Many of our high school graduates will begin their college or professional careers upon graduation. They will learn new concepts and skills as they attain knowledge and skills to advance them in their work. In fact, students and professionals will learn quickly that “many lines of work expect ongoing education and occasional recertification” (Agnew).  To their surprise, ongoing learning will be essential for any worker to keep up with technology and any educational revisions within our society. Travis Agnew says, “This seemingly never-ending quest for understanding always reminds us that complete knowledge has been and forever will be unfortunately out of our grasp.”

People sometimes wrongly assume that God is like an undergraduate. “As time progresses, more knowledge is required of God. The cultural lessons are changing too rapidly for such an ancient God to maintain sufficient expertise in all areas” (Agnew).  The underlying assumption is that God as a lot going on and there could be no way that he is the expert on all things. Therefore, he would continually need to be informed as people and culture progress. “Surely there must be areas where he is ignorant…With all there is to know out there in the complex universe and the intricate mind of every person, God must still be enrolled in the university’s undergraduate program with much more he needs to discover along the way ” (Agnew).  The human thinking is we will help educate God on the things he needs to know. In essence, we think we know better than God.

God is not an undergraduate. God is omniscient.

God’s omniscience means that God is all-knowing. “He is perfectly knowledgeable about all there is to know. Nothing is hidden from God, and he has never known more or less than what he knows at this very moment.” (Agnew)  God has infinite knowledge and knows all things from past to future. He knew everything before the world began and he knows everything about any future event. “If God could learn anything, he would not be God. If we could surprise him with some piece of information, he could not be God.” (Agnew)  How could God be the Creator of all things and not be all-knowing? How could God, the author and provider of salvation, not be all-knowing? Travis Agnew writes, “While we are unable to search the depths of the knowledge of God thoroughly (Rom. 11:33-36) or grasp the wisdom of God fully (1 Cor. 2:7-9), God is the unrivaled expert on himself (1 Cor. 2:10-11).” That is why it is vital that believers spend time daily in God’s Word, so that they can know Him more.

You don’t have to know everything because God already does.

God has promised to be our guide, helper, sustainer, provider, and so much more during our life. In fact, “God’s Word is promised to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps. 119:105) but not a layout to our future. He will walk with us through our life’s journey, whether it be mountaintops or valleys, and we will be dependent upon His grace. Many believers simply want God to give us the “roadmap” of our life, but “if we possessed the whole map, we would express gratitude to him for the information and yet move on our way to fulfill his plan while neglecting him in the process.” (Agnew)  God knows us and knows our path. We are only to seek and trust Him diligently (Prov. 3:5-6).

Reflective Questions on God’s Omniscience

How does God denying us the power of omniscience cause us to address him?

What is it that God knows right now that provides you comfort?

Resources

Wiki God: The Dangerous Editable Deity by Travis Agnew