Expert: Elder Greg Madden - 3/9/2010

Question
QUESTION: Is God all knowing?  If he isn't please explain.

ANSWER: Betty,

Thanks you for your question and the opportunity to help.

The simple answer is yes God is all know. To understand "how" God is all knowing is the real question. To find the answer, we must first understand the nature or attributes of God Himself. By attributes I mean His omniscience (He knows all things), His omnipotence (He is all powerful), and His omnipresence (He is everywhere at the same time, and at all times). Being omnipresent He is not only everywhere at the same time, He is everywhere at every time. God is here, now, at this present time. But He is also in the future. He is already there because He is not limited by time. He is also in the past. You see, time is linear. Time had a starting point (Gen. 1:1) and it will come to an end (Rev. 10:6). But God is eternal. He has no beginning, and He will have no end. Therefore time itself existents within God, God is not limited within time. So if you will God is all knowing because He is already in the future and He knows what will be done before it happens. And because is everywhere at the same time, He knows about everything that is happening at this very second, and what will happen in every following second contained within time.

I know this is a rather deep concept to apprehend Betty, but I do hope this helps. Please let me know if this helps or if you have any further questions.

Elder Greg Madden


 

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Is there any scriptures, that say God is all knowing?  If so, I would like to have chapter and verse.

Answer
Betty,

Absolutely! There are a plethora of Scriptures that teach the omniscience of God. Here are a few...

Psalm 147:4,5
He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

Acts 15:18
Known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Psalm 33:13
The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

II Kings 13:19
And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

Jeremiah 38:17-20
Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be will unto thee, and thy soul shall live

Romans 4:17
(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickened the dead, and calleth those things which be not though as they were.

Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

John 8:58
“Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am.’ ”

1 John 3:19-20
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us , God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things

Psalms 139:2-3
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising , thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

Hope this helps,

Elder Greg Madden