Omniscient

God possesses all (‘omni’) knowledge (‘science’). He has no need to learn; but more than this, He has never learned and cannot learn. "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?" (Isa. 40:13,14; see also Rom. 11:34). Who can imagine God sitting at the feet of a teacher? He perfectly knows Himself and all that can be known. In contrast, how imperfectly do any of us know even ourselves_what lurks within the depths of our hearts and minds.

God knows everything to know about the entire created universe. He knows each person through and through_every thought, word, action, the deep recesses of our minds and hearts, all our secret sins. As an example of this, Job was outwardly upright and God-fearing (Job 1:8); but God detected a root of pride and self-righteousness in Job, so He tested him until Job himself discovered what was truly in him:"I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6).

God’s knowledge is totally independent of any time frame.He knows the future as thoroughly as the past. "Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare:before they spring forth I tell you of them" (Isa. 42:9). "I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done" (Isa. 46:9,10). "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18). "God . . . calleth those things which be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17).

God also knows all things that are possible but never became actual. For example, listen to the declaration of the Lord:"Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes . . . And thou, Capernaum, … if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day" (Matt. 11:21,23).

The Scriptures have much to say concerning God’s omniscience. Let us read a few of the passages.

"But He knoweth the way that I take; when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).

"O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. . . . Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it" (Psa. 139:1-6).

"He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names" (Psa. 147:4; see also Matt. 10:30).

"Thus saith the Lord, … I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them" (Ezek. 11:5).

"Thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly. . . . Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.. . . Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matt. 6:4,8,32).

Not only is God the Father omniscient, but God the Son and God the Holy Spirit likewise possess all knowledge. Concerning the Son we read:"And immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?" (Mark 2:8). "And others, tempting Him, sought of Him a sign from heaven, but He, knowing their thoughts, said . . ." (Luke 11:16,17). "And He said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me" (Luke 22:34). "But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man" (John 2:24,25).

The omniscience of the Holy Spirit is brought out in the following verses:"When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). "God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.. . . The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (1 Cor. 2:10,11).

In consideration of the omniscience of God, let us stop and think back over the past 24-48 hours_our thoughts, words, and deeds. Does it not make us ashamed to realize that God was watching and listening to it all_our silliness, grouchiness, anger, self-pity, complaining, and so forth? May the fact of God’s omniscience have a positive effect upon our behavior. Also, may we seek to lay hold of the measure of knowledge_about Himself, about ourselves, about His creation_that God has revealed to us in His Word. While our knowledge in this life is only partial, we surely look forward to that eternal day when we shall know even as we are now known by God (1 Cor. 13:12).

We conclude our meditation on the omniscience of God by exclaiming with the apostle Paul, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33).

Omnipotent

"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude. . . saying, Alleluia:for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6). The same Greek word here translated "omnipotent" is elsewhere translated "almighty." For example, "I am Alpha and Omega . . . which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8). "And the four beasts . . . rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" (Rev. 4:8). "I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it" (Rev. 21:22).

God is omnipotent, almighty, all-powerful. His "eternal power" is displayed in His creation (Rom. 1:20). I believe it is not amiss to say that all His acts are done without effort. God expends no energy that must be replenished. Unlike ourselves, He does not need to look outside of Himself for a renewal of strength.

Let us look at some scriptures that show various effects and results of the omnipotence of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, His Son:

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. . . . And God said, Let there be light; and there was light" (Gen. 1:1,3).

"Ah Lord God! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee" (Jer. 32:17).

When Sarah doubted the word given to her that she was to bear a child in her old age, "The Lord said unto Abraham, … Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:14).

"Say unto God, How terrible art Thou in Thy works! through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee" (Psa. 66:3).

The power of the Lord Jesus was displayed in a variety of ways:healing many people of their diseases (for example, leprosy, Matt. 8:3; palsy, Matt. 8:13; fever, Matt. 8:14; an issue of blood, Matt. 9:22), casting out demons (Matt. 8:16, 28-34), calming the winds and sea (Matt. 8:26,27), turning water into wine (John 2:7-11), raising from the dead (Lazarus, John 11:43; the daughter of Jairus, Luke 8:49-55; Himself, John 10:18), and forgiving sins (Matt. 9:6).

We who are believers in Christ can realize the power of God in a variety of ways in our own lives. Consider the following scriptures in this connection:

” The gospel of Christ… is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Rom. 1:16).

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Cor. 12:9).

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:10,11).

We "are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5).

In conclusion, the apostle Paul prayed that we might know "the exceeding greatness of His [God’s] power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power," and also that God "would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man" (Eph. 1:19; 3:16).

Omnipresent

God is present everywhere. Adam and Eve tried to hide from Him (Gen. 3:8), but were found out by Him. Jonah tried to run away from God (Jonah 1:3), but God prepared a storm and a great fish to bring Jonah back to where He could use him (1:4,17; 2:10).

The omnipresence of God is marvelously described by David in Psalm 139:7-12:"Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee, from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee."

Other references to God’s omnipresence include:"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3). "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?" (Jer. 23:23,24).

God the Son is also omnipresent, although this attribute was temporarily laid aside while He was a man on earth. As Christ was about to return to heaven following His resurrection, He said to His disciples:"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20).

It is most comforting and encouraging to the believer in Christ to know that God is present everywhere, and therefore always close to us. We need not go to a special city or into a special building, put ourselves into a particular posture or position, or have an intermediary of any sort in order to commune with God. His ears are always open to our prayers (1 Peter 3:12). And companies of believers in all parts of the world can simultaneously claim the promise made by the Lord Jesus, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).

In future issues, if the Lord tarry, we shall continue this series with a consideration of some of the moral attributes of God, such as His love, grace, and holiness.