For years and years I have heard our preachers say how God is omnipotent and omnipresent and omniscience. I will agree that God is omnipotent, all powerful and capable of doing whatever He wills. Then I agree that God is omnipresent, being a supernatural spirit He is everywhere at the same time. But when it comes to God being omniscience, having infinite knowledge and knowing all things before they happen, here I have a problem, believing because of what I read in the scriptures.
Def: omnipotent...All powerful
Def: omnipresent...Present everywhere at the same time
Def: omniscience....Having infinite knowledge, knowing all things
Scriptural evidence that God does not know everything in advance.
Consequently must not be omniscience.
Gen 2:18 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help mate for him. Gen 2:19 And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Gen 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help mate for him.
After God created man He realized that it was not good for man to be alone, so He created the animals and brought them to the man to be helpers for him and company for him. Then when God saw that this did not give the man what he needed, He created a woman to be the man’s helper. Why is it that God did not know in advance that the animals would not provide what Adam needed?
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden. Gen 3:9 And Jehovah God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where are you?
Should not the all knowing God Jehovah know where the man and woman were? If so, would it be necessary for God to call out to Adam saying "where are you"?
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat?
Should not almighty God have known in advance that Adam had eaten of the tree. Would it be necessary for God to ask Adam this question?
Gen 4:9 and the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
Why did God have to ask Cain where his brother was? Didn’t God know?
Gen 6:5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Gen 6:6 And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. Gen 6:7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
God was displeased how mankind turned out because of all the evil things they did. So God decided to destroy all mankind and all the animals he had created from off the Earth. If God had the ability to know in advance this would have happened, why then would it be necessary for Him to repent of it?
Exo 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Exo 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of you a great nation.
Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
God wanted to destroy all the people for the sin they had committed and take Moses and make a new nation out of his seed, but Moses talked God out of doing it and God repented from what He was going to do.
Num 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: has he said, and shall he not do it? or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
This verse is used to defend the notion that God never repents about something He does, but there are many verses that support that God does repent.
1 Sam 15:35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel
God did repent of making Saul the King over Israel
Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. Jer 18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; Jer 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Two cases where God says He will repent of what He said He would do. If God knew in advance what this nation would or would not do in advance, His repentance would not need to be conditional.
Jonah 3:9 who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not? Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
An example where God did repent and change what He intended to do, but if He knew in advance what they would do, repentance would not have been necessary.
Isaiah 46:10 says that God has declared the end from the beginning. Some take this as meaning that God knows everything that will happen from the beginning to the end, but it doesn’t really say that. Yes, God does know what the beginning was like because He started it and He knows what the end will be because it’s in His hands to make it so. Even so, many verses point out that God does not know in advance all those things that mankind will do. It might be that God has that ability, but chooses not to know.
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