Everett Henes: The knowledge of God

It is a staple doctrine of Christianity that God knows all things. God does not come to know, or learn, the way that we do. We are finite and his is infinite. We are in time, and he is outside of time. It is true that, in the Incarnation, God steps into time. But that doesn’t change the reality that in his essence God is timeless. He is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2) and the first and the last (Revelation 22:13). Sometimes, though, this can be nothing more of a theological exercise. God knows all things. So what? I believe it comes down to how God cares for his people. This is what we learn in Luke 12:1-12. His knowledge and his care are closely connected. God knows his people and he cares for his people.

This comes out three ways in these verses. First, we see that God’s knowledge grounds the future day of judgment. Jesus says in Luke 12:1-2, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” Why is it that Jesus refers to hypocrisy as leaven? Remember the purpose of leaven — it works through the whole dough.

Hypocrisy is not a sin that you can keep compartmentalized. Once you begin living a lie in front of people you must keep it up and it consumes you just as it did the Pharisees. This is Jesus’ warning. But the reason for his warning is because no matter what we might convince others to believe — nothing is hidden from God. This is certainly an intimidating thing to consider — but this is the truth of God’s knowledge — he knows all. He knows what we think, what we say and what we do. He knows our hearts even better than we do. The prophet reminds us, Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This is why Jesus came from heaven to earth, to save us.

Second, we see that God’s knowledge means that he intimately cares for the needs of his people. Jesus begins this by asking a simple question, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.” The sparrow was the cheapest thing that was sold in the marketplace. It would only be purchased by those who were very poor. They did not provide a whole lot of meat and you would need to eat several in order to have a meal — that is why they were so inexpensive. Jesus’ point is clear — God cares for those parts of creation that man values the least. In fact, God cares for those parts of man that he himself does not really care for. “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Lastly, we see that God’s knowledge means that he will defend his people. The way that Jesus introduces this has caused some confusion in the history of the church, “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” This is saying found in all three of the synoptic gospels. Some have said that Jesus is contradicting himself for he just said that if you deny him that he will deny you. But this is to assume that Jesus is speaking of everything in the same way.

First of all, to blaspheme means to "speak against." As we have seen already, Jesus knows where his life is heading. He is not unaware of what is waiting for him in Jerusalem. If he said that blaspheming him was unforgivable then his prayer on the cross, “Father, forgive them” would amount to nothing. He knows everything.

Furthermore, if this were referring to just a momentary sort of blaspheming, then certainly the Apostles Peter and Paul would be guilty. No, this is referring to a total way of living — a continual rejection of the work of the Spirit. Jesus knows that he will be blasphemed and rejected. There will be salvation offered after the cross. Indeed, it is because of the cross that salvation is possible. What a true joy it is to see that God’s knowledge is not only something to be considered in long theological treatises. It matters for our lives today and it speaks to us as we live in this wilderness of a world.

— Pastor Everett Henes, the pastor of the Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, can be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Everett Henes: The knowledge of God