Omniscient God

[Palinator]

How do we know that God is omniscient?

[National Intelligence Director Phoenix]

How do we know that God is omniscient?

Hi Joan. Thanks for your question!

The question is more of a philosophical nature really. There are two qualities that we will be discussing.

Potentiality = what can be
Actuality = What is.

For instance, right now, I have the potential to be walking around in my room. In Actuality, I am sitting at my computer chair. I have the potential to learn what is found in some books in my room. In actuality, I haven't read them yet so there's still more learning to do. (Please take this added bonus. We're all always still learning and if you ever meet anyone who says they don't need to learn anymore, run as fast as you can away from them.)

Notice that if something has potential, that always means that it can change. All of matter has potential. We have a forest near our house for instance. If I find an acorn, I know that if I pick it up, I am holding a potential oak tree in my hands. All of matter is in a state that it can change. A piece of paper when burned in a fire does not cease to exist, but simply has the matter in it enter another state of existence. Water becomes steam when heated for instanc.

The question to ask is, does God have any potential? The answer is no. Scripture tells us that God does not change in his essence as Malachi 3:6 is clear. Interestingly, the same is said about Jesus in his essence in Hebrews 13:8 which could upset our Arian friends.

So what if God learned something? We could safely say God was ignorant of something then. I recall what Ron Nash has said about such a god before. He's a Christian philosopher who states that he wants to pray for this God, but doesn't know who to pray to.

Also, if we accept modern cosmology, the Big Bang shows that both space and time have a beginning. God is outside of both. If God is outside of both, then he transcends both and is bound by neither. If he is not in time, then he cannot go from a state of not knowing something to knowing something as that would be a change in his essence within time. God can act within time, but doing so does not change his essence.

The great saint in history Anselm also came up with the Ontological Argument. God is the greatest possible being that you can imagine. Simply put, which is greater? A God who knows some things or a God who knows all things?

Also, all truth is God's truth. Truth is not above God. Truth is within the nature of God. There is no truth that God has to learn. He knows all things from the beginning and to the end because he transcends all things.

This gives us great hope when we get to a passage like Romans 8:28 where God says that all things work together for good to those that love him. We can approach this text with three views.

A. God is a liar. He says they will, but they won't.
B. God is ignorant. (Which if he's not omniscient he could be.) He thinks they will, but they won't.
C. God knows all things and is telling the truth.

Hope this helps! Thanks for the question!

[TrinityKicker]

I believe that God is all knowing because of the Bible.