God Is Omniscient Series

This week, Ingrid Betancourt, the former Colombian presidential candidate, was rescued from leftist rebels. She was abducted in 2002 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and was rescued by Colombian commandos along with three Americans and 11 other hostages on Wednesday.

On Thursday she embraced her children for the first time in six years. She said it was because of them that she kept up her will to survive. It was the belief that her children were thinking of her, that made all the difference.

Betancourt was born in Colombia but raised in Paris, and was once married to a French diplomat. She was never forgotten by the French people and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had made Betancourt’s release a major priority for his government.

The knowledge of rebel operations enabled Colombian commandos to free the hostages without firing a single shot. The commandos tricked FARC members into releasing the captives. The group infiltrated the rebels and told a local commander in charge of the hostages they would take him to the top FARC leader, Alfonso Cano. Instead, the commandos whisked the hostages away in helicopters and peacefully captured the rebels. Betancourt said the commandos only revealed their true identity to the hostages once they were safely airborne. (Source: The associated Press: http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/home/contentposting.aspx?newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20080702%2fcolombia_Betancourt_080703&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True

In Psalm 139, the psalmist considers the nature of the knowledge of God. He considers his intimate fellowship with the Lord in the words of this poem. He recognized God’s presence, power, and knowledge. He celebrated the fact that the Lord knew everything about him (vv. 1–6) (Thomas Nelson, I. (1997, c1995). Woman’s study Bible . (Ps 139:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.). There are no words in Hebrew or Greek for omniscience. Biblical writers simply describe the various things God knows. We can see that He is perfect in knowledge (Job 36:4) Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight (Heb. 4:13) and no one teaches God anything, He seeks no counsel from anyone outside the Godhead himself. (Job. 12:13). (John S. Feinberg. No One Like Him. Crossway Books. 2001. p.299).

What difference would it make in your actions if you realized not only that God knows what you are doing, but what you really wanted to do? What difference would it make in your thought life if you realized not only that God knows what you think about but what your true desires and passions are? What difference would it make in what you say, if you realized not only that God knows exactly what you say but every casual word, helpful praise, sarcasm or wounding words? If we truly understand the omniscience of God, it would truly change what we do, what we think and what we say.

First, God knows:

A. What we do (Psalm 139:1–3)

Psalm 139:1-3 [139:1]O LORD, you have searched me and known me! [2]You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. [3]You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

Verses 1-6 of Psalm 139 reflect God’s Omniscience. John Fame defines this as:

Quote: “ his knowledge of all actual and possible states of affairs, and/or of the truth value of all propositions”.( Frame, J. M. (2002). The doctrine of God. A theology of lordship. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.)

• Perhaps you notice in the spelling of this word the word science. The conflict between science and religion is a strange thing. The battles have been numerous and fierce, causing some to divorce science from faith.

• I would encourage everyone to go see the new movie starting Ben Stein called Expelled. The overview of the movie describes that:

“Ben realizes that he has been “Expelled,” and that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired – for the “crime” of merely believing that there might be evidence of “design” in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance”. http://www.expelledthemovie.com/movie_overview.php

R.C. Sproul described the relationship between Science, God and Omniscience:

“God is a God of knowledge. He is concerned with science, indeed, He invented science. The root word of science means simply “to know.” Science is the business of acquiring knowledge. …If God is truth, then all true knowledge tells us something about God Himself… All truth is ultimately God’s truth. This means that ultimately there can be no conflict between genuine science and the truth of God”. (R.C. Sproul. The Character of God. Vine Books. 1995. p. 66).

Poem: Someone once said on God’s nature:

There is nothing He does not know.

Though limitless the universe and gloriously grand,

He knows the eternal story of every grain of sand.

(MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 139:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)