Webster defines “omniscience” as the “state of having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight, having universal or complete knowledge.” The word is derived from the Latin words which mean “all” and “knowledge.” Jews and Christians have historically understood that God is unlimited in His knowledge and awareness.

This is in contrast to humans and angels, which are limited as to what can be known of past, present, and future. God has no such boundaries. He knows everything–past, present, and future–all with equal clarity and understanding.

In the Old Testament, God’s understanding has no limit (Psalm 147:5), and Proverbs 15:3 (NIV) says that “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Solomon, in dedicating the Temple, acknowledged that God alone knows all hearts (1 Kings 8:39).

Jesus declared that the Father knows when a sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29), and that even the hairs on our heads are numbered by God (Matthew 10:30). The smallest event or fact does not escape His attention and knowledge.

God knows not just the past and the present, but the future as well. God, like no one else, declares the end (the things future) from the very beginning (Isaiah 46:10). Early on in human history, God told Adam and Eve that a Messiah would come to redeem humanity (Genesis 3:15). He sees not what may happen, but what will happen. More than a fourth of the Bible records God’s revelation of future events.

This perfect knowledge of all things enables God to decide and judge wisely. Often humans must revise or change decisions because of new information. God never needs to make revisions or change His mind, for He knows everything when He chooses to act (Malachi 3:6). Unlike us,God’s perspective is not distorted or limited.

The practical value of the doctrine of God’s omniscience is this: Even when we are perplexed, confused, and anxious about what is yet to happen, rest assured that God knows. God is never surprised by anything. Christians confront the difficult circumstances and questions of life knowing that God already has incorporated them into His wise and wonderful plan, and that He has our best interests in mind. Our task is not to question God’s workings, but to accept them and to seek to be obedient to what He has already revealed through His Word (Romans 11:33).