Attributes are features associated with a person or a thing. God has both communicable attributes and incommunicable ones. Mercy and loving kindness are examples of his communicable attributes. These are passed from the Creator to the creature. As image bearers, we display these features to a certain degree. Incommunicable attributes are those we do not share with God. God alone is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omnipresent (not bound by space). These three qualities are on display in Psalm 139. but the focus of this article is God’s all-knowing attribute: his omniscience.
God’s knowledge is distinct from our ways of knowing.
Psalm 139:1-5 expresses David’s awe at how thoroughly and deeply God knows him. Scripture resounds with descriptions like this, depicting the unfathomable extent of how well God knows his creatures (1 Chronicles 28:9; Hebrews 4:13). In A. W. Tozer’s definition of omniscience, God “possesses perfect knowledge.” He knows all things well. God’s omniscience extends to the animal kingdom. The Father knows when they are hungry. He is keenly aware of every sparrow (Matthew 10:29).
He Knows You, Better than You Know Yourself
Who God is radically influences how he knows things. Because of this incommunicable attribute, God’s knowledge is distinct from our ways of knowing. Thankfully, God being all-knowing doesn’t mean we know nothing. Though we long to know much more (Ecclesiastes 3:11), God generously allows us to know some things (James 1:5; Daniel 1:17).
Our loving Father knows every one of our missteps and mistakes. And he is quick to forgive.
Occasionally, our desire to know more can be sinful, leading us to do things we later regret. God’s omniscience can greatly comfort the Christian riddled with regret. “O God,” says David, “you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you” (Psalm 69:5). Our loving Father knows every one of our missteps and mistakes. And he is quick to forgive once we confess our sins, and repent of our sins.
His Foreknowledge is Full of Forgiveness
While meditating on our lives, as we ought to do from time to time, our consciences can condemn us. But thankfully, God is greater than our conscience, and he knows all things (1 John 3:20). We need not wallow for too long in feelings of regret because God, in his wisdom and foreknowledge, made provision for our wrongs—the perfect person of his Son Jesus Christ, a propitiation for every sin.
In his wisdom and foreknowledge, God made provision for our wrongs.
Sins we regret and lament over can often bear us down. But Christ’s blood is sufficient to wash away ‘every accretion of former sin,’ as the Puritans put it. Lamentable sins may also have us feeling as though we have missed the mark in terms of our life trajectory. But God’s all-knowingness is a sure comfort because it means nothing we do surprises him. He is prepared for every eventuality that results from our actions.
The appropriate response to this amazing incommunicable attribute is repentance. May we be comforted and consoled by the Father’s omniscience. Let it be a balm for our souls as we conduct our daily business.
