He? God! Of whom begotten? God! He is at once the question
and the answer, the self-balance, the All.”
–Joseph Parker
The Oxford Dictionary defines omniscient: “knowing everything.” Merriam-Webster adds a little more to the definition: “having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight; possessed of universal or complete knowledge.” Omniscient is something that we can know the meaning of but cannot fully comprehend or understand.
There is nothing hidden from God. He knows everything about everything and everybody all the time. He knows everything: everything possible, everything actual. Think on that thought for a moment. Some people have the idea that God changes His mind. If He did so, then He is not omniscient. That means He made a mistake if He has to change His mind. It is something we cannot grasp. God does not, cannot change His mind, however, He does change His actions. He said He was going to destroy, then Moses interceded and He did not. This does not mean He changed His mind, but changed His actions. Since His knowledge is perfect, He never errs, never changes, never overlooks anything.
God knows all events and all creatures of the past, the present, and the future. He knows the possible events that never happened no less than the actual events that do. Try to grasp that! I heard recently that God may allow a person to die in order for his soul to be saved. Could it be that He knows the course of the person’s life should he live? Of course…oh, my feeble mind. God is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in earth, and in hell.
This knowledge is ever before Him. He does not have to access the information or retrieve a file. His knowledge is always immediately and ever and directly before His mind. E.S. Williams states, “God knows the past, the present, and the future as one eternal now.” No wonder David cried, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:6, NKJV) And let’s remember the definition of “wonderful” — awesome, mysterious, unique. The HCSB translates it this way, “This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.”
Daniel declares, “He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.” (2:22, NKJV) Nothing escapes His notice. When we walk in the darkest of nights He will not stub His toe because of something unseen, something He does not know about. Nothing is hidden from Him, every snare, every obstacle, every rut that may be there and He knows the way so well that He nothing is ever forgotten by Him.
This is an attribute of God that we tend to put aside for we do not like to meditate upon it for it makes us uneasy. Look at the words of David again, “You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” (Psalm 139:2-4, NKJV) Nothing can be concealed from God. Man would strip God of His omniscience and the wicked seek to banish God from their thoughts–all to no avail. The Prophet Ezekiel says, “I know the things that come into your mind.” (11:5) Hosea reminds us, “They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness; now their own deeds have surrounded them; they are before My face.” (7:2, NKJV)
“To the Christian believer, knowledge of God’s omniscience brings the assurance that he has not been forgotten, but is being and will be cared for according to God’s promise.” (J.I. Packer) For the believer it should be an encouragement to prayer knowing that God pays attention. His knowledge of the future is as complete as His knowledge of the past and remember, the future depends on Him. We read in Acts, “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning.” (15:18)
J.I. Packer wrote, “A God whose presence and scrutiny I could evade would be a small and trivial deity. But the true God is great and terrible, just because He is always with me and His eye is always upon me. Living becomes an awesome business when you realize that you spend every moment of your life in the sight and company of an omniscient, omnipresent Creator.” And in this high tech world in which we live; remember–God does not need instant replays.
Therefore, we need to learn to trust Him. In the midst of suffering, when we have to make decisions, when we need direction for our life. Know that He knows! “Job cried, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (23:10) Trust Him for He knows each thought and each step that you take or might take. He knows the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:6; Psalm 37:18) To trust Him comes from knowing Him. Get in the Word, know the God in whom you serve. Praise Him for His greatness and His unsearchable ways. “When we observe the greatness of God’s knowledge, it brings out our needs–needs for honesty, acceptance, and trust.” (David L. Hocking).
(taken from my notes developed for a course: “Knowing God.” Much of the material used was from J.I. Packer, Joseph Parker, Arthur Pink, and E.S. Williams).
———————————-
“God! God! God! Best defined when undefined; a Fire that may not be touched;
a Life too great for shape of image; a Love for which there is no equal name. Who
is He? God! What is He? God! Of whom begotten? God! He is at once the question
and the answer, the self-balance, the All.”
–Joseph Parker
The Oxford Dictionary defines omniscient: “knowing everything.” Merriam-Webster adds a little more to the definition: “having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight; possessed of universal or complete knowledge.” Omniscient is something that we can know the meaning of but cannot fully comprehend or understand.
There is nothing hidden from God. He knows everything about everything and everybody all the time. He knows everything: everything possible, everything actual. Think on that thought for a moment. Some people have the idea that God changes His mind. If He did so, then He is not omniscient. That means He made a mistake if He has to change His mind. It is something we cannot grasp. God does not, cannot change His mind, however, He does change His actions. He said He was going to destroy, then Moses interceded and He did not. This does not mean He changed His mind, but changed His actions. Since His knowledge is perfect, He never errs, never changes, never overlooks anything.
God knows all events and all creatures of the past, the present, and the future. He knows the possible events that never happened no less than the actual events that do. Try to grasp that! I heard recently that God may allow a person to die in order for his soul to be saved. Could it be that He knows the course of the person’s life should he live? Of course…oh, my feeble mind. God is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in earth, and in hell.
This knowledge is ever before Him. He does not have to access the information or retrieve a file. His knowledge is always immediately and ever and directly before His mind. E.S. Williams states, “God knows the past, the present, and the future as one eternal now.” No wonder David cried, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:6, NKJV) And let’s remember the definition of “wonderful” — awesome, mysterious, unique. The HCSB translates it this way, “This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.”
Daniel declares, “He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.” (2:22, NKJV) Nothing escapes His notice. When we walk in the darkest of nights He will not stub His toe because of something unseen, something He does not know about. Nothing is hidden from Him, every snare, every obstacle, every rut that may be there and He knows the way so well that He nothing is ever forgotten by Him.
This is an attribute of God that we tend to put aside for we do not like to meditate upon it for it makes us uneasy. Look at the words of David again, “You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” (Psalm 139:2-4, NKJV) Nothing can be concealed from God. Man would strip God of His omniscience and the wicked seek to banish God from their thoughts–all to no avail. The Prophet Ezekiel says, “I know the things that come into your mind.” (11:5) Hosea reminds us, “They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness; now their own deeds have surrounded them; they are before My face.” (7:2, NKJV)
“To the Christian believer, knowledge of God’s omniscience brings the assurance that he has not been forgotten, but is being and will be cared for according to God’s promise.” (J.I. Packer) For the believer it should be an encouragement to prayer knowing that God pays attention. His knowledge of the future is as complete as His knowledge of the past and remember, the future depends on Him. We read in Acts, “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning.” (15:18)
J.I. Packer wrote, “A God whose presence and scrutiny I could evade would be a small and trivial deity. But the true God is great and terrible, just because He is always with me and His eye is always upon me. Living becomes an awesome business when you realize that you spend every moment of your life in the sight and company of an omniscient, omnipresent Creator.” And in this high tech world in which we live; remember–God does not need instant replays.
Therefore, we need to learn to trust Him. In the midst of suffering, when we have to make decisions, when we need direction for our life. Know that He knows! “Job cried, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (23:10) Trust Him for He knows each thought and each step that you take or might take. He knows the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:6; Psalm 37:18) To trust Him comes from knowing Him. Get in the Word, know the God in whom you serve. Praise Him for His greatness and His unsearchable ways. “When we observe the greatness of God’s knowledge, it brings out our needs–needs for honesty, acceptance, and trust.” (David L. Hocking).
(taken from my notes developed for a course: “Knowing God.” Much of the material used was from J.I. Packer, Joseph Parker, Arthur Pink, and E.S. Williams).