Talking God #8
January 8, 2011
GOD’S WISDOM
God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his wisdom. This means that God always chooses the best goals and the best means for achieving these goals.
We’ve been thinking about the wisdom of God in our morning services as we’ve studied 1 Corinthians 1. The ultimate goal to which God applies his wisdom is his glory. So, we see in his plan of redemption that he chose to save those who believe through Christ crucified. Foolishness to the world; but wisdom to God, because it ensures that no one can boast of their own merits. God’s wisdom is seen in our individual lives.
(Rom.8:28) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
And what is the good that the apostle is speaking about? It is, as he says in the next verse, that we should be conformed to the likeness of his Son. God’s purpose for his children is that we should be like Jesus.
Everything that happens to us is geared towards that ultimate conclusion. And that includes those things that we’d rather avoid. 1 Peter. 4:19: So then those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator, and continue to do good.
Within the attribute of God’s wisdom we include God’s knowledge. Last time we spoke about God’s omnipresence—that he is everywhere. Our new big word is omniscience—God knows everything. His knowledge is infinite, eternal and unchangeable.
His knowledge is infinite because there is nothing that God does not know. His knowledge is eternal because he has always known what he knows and always will. His knowledge is unchangeable because there is nothing unknown to him that he is yet to learn. God is at every moment aware of everything that ever was, or is now, or shall be in the future; and that’s the way it always has been.
He knows it all instantaneously and simultaneously. If you were to ask God how many grains of sand there are on the seashore or stars in the heavens he wouldn’t have to count them. He knows.
There is almost no end of scriptures to support this doctrine. One will do for the moment: Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. (Heb.4:13)
God knows things which we would consider of the least significance. Jesus says (Mt.10:30) that not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from God’s will; and that he knows the number of hairs on our head. He knows what we’re going to say before we say it (Ps.139:2): Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. He knows what is going on in our hearts and minds. Ps.94:11: The Lord knows the thoughts of man, he knows that they are futile. He is a loving heavenly Father who knows what we need, even before we ask. (Mt.6:7,8): And when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. He knows the future. (Isa.44:7,8): Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people; and what is yet to come—yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
Once again, we assert that what is true about God is true of all three persons of the Holy Trinity. There’s plenty of evidence of Jesus’ omniscience. He knew what his enemies were thinking. He knew that Lazarus had died. He knew that Judas would betray him. He knew that he would be arrested by the chief priests and handed over to the Romans for execution. He also knew that he would rise on the third day.
Question: if God knows everything, if he knows the future, if he knows what I am going to say before I say it, does that not destroy my free will? After all, if God knows exactly what is going to happen then it sounds as if everything is pre-determined and there is no such thing as free will. This is really a question about the sovereignty of God, and, indeed, predestination. And I hope to cover this more fully at some future date. But let’s just think about this for a moment.
Some theologians are so determined to protect the idea of human free will that they are willing to suggest that God, in fact, is not omniscient, not all-knowing. They argue that we ourselves don’t know what we’ll do in any given situation, so how can God? They are happy to believe in a God who learns, who grows, who develops, along with creation. This makes the future as much a mystery to God as it is to us and is clearly contrary to what the Bible teaches. There are others who try to find a middle path. They argue that as human beings we act with complete freedom and independence. But God is never taken by surprise and his plans are never upset, because he has taken into account every possible eventuality, every permutation of human action and has decided how he will act in any given situation. Although he doesn’t know precisely what I’ll do, he has all the options covered, and knows how he will respond no matter what I do.
The problem with this is that it makes God dependant on our decisions, our choices. God is constantly responding to us. In effect, God stops being God. He is no longer sovereign over all. If we are going to be Biblical, if we are going to be consistent, then we have to acknowledge that if God knows all our thoughts, words, and actions, before they occur, then there is a sense in which our choices are not absolutely free. Yes, there seems to be freedom of the will; but somehow that freedom is incorporated within God’s perfect will.
