evans, our god is awesome: the omniscience of god

8/7/2019 Evans, Our God is Awesome: The Omniscience of God

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/evans-our-god-is-awesome-the-omniscience-of-god 1/65

The Omniscience

of God

Wednesday 9 February 2011



"God knows instantly and effortlessly all matterand all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit

and all spirits, all being and every being, allcreaturehood and all creatures, every pluralityand all pluralities, all law and every law, all

relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, allenigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unutteredsecret, all thrones and dominions, allpersonalities, all things visible and invisible inheaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life,death, good, evil, heaven and hell."

A.W. Tozer




Omniscience refers toGod’s all knowingness

Evans defines it: “God’somniscience refers to hisperfect knowledge of all things both actual and potential”

So this means there isnothing at all that

God doesn’t know - hedepends on no oneoutside himself for knowledge.




We rely on other peoplesknowledge all the time - at a

chemist, on a plane, in aschool class, at the doctors,and even when cheating inexams




God’s omniscienceis intuitive

intuitive |inˈt(y)oōitiv|

•using or based on what onefeels to be true even without

conscious reasoning•instinctive




Isaiah tells us something about God’s

perfect knowledge - 40:13-14Who can fathom the Spirit of theLORD, or instruct the LORD as hiscounselor?

Whom did the LORD consult toenlighten him,and who taught him theright way?

Who was it that taught himknowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?



http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/evans-our-god-is-awesome-the-omniscience-of-god 8/65Wednesday 9 February 2011



Evans says this is like asking, “Where didGod go to school?” - God does not

need to learn, study, read etc.For us learning shows us how muchmore we need to learn - how muchmore there is to know

Matt 10:30 - even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

God does not need to count them - it

is intuitive to himAfter Hannah has her baby she prays, 1

Sam 2:3 - for the LORD is a God who

knows




God knows immediately andsimultaneously - he doesn’t look back to the past to remember or forwardto the future to see what will happen,

“All that is known, will be known, could beknown, or has been forgotten, God knows

intuitively and eternally” EvansTherefore there is nothing God doesnot know about you - EVERYTHING!

And, all the information in the world -ever - he knows all ready - Ps 147:5

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit.Wednesday 9 February 2011



The United States Library of Congress in WashingtonD.C. ranks as the largest library in the world. It holdsover 118 million items which require more than 500

miles of shelving.





miles of shelving.




2. God’s omniscienceis comprehensive

Hebrews 4:13

Nothing in all

creation is hiddenfrom God’s sight.

Everything is

uncovered and laid bare before the eyes

of him to whom we

must give account.




2. God’s omniscienceis comprehensive

Hebrews 4:13

Nothing in all

creation is hiddenfrom God’s sight.

Everything is

uncovered and laid bare before the eyes

of him to whom we

must give account.


A



2. A.no detail overlookedGod knows every thought andfeeling you have, he knows fullyyour personality - he knowseverything about you.

In fact he knows everything -

and knows it fully(comprehensively)

Proverbs 15:3 -The eyes of the

LORD are everywhere, keeping watchon the wicked and the good.

Psalm 50:11 - I know every bird inthe mountains, and the insects in the

fields are mine.Wednesday 9 February 2011

A



2. A.no detail overlookedGod knows every thought andfeeling you have, he knows fullyyour personality - he knowseverything about you.

In fact he knows everything -

and knows it fully(comprehensively)

Proverbs 15:3 -The eyes of the

LORD are everywhere, keeping watchon the wicked and the good.

Psalm 50:11 - I know every bird inthe mountains, and the insects in the

fields are mine.

The smallest animal in theworld, which is also thesmallest insect in the world(so far) is the Megaphragmacaribea otherwise known asa fairyfly. It is a parasiticwasp that lives on the

island of Guadalope andfeeds off the eggs of otherinsects




Psalm 147:4 - He determines the

number of the stars and calls them

each by name.Psalm 90:8 - You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins inthe light of your presence.

Even if we try to pretend Goddoesn’t see - Psalm 70:11 They say, “How would God know? Does the

Most High know anything?” He does, about everyone of

us!

E.g. Jer 1:5, Gal 1:15-16Wednesday 9 February 2011



B what could have been



2. B.what could have been

God knows what could have happened - look at Matt

11:21-24

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the

miracles that were performed in you had been performed in

Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago insackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for

Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you,

Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go

down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you

had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this

day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on

the day of judgment than for you.” Wednesday 9 February 2011



Capernaum ismentioned 16 timesin the NewTestament. It servedas Jesus’"headquarters"during his publicministry. Severaldisciples were fromCapernaum and

many miracles wereperformed here. Itwas a fishing villagewith a tollbooth and

a synagogue.Wednesday 9 February 2011

http://www.holylandphotos.org/go.asp?img=INSGCP02&SiteID=4

http://www.holylandphotos.org/go.asp?img=INSGCP02&SiteID=4



The amazing thing is that this didnot happen - but because God’somniscience is so great that he

knows what would havehappened.

He knows the potential outcomesof history as well as the actualones!

This should be of greatencouragement to all of us - God

could have changed situations andcircumstances about our lives yethe wanted us here, now, doingwhat we are doing - even if it is

painful at timesWednesday 9 February 2011



IF you can keep your head when all aboutyou

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all mendoubt you,

But make allowance for their doubtingtoo;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too

wise:Wednesday 9 February 2011

2 C Comprehensive



2. C.Comprehensive Knowledge and Worship

As people worship God he knowsevery word they will use, eachsyllable, each note which will be

sung - and he loves to hear ourpraise and prayers - he inhabits thepraises of his people

Psalm 22:3 (ESV)

Yet you are holy,enthroned on the praisesof Israel.




3. God’s omniscience is

personal

Psalm 139:1,2

You have searched me, LORD,and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you

perceive my thoughts fromafar.




3.a. God knows us

So God is aware of the smallestactions of our lives - sitting downon something uncomfortable,aching joints as we get up etc.

God is also aware of thethoughts we have Ezek 11:5

Then the Spirit of the LORD came onme, and he told me to say: “This iswhat the LORD says: That is what youare saying, you leaders in Israel, but Iknow what is going through your mind.




Ps 139:3-5 - You discern my going

out and my lying down; you arefamiliar with all my ways. Before aword is on my tongue you, LORD,know it completely. You hem me in

behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.

He knows where we are and

where we are going, he knowswhat we will say - there isnowhere to run, nowhere to hide.




3.b. God understands us

Jesus said of Nathaniel - John1:47 -“Here truly is an Israelite inwhom there is no deceit.”

God never misunderstands yourmotives - he never gets you wrong.

This is a comfort when peoplearound you think wrongly of you.

Job 23:10 - But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, Iwill come forth as gold.




Psalm 56:8 - You havekept count of my tossings;put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?

People might notunderstand but God does,he sees every heartbreak and stores up your tears!




3.c. God sees through us

Are you a hypocrite - do you say onething and do another?

Jesus saw this with the Pharisees andSadducees, Matt 23:27 - “Woe to

you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outsidebut on the inside are full of the bones of

the dead and everything unclean.

The law said not to touch tombs - sothey made them obvious and easy toavoid




You might look ok on theoutside - God is lookinginside you - he desires purity

to flow from your heart,mouth and life

God will never be fooled or

deceived by your lies


G ’ O P



God’s omniscience serves his eternal purposes -there is nothing hit and miss about it.

4. God’s Omniscience is Purposeful


4 I R l ti t S l ti



4.a. In Relation to Salvation

Eph 1:4-6

For he chose us in him before thecreation of the world to be holy

and blameless in his sight. In lovehe predestined us for adoption tosonship through Jesus Christ, inaccordance with his pleasure and

will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely givenus in the One he loves.




Acts 2:23 - of Jesus - This

man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with thehelp of wicked men, put him todeath by nailing him to the cross.

This all is in the wisdom of

God, which Evans defines as:

The interworking of

God’s attributes toaccomplish his will and

achieve his purposes




So what does this mean in

relation to election,predestination andforeknowledge, particularly as

they relate to our salvation?Hyper Calvinistic view says,“God has already determinedall that will happen andtherefore we have no choicein it...in effect we are robots”




The Arminian view has,according to Evans, God

sitting in heaven biting hisfingernails, he has a planbut is never quite sure

what we will do. In this wayGod’s omniscience iswatered down

He is still sovereign andomnipotent, butomniscience takes a hithere.




So how do we handle the factthat God knows everythingand yet we are still free tomake moral choices?





God knows if you decide to

do something - and thenchange your mind and do itlater, or not at all.







Consider it this way;







Consider it this way;1. God desires all men to besaved - 1 Tim 2:4, 2 Pet 3:9




2. God provided for hisdesire through Jesus - Heb2:9, Jn 3:16




2. God provided for hisdesire through Jesus - Heb2:9, Jn 3:16

3. God elected some tobe saved - Eph 1:4 -meaning some are passedby (Calvin says some are

actively decreed lost tocondemnation)




4. So how does God desire

all to be saved whilst activelyelecting only some? Howcan the lost be responsible if

they were not elected in thefirst place? How is it fair to judge people who are notelected in the first place?




4. So how does God desire

all to be saved whilst activelyelecting only some? Howcan the lost be responsible if

they were not elected in thefirst place? How is it fair to judge people who are notelected in the first place?

No one has any definitiveanswer for this!




What we do know is thatGod’s knowledge and

purposes intersect withhuman choice resulting in ushaving choices to make, yetthese choices still fulfill God’s

plan and purposes, his goal.




What we do know is thatGod’s knowledge and

purposes intersect withhuman choice resulting in ushaving choices to make, yetthese choices still fulfill God’s

plan and purposes, his goal.

We also know that the bible isclear that people who die

away from Jesus go to eternaldestruction, and that thosewho know Jesus only do sothrough the grace of God.




Evans sums the whole thing up

like this:




Evans sums the whole thing up

like this:“So God has made provision forall but He’s elected some, leavingus with a choice butguaranteeing his plan. If thewisdom of the omnipotent Godleaves you shaking your head in

wonder and amazement, that’s allright. If you or I ever figure outGod, we’re in trouble!”


4 b In Relation to Daily Living



4.b. In Relation to Daily LivingIn Luke 22 we see Jesus speaking to

Simon,

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for

you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back,strengthen your brothers.”

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go

with you to prison and to death.”

esus answered, “I tell you, Peter, beforethe rooster crows today, you will deny

three times that you know me.” Wednesday 9 February 2011

God knew all about the situations



God knew all about the situations- and defeats - that would faceSimon, and that face us each day.

But here’s the good news:Hebrews 7:25 - Therefore he isable to save completely those who

come to God through him, becausehe always lives to intercede for them.

Simon was restored - John21 -yet we should not underestimatethe power of the prayer of jesus(then and now) in saving him (and

us)Wednesday 9 February 2011

God knew all about the situations



God knew all about the situations- and defeats - that would faceSimon, and that face us each day.

But here’s the good news:Hebrews 7:25 - Therefore he isable to save completely those who

come to God through him, becausehe always lives to intercede for them.

Simon was restored - John21 -yet we should not underestimatethe power of the prayer of jesus(then and now) in saving him (and

us)

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own

love for us in this:While we were still

sinners, Christ died for us.


Running to God



Running to GodGod loves us even if, when, we fail:

Jer 31:34

No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know

the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

We have to choose - do we runfrom or to God’s omniscience.




Ps 139:16

Such knowledge is toowonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

God’s knowledge mightseem a little intimidating,but you know from theother attributes that he

always uses it in love towork out all things forgood.


Responding to God’s Omniscience



Responding to God s Omniscience

1. If you have active sin in your life run to God,confess and repent - he knows about it already.

2. Thank God for his complete knowledge andunderstanding of you - more then you will everknow or understand yourself

3. Allow God to deal with difficult situations

from the past, or present. Release things into hisknowledge, rest in him and forgive people.


Responding to God’s Omniscience



Responding to God s Omniscience

1. If you have active sin in your life run to God,confess and repent - he knows about it already.

2. Thank God for his complete knowledge andunderstanding of you - more then you will everknow or understand yourself

3. Allow God to deal with difficult situations

from the past, or present. Release things into hisknowledge, rest in him and forgive people.




Read Psalm139:1-18

Look in the mirror

- God chose tocreate you, nothingabout you is anaccident or

afterthought.

evans, our god is awesome: the omniscience of god

Documents