The Character of God—Part 1—God Knows
Psalm 139:1-4 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
I. God knows and understands you.
A. It is not self-knowledge, but God’s complete knowledge that is chiefly important for us.
1 Corinthians 8:2,3 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.
Our aim is not necessarily to understand and know more about ourselves, but to be known and understood by God—and to base our knowledge and understanding of ourselves on that—on God’s assessment of us—not on our assessment of ourselves.
B. God knows our hidden strengths and abilities. This is why God was able to choose many people to do incredible things for him that wouldn’t have been our top candidates. Gideon.
C. God knows our human frailties—he knows our weaknesses.
Psalm 103:13,14 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
D. God knows how to protect and care for you. Jesus reveals that his knowledge of us allows him to be a good shepherd—caretaker—for us. When a shepherd knows the weakness of his sheep, he can protect against that weakness.
John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--
II. God knows everything that happens.
A. Nothing is hidden from God—all is known by him.
Daniel 2:22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
B. God knows both the good and the bad.
To Philadelphia, Jesus said of their good deeds:Rev. 3:8a “I know your deeds.”
Revelation 3:14,15a "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15a I know your deeds,
C. Because God knows the deeds and the heart, he is able to judge completely and fairly. He knows not only what we say and do—but even what is going through our minds—the intents of the heart.
Luke 16:15 He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.
III. God knows even the future.
A. God’s complete knowledge of the future is clear throughout Scripture. We are told to rely on this knowledge.
B. We, in contrast, do not know the future. Therefore, all that I know about the future is only in accordance with what has been revealed by God.
Ecclesiastes 8:7 Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?
C. This calls for us to submit to God for the future.
James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that."
IV. God’s knowledge is perfected—in that God doesn’t just know intellectually. He knows experientially.
A. There is a benefit to experiential knowledge over intellectual knowledge.
JOB 42:5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
B. Jesus came down and experienced life as a human—so that he knows—he knows everything about us—in a sense that goes beyond his spiritual complete knowledge—so that his complete knowledge is perfected.
C. It is revealed that it is this experiential knowledge that allows Jesus Christ to justify us.
Isaiah 53:11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Application:
Psalm 139:23,24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 4 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
A. Because of his complete knowledge, God and only God is qualified to search through our hearts—this invitation for him to search your heart is a recognition of and submission to his omniscience—which allows you to receive the following benefits.
B. From the understanding and perspective of God’s complete knowledge we are able to have peace—even in situations which would induce anxiety. Our anxieties are quieted when we realize God’s knowledge:
Abraham was able to follow God’s directions—even though he didn’t know where he was going, because he knew something far more important—he knew that God knew where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
We can take comfort—not knowing exactly what the future holds, but knowing that God knows:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
C. Because of God’s complete knowledge, he is the perfect judge. He will judge our hearts sooner or later—however, if we submit to his searching now, we will be preserved in the later judgment. Allowing him to show us our sins now makes it possible for us to repent and find forgiveness.
1 Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
In fact, Isaiah reveals that in light of the fact that God knows and will judge—we must come humbly to him—not with pride or arrogance.
1saiah 2:3 "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
D. It is because of God’s perfect knowledge that he can lead us to eternal life. As we saw already, it was Jesus’ personal knowledge of man that allowed him to save us. But also, the Holy Spirit is able to intercede before the Father on our behalf in light of his perfect knowledge.
Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
God, in his desire to save us, has the distinct advantage that he knows exactly where we might have failed—and then by our submission to him and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, he is able to intervene in those situations and keep us from falling!
