The All–Present & All-Knowing God (Omnipresent & Omniscient)

Personally knowing a mighty God makes a great difference!

Dr. Ridge Orr

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Knowing God Series Index

Purpose: Did you ever feel all alone? Maybe in danger or in a dark place? Actually, you were not alone, were you? God is everywhere all the time. Learn more what this practically means to our lives.

God’s constant presence makes a great difference (Psalm 139:1-6; Mat 28:20)

“As eternity is the perfection whereby he hath neither beginning nor end, immutability is the perfection whereby he hath neither increase nor diminution, so immensity or omnipresence is that whereby he hath neither bounds nor limitation. As he is in all time, yet so as to be above time; so is he in all places, yet so as to be above limitation by any place.” (Stephen Charnock)

Various ways that God is all-present

God is present to sustain. This is certainly true of His self-existence as the only one who is truly independent, and it covers the whole of the universe that God created. We see this in His common grace given to all creatures and His special providence toward humans made in His image. (Acts 17:28) (Hebrews 1:3a)
God is present to bless. God blesses as He works His good and pleasing will, bringing us love, hope, peace and joy. When the Bible speaks of God being present, it wonderfully ushers in His blessing and when it speaks of His absence, it is so as to deny such blessing. Of course the greatest of these blessings is His work of salvation. (Isaiah 59:1) (Prov. 15:29) (Psa. 144:15)
God is present to judge. The All-present nature of God means that He is present in the past, the present and the future. His being is imminent within it, but transcends time. He is fully able to hold all created beings accountable. (Jer. 23: 24) (Jer. 17:10) (Job 23:10)
God is present in every place. God being All-Present does raise a complexity. By definition it means that He must be present everywhere in the universe He created – there is ‘no place where He is not’. Thus He is not only present in heaven and on earth, but present in hell too, though understandably in very different ways. He is present in a way that does not deny the horrific nature of hell, nor detract from His divine holiness. (Psalm 139:1-10)

"So there are several manifestations of His presence; he hath a presence of glory in heaven, whereby he comforts the saints; a presence of wrath in hell, whereby he torments the damned; in heaven he is a God spreading his beams of light; in hell, a God distributing his strokes of justice; by the one he fills heaven; by the other he fills hell; by his providence and essence he fills both heaven and earth.” (Stephen Charnock)

How God’s all-present, all-knowing being impacts humanity

The wicked truly despise God’s ever-present, all-knowing character. They will use every manner of self-deception to foolishly avoid or deny this reality.
This is equally true of all the Divine Perfections. (Hosea 7:2) (Ps. 90:8) (Prov. 15:11) (Prov. 16:2)
But to the righteous these perfections of God bring great comfort. There is nothing that passes unnoticed, nothing that is not kept on record, nothing that is lost in the divine economy of life. All people stand exposed before Him with whom we have to give account. (Prov. 15:3) (2 Chron. 16:9) (Job 34:21)

“The omnipresence of God is a comfort in all violent temptations. No fiery dart can be so present with us, as God is present both with that and the marksman. The most raging devils cannot be so near us, as God is to us and them. He is present with his people to relieve them, and present with the devil to manage him to his own holy purposes: so he was with Job, defeating his enemies, and bringing him triumphantly out of those pressing trials.” (Stephen Charnock)

It brings comfort to believers (John 21:17) and brings real hope (Heb 4:12-13) (1 Corinth. 4:5).

Qualities of God’s all-knowing perfection

God knows himself perfectly, infinitely, eternally, and immutably. This forms the basis for Him to know completely all created things. God’s self-knowledge is perfect. He never errs. He never changes. And, He never overlooks anything. The perfect, infinite, eternal knowledge of God knows everything possible, everything actual, and everything potential
God knows his ultimate plan, decreed from all eternity. (Ecclesiastes 3:14-15) (Eph. 1:4-5)
God knows all creatures, things, and events (past, present & future) Heaven, the earth and even hell are permeated by His all-knowing, all-present being. (Psalm 139: 1-10) (Eph. 4:6)

God’s foreknowledge, especially as it relates to election

God’s foreknowledge: its meaning (Foreknowledge = ‘to know beforehand’)

In the Bible’s use = ‘to regard with favor’ or ‘affection’ (Ex 33:17) (Amos 3:2)
It may indicate being ‘loved’, or ‘appointed’” (Matt. 7:23) (John 10:14) (2 Timothy 2:19)

God’s foreknowledge: its scope

There are only 4 passages in the N.T. where it is used (none in O.T.):
Of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:23) & of the elect (Rom. 8:29, 30) -- (found also in Rom. 11:2 & 1 Pet. 1:2)

God’s knowledge co-exists with God’s sovereign decree(s). Foreknowledge is not the cause of our believing, but divine election is, --- thus our believing in Christ is election’s effect. (Acts 13:48)

“God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be. It is therefore a reversing of the order of Scripture, a putting of the cart before the horse, to affirm that God elects because He foreknows people. The truth is, He “foreknows” because He has elected. This removes the ground or cause of election from outside the creature, and places it in God’s own sovereign will. God purposed in Himself to elect a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure.” (Arthur W. Pink)

Discussion Questions:

In what way does the sense God’s all-knowing character impact your life?
How can you cultivate a better awareness of God’s presence in your life?